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Captain Sheronda Grant is a proud Milwaukee native who grew up in the 53206 area. Shortly after graduating from Hamilton High School, she was hired by the Milwaukee Police Department as a police aide in 2001. After graduating from the Police Academy, she was assigned to District 4 as a patrol officer. As an officer, Captain Grant became a state-certified law enforcement instructor trained in Professional Communications, Defense and Arrest Tactics, Emergency Vehicle Operations, and Vehicle Contacts. She also became a field training officer, specialized in undercover operations, and at one point was the sole recruiting officer for the entire Milwaukee Police Department.  

In January 2014, Captain Grant was promoted to the rank of a police sergeant and has been assigned to District 5, the Internal Affairs Division, the Police Academy, and the Office of the Chief as the agency’s Spokesperson. In 2020, she was promoted to lieutenant and assigned to District 3. In December 2021, she was reassigned to District 5 as the Acting Captain, and on February 18, 2022, she was promoted to Captain and remained at District 5.  

Captain Grant holds a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership and Quality and a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice, both from Marian University. She graduated from the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) - Leadership in Police Organizations. She has attended various FBI LEEDA courses, earned several training certificates, and graduated from Northwestern University's School of Police Staff and Command - Class 518. She is a member of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, IACP, and is a former President of the League of Martin. Captain Grant believes that diversity in law enforcement is essential, therefore, she works to encourage more African Americans, other minorities, and women to join the law enforcement profession.  

Captain Grant's clothing line https://www.wearestrongenough.com/ 

https://city.milwaukee.gov/police/About-MPD/Command-Staff-Bios/Sheronda-D.-Grant

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In this year-end episode, we wrap up all 36 guests with excerpts from each episode related to Public Information Officers. 

Some quick stats from 2022:

• 1063 minutes and 32 seconds of audio was recorded
• The podcast was downloaded 8,459 times, double of 2021
  • 73 % of our listeners heard the podcast on an Apple Podcast/I-tunes
  • 6% on Stitcher
  • 4% on the Web
  • 4% on iHeartradio
  • 3% on Google Podcast
• 78 % Listened on your iPhone
• 8% listened on an Android
• 14% listened on other devices

See you in 2023. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

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Lauri-Ellen’s experience in Government and Corporate PR includes serving as communications lead in more than 30 Incident/Unified Commands since her career took a turn in the direction of emergency/crisis/risk communication and management, with her appointment as a spokesperson for Super Bowl XXXIX (39) Safety and Security and lead PIO for the event. 

She has “stood up” or run many Joint Information Centers for hurricanes, high-profile murder trials, industrial incidents, civil unrest/riot, and a campus shooting during her 14-year tenure as the press secretary to two elected Sheriffs in Florida and a Mayor in Mississippi. She led the PIO unit and served as lead comms strategist/press secretary for the nation’s 14th - largest law enforcement agency. She then served as a Community Relations Director on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and Government Relations Officer and Emergency Management in a state regulatory agency’s regional offices. 

Today, Smith is a crisis/risk communications strategist and media trainer for C-Suite members and non-government spokespersons, as well as a designer and trainer of emergency management tabletop exercises. In her “prior PR life,” Smith spent 10 years as the PR/Marketing Director for an extensive health system, serving as their government affairs director and lobbying at the state and federal levels. She most notably advocated for healthcare portability and tort reform and co-authored a best practice for communicating adverse medical incidents.

Lauri-Ellen advises clients (government, first responders, healthcare, higher education, utilities, and private corporations) on their integrated marketing/communications and public affairs programming. She most enjoys developing tactical strategies and policy development/support; analyzing/supporting PIO staff's functionality and JIC skills; training spokespersons; teaching social media best practices, and advancing common-sense social media policies. She is highly regarded as an advisor on risk/reputation management and front-line worker customer service training. 

Smith serves on the Board and Executive Committee of PRSA's Public Affairs and
Government Section. She is the 2015 recipient of the Lloyd B. Dennis Distinguished Service Award in Public Affairs, PRSA’s highest honor for PAO’s and PIOs. She earned
her bachelor’s degree from the nationally ranked PR program at the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications.

She is a 2021 graduate of FEMA’s Master PIO (MPIO) program. She now joins an elite group of the nation’s top emergency management crisis communicators – the first (and currently only) credentialled MPIO in her adopted state of Mississippi.

Email: [email protected]

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Lauri Stevens is the principal consultant and founder of LAwS Communications. Lauri is also the creator and producer of the SMILE Conference ® .  A former Television news reporter and anchor,  she is an interactive media professional with over 25 years of media experience, including 12 years in higher education as a Department Chair of Interactive Media. She is most well known for having worked with the Toronto Police Department in 2010 to develop a service-wide social media strategy integrating every operational unit. This strategy has been widely emulated by some of the largest police departments in North America and Europe. Clients include the Dallas Police, The USDOJ COPS Office, and the Massachusetts State Police.

She was a social media columnist for LawOfficer.com and currently writes for PoliceOne.com. She has also been published in Police Chief, FBINAA magazine, the NSA’s Sheriffs Magazine, California Peace Officer, American Police Beat, and Police and Security News and quoted in dozens of mainstream publications, including the Boston Globe, Washington Post, CNN, CBC, and NPR.

Lauri is passionate about the Internet, the web, and social media and helping law enforcement leverage these technologies to help them do their jobs, connect with their communities, promote their departments, and investigate and solve the crime.

She holds an MBA in eBusiness from Bentley University, an MS in Mass Communication/Communication Technology from Boston University, and a BA in Political Science from Clemson University.

