EM Weekly Podcast

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Systems Thinking for Emergency Managers Aug 01, 2019

Show notes

This week we are talking to Dr Derek Cabrera. Derek is an internationally recognized expert in metacognition and that's basically thinking about thinking and epidemiology, which is the study of knowledge, human and organizational learning and education. He completed his PhD in post-doctoral studies at Cornell University and served in the Faculty of Cornell and a researcher at the Santa Fe Institute. And He leads the Cabrera research lab. We discuss systems thinking and how do we apply systems thinking to the world of emergency management
Guest Bