How to Disaster

SERIES: Role of the Public Sector

 

"If you're just doing a very limited role and not maximizing your contribution, you're selling yourself short. And it's probably not why you were selected." -Aristotle Wolfe

 

Episode Description: 

"To Protect and To Serve" is more than a motto. It is a vow that every police officer must take seriously. What does it mean to be a police officer in the middle of a disaster? What roles and responsibilities do they have? What is the best approach to protect and serve? What lessons can we learn about communication and evacuation? How can we fill the gap and fine-tune our strategies to build resiliency and encourage cooperation? What can citizens do to support the work and the people doing the work? How can leaders stand up as a leader of leaders, leader of a team, and a leader for themselves and their families? These are important questions that have life-saving answers. Listen in as Jennifer and CHP officer Aristotle Wolfe walk you through the life of a police officer.   

 

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Highlights:

04:50: A Unique Job Description

09:51: What The Job Means

19:05: Who Plays Which Role?

26:21: Communication Lessons

33:47: Leader of Leaders

44:51: What People Can Do

48:12: Be a Human Being

57:21: Maximize Your Role

SERIES: Role of the Mental Health Care Leaders

 

"We have to go beyond education, we need mental health action!" -Adrienne Heinz, Ph.D.

 

Episode Description: 

What's more terrifying and costly than cancer? Untreated mental health issues. Mental health is a huge part of recovery after a disaster. This week, Jennifer interviews Dr. Adrienne Heinz for an in-depth discussion about mental health. Dr. Heinz talks about the mindsets most people have about mental health, why it is important to address trauma as a community and as helpers, and how to overcome crisis fatigue. She also shares helpful apps and exercises to help you slow down, de-stress, and fight off anxiety. Join the conversation, recover from the inside, and reimagine a new tomorrow! 

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Highlights:

05:17: The Struggle with Collective Trauma

11:55: The Digital Aspect of Mental Health Intervention 

19:19: The Stages of Grief

25:13: The Present and Future of Apps

29:33: The Value of Mental Health

35:26: Overcome Crisis Fatigue 

38:38: Stimulate Your Vagus Nerve 

41:25: Breathing Exercise

SERIES: Role of the Public Sector

 

"When things go wrong, if you're not already ready, it's too late to get ready." -Nancy Brown

 

Episode Description: 

Preparedness builds resilience and a resilient community always wins over any disaster. In this episode, Jennifer sits with Nancy Brown, the Community Preparedness Program Manager of Sonoma County. Nancy talks about the role of the public sector in ensuring that their community is adequately prepared for a disaster and how to overcome the challenges that come with this unique assignment. Jennifer and Nancy also discuss strategies and checklists to help the community prepare for communication failures, make evacuation organized, and help the LatinX community. The more prepared we are, the more we can help each other move towards a better tomorrow. Don't miss out on expert advice and practical tips to help you get started on preparedness! 

 

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Highlights:

02:27: Why be Prepared

05:48: Preparedness Challenges 

11:24: Evacuation Checklist 

15:46: Disaster Response and the LatinX Community

25:17: The Best Place to Make a Difference 

32:48: How to Help Communities Post Disaster

37:54: The World of Disaster Response

45:44: Out of Control is the Norm of Disaster

49:22: How to: Self-Care in Disaster

52:21: Don't Forget Your Neighbors

SERIES: Role of Mass Media

"If we are in a position to be able to save lives, let's make sure we are adamantly prepared to do that." -Pat Kerrigan

 

Episode Description: 

If you are sitting in a broadcasting studio with phones ringing non-stop, what would you do? KSRO News Director, Pat Kerrigan spent 24 days on-air delivering urgent news and serving the community in every way she can during the 2017 wildfire. The tension and surging needs are the most overwhelming during a disaster. Lives are in peril and everybody needs all the help they can get. So how can you serve your community in ways that are needed? In what instances can your community benefit from relationships made way before a disaster? What can the media learn about communication without competition? How can you use your skills to radiate trust and integrity? And finally, how can you make sure you are taking care of yourself as much as you do for others? Listen in as Jennifer and Pat answer these important questions with some helpful suggestions to improve communication systems, be prepared, and find balance as you play various roles. Be the presence in your life. Only then, will your presence in the community create the deepest impact.

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Highlights:

03:16: It Jumped the Highway!

08:29: When Phones Never Stopped

14:52: Questions to Ask Before a Disaster Strikes

10:00: The Work Begins

25:01: Take Care of Yourself

32:24: How Successful Relationships Work

38:08: Find Yourself Balance

44:12: Listen to Smart People

SERIES: Role of the Community Leader

 

"Don't expect to go through it yourself. People will want to help, ask for it. And then when you get through your disaster, pay it forward." -Margie Foster

 

Episode Description: 

Discover how emergent leaders are made way before a disaster even strikes! This week, Jennifer and Margie Foster, one of Glen Ellen's emergent leaders teach how to step up for your community and be a vehicle for people to find their place after a disaster. Margie shares how her experience of a prior disaster helped her be an advocate for her community. She relates practical strategies, systems, and tools to promote community connection, get funding, and build resiliency. Everyone, even leaders themselves, goes through their own pain and loss. But when the spirit of community connection is at work, even the greatest of disasters will lose its power! 

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Highlights:

02:22: It Begins with You 

07:54: The Devastating Power of Fire

13:39: Disaster Notification Systems and Must-Haves

20:45: Help Find People Find A Home 

25:35: Promoting Community Connection

35:44: The Post Disaster

39:50: Ask for Help

SERIES: Role of the Public Sector

 

 "Resiliency defines this idea of not just being able to get hit and get back up, but … how we rise up and build better systems out of what we're dealing with and how we make sure that we own our place in the future."  -James Gore

 

Episode Description: 

 

Disasters breed emergent leaders.  But what is the true essence of being a servant leader? How can leaders help the community navigate through trauma and advocate for equity? What organization strategies can be applied to ensure public safety and speed up progress? Lastly,  how can each member help rebuild the lost momentum and work towards a more resilient community? Leaders are our partners and allies for transformation, but only when the community plays its part will true recovery be achieved. Tune in as Jennifer and Sonoma County Supervisor James Gore share how to be a public official that the community needs in the midst of a disaster. It's time to own our future, be a champion for change! 

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Highlights:

04:32 What Resiliency Includes

11:04 Navigating Through Trauma 

21:14 Break Down Barriers 

30:06: From Heels to Spears to Peace

37:20: The Public Sector in Disasters  

41:52: Advocating for Equity

50:01: Wake, Wake Others, Stay Woke

54:00: The Essene of True Leadership

59:16: Own Our Future

SERIES: Role of the Private Sector

 

"The determination of the neighborhood symbolize the character of the community that it got done." -Gerardo Castillo

 

Episode Description: 

When disaster strikes, people thirst for guidance. Where does recovery even begin? This week, Jennifer interviews Gerardo Castillo, the Chief of Staff of AshBritt on the role private contractors play in a disaster. Gerardo describes the process and scope of work they do in helping communities before, during, and after a disaster. Find out some of the misconceptions about disaster response,  the difference between disaster contracting and capitalism, and the benefits of training the local workforce. There will come disasters upon disasters. We can't stop them, but we can prepare to overcome them, as a family, as a community, as a nation. Listen in as Gerardo shares the Neighborhood Model for recovery and how it can help your community too!

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Highlights:

04:01: Facts and Fiction About Disaster Response

11:05: The Jurisdiction Question

18:09: Setting Up for Long Term Recovery 

28:25: Building Neighborly Relationships

35:36: Help People Come Home

40:54: Disaster Capitalism vs Disaster Contracting

47:06: Your Role in the Clean-Up Process

51:56: The Future of Disasters

57:15: An Effective Recovery Model to Help Communities

1:03:49: Innovation in Disaster

SERIES: Role of the Community

 

Episode Description: 

"You can't hurry a longer process that is thoughtful in strategy. It needs to be done the way that it's done." - Jenna Murray-Johnson

 

In times of disaster, the most effective leaders can emerge unexpectedly. How can someone build efficiency in a chaotic environment? In this episode, Jennifer interviews Jenna Murray Johnson, Co-Founder of Camp Fire Zone Captains on the role of zone captains in fostering recovery in rural areas. Based on her personal experience, Jenna shares ideas that can help other communities when faced with the same situation. The interview has a great impact in changing lives and changing the path of development on how a community recovers during and after a disaster. Tune in and find out how the love for the community solves problems and helps people unite.

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Highlights:

04:40: Five Minute Plan

09:14: Emergent Leaders: Natural Organizer And Leader

13:34: How To Zone Captain: Adaptability And Communication Platform

24:20: Encourage People To Rebuild: From Rebuilding to Community Building

29:01: Collaboration And Mobility: A Key To Success

33:03: Great Source Of Funding

38:32: Rebuilding  And Recovery: Different For Each Person Or Family

"If there's no help coming, then you better act because what's lost is hope." -Mark Martin Bras

 

"That gives people hope to know that there's a plan, to know that there are other people they can count on during that time. And that leads to sustainability too." -Kelly Thompson

 

Episode Description: 

Hurricane Maria, 2017- named "the worst natural disaster" and the "deadliest" in the history of Dominica, Saint Croix, and Puerto Rico. The island of Vieques was one of those who experienced this devastating nightmare. What can we learn from the way they engineered their way to recovery despite a lack of supplies, shortage of funds and manpower,  power failure, unavailability of the internet, and isolated location? In this episode,  Jennifer interviews Mark Martin Bras and Kelly Thompson from Viequeslove, a non-profit organization focused on helping the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. Listen in as they share vital lessons about communication failures, advocating for your community, increasing resiliency, and building capacity. They also explain why sometimes, you need to say "No." to organizations extending help, and how to build regional equity. We all have a role to play in a disaster. As our guests say, "It's a world thing!" 

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Highlights:

04:01: When The Power Fails on an Island

13:24: Build the Capacity

21:03: Bringing the Internet Into an Island

31:43: Handling Shelter Needs

37:48: How to Advocate Your Community

48:41: Encourage Sectors Ethical Participation

55:11: The Hard Side of Preparedness

01:02:50: Humanity at its Finest

 "I couldn't keep up with myself. It was like my best problem I've ever had!" -Peter Alan

 

Episode Description: 

What if somebody called you and said the thing you most dreaded to hear: "Everything's gone." Grief, disbelief, fear, uncertainty, and a mix of emotions you cannot identify are even worse than the fire itself. Yet, despite all that's happening, we can still make the world more beautiful! In this episode, we learn how art can be used in recovery as Jennifer speaks with Peter Alan, a Visual/conceptual mixed-media artist. Peter recalls his frightful flight as the mega-fires ravage everything around him and how he turned that nightmare into mesmerizing artworks. He also talks about how he was able to find beauty even in the darkness, build resiliency and grow, and use whatever skills you have to support each other. Listen in as Peter shares his secret to a faster recovery and facing adversities with optimism!  

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Highlights:

02:54: Art in Profession 

08:04:  Non-Narrative Art

11:48: The Sweet Spot of Humanity

19:45: A Horror Movie in the Real-World

26:01: The Depth of Grief

32:59: The Art in the Ruins

40:53: The Role of the Artist

49:23: Make the More Beautiful