Telephone - 978.764.9887
Email - [email protected]
Twitter @lawscomm 
Linkedin.com/in/lauristevens 
www.lawscommunications.com 

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Grigori Lopez-Garcia was born and raised in Mexico City, Mexico. He emigrated to the United States in 2001. Shortly after graduating High School, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan to support Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. After his first enlistment, he joined New Castle County Police. He continued serving in the Marine Corps by re-enlisting as a Combat Correspondent and was assigned to Headquarters Marine Corps at the Pentagon.

While at the Pentagon, Grigori rotated through various specialties such as photographer, videographer, production, and graphics. Grigori was then rotated into the Marine Corps Digital Engagement Team and supported the Marine Corps on Social Media platforms such as Facebook, & Instagram. During his time in the Digital Engagement Team, Grigori participated in operation Marine Week and took part in various media campaigns such as The Silver Bulletin, #mymarinemovie, and the eponymous Marine Corps Birthday video.

While at New Castle County Police, Grigori has been assigned to the Patrol Division, the Mobile Enforcement Team, and as a Public Information Officer. As the P.I.O., Grigori increased the digital presence of New Castle County Police tenfold. In addition, the department began new initiatives that the Marine Corps inspired. Such initiatives include long-format videos, P.S.A.'s in the form of reels, weekly officer highlights, and the Patrol Car Christmas Lights Video. To increase his proficiency in new technology, Grigori is pursuing his A.L.M. degree in Digital Media from Harvard Extension School. During his free time, Grigori enjoys competing in Brazilian Jiujitsu and developing software.

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As a strategic advisor and keynote speaker, Melissa Agnes has worked with NATO, Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense, financial firms, technology companies, healthcare organizations, cities and municipalities, law enforcement agencies, global non-profits, and many others, helping them understand risk and build invincible brands that can withstand even the most devastating of events.

Melissa sits on the Police Professional Standards, Ethics, and Image Committee for the International Association of Chiefs of Police. Melissa teaches crisis management courses at NYU, Columbia, and McGill University. 

https://crisisreadyinstitute.com/

Email - [email protected]

Twitter - https://twitter.com/melissa_agnes

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What you will find in this episode:

• In this episode, we discuss Chris's background and how long he has been a PIO. His work with the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force. We go in-depth with his experience working on high-profile criminal cases as a PIO. 
• Chris was the PIO for the Highland Park mass shooting on July 4, 2022. Chris covers how he worked with other PIO's, Chiefs of Police, and appointed and elected officials to provide phenomenal public information skills in an incredibly tragic event. 
• We discuss how do you, as a PIO handle the response to incidents. Homicide calls, Officer Involved Shootings, etc.? 
• How does building trust with the media aid the PIO in crises? 
• What did Chris find surprising when you first took over the role of public information officer?
• Chris officers his insight into what would improve things in his office
• We always have the dreaded rapid-fire questions, and then we wrap up the entire interview with some quick ads from our sponsors. 

Chris's BIO

Chris Covelli began his law-enforcement career in 2004 in the Village of Lincolnshire, Illinois. In 2010 he transferred to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and has served in several sheriff’s office divisions since then.  Currently, he is the deputy chief of the court security division. In 2015 Chris was appointed as the lead public information officer for the sheriff’s office. He also serves as the lead public information officer for the Lake County Major Crime Task Force.

Chris has been the lead public information officer on hundreds of critical incidents involving mass shootings, homicides, hazardous situations, and many more emergencies. Chris also teaches the media relations module of Northwestern University’s School of Police Staff and Command.

Chris's LinkedIn
Chris's Email

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Law Enforcement / Security Specialist at Investigation Discovery Channel, CNN, & various media. Director of Safety & Security at The Kew Forest School. DE&I/Police Academy Instructor. Retired NYPD Detective.

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What you will find in this week's episode:

• We talk about Rico's background and experience, the size of his department, and how the PIO unit is staffed. 
• What social media platforms are you currently using? What platforms would you like to expand?
• We discuss with Rico how Mesa PD releases information to the public in crises.
• What did you find surprising when you first took over the role of public information officer?
• We always have the dreaded rapid-fire questions, and then we wrap up the entire interview with some quick ads from our sponsors. 

Support the show

Our premiere sponsor, Social News Desk, has an exclusive offer for PIO Podcast listeners. Head over to socialnewsdesk.com/pio to get three months free when a qualifying agency signs up.

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Dillon is one of the sworn Public Information Officers with the Oklahoma City Police Department and the creator of the department series "Getting Quirky." 

We discuss being a new public information officer and his experiences being one for just over one year. How he created the series and what he has learned from doing it.  

Dillon is originally from Del City, Oklahoma (a small city on the southeast side of the greater OKC area) where he grew up most of his life. At age 12, his home was destroyed by the May 3rd, 1999 tornado, one of the most significant tornados ever to touch ground in Oklahoma. After graduating from Del City High School, Dillon moved on to college as a theatre and performing arts major at Oklahoma City University.

Dillon moved to NYC, NY, for a brief period after my time in college and moved back to Oklahoma in 2008. Dillon immediately began applying to OCPD. Dillon is married and has three beautiful kids. Dillon is a nine-year veteran of the Oklahoma City Police Department; Dillon is a connoisseur of music. He enjoys playing guitar and making people laugh.

Dillions Email 

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Our premiere sponsor, Social News Desk, has an exclusive offer for PIO Podcast listeners. Head over to socialnewsdesk.com/pio to get three months free when a qualifying agency signs up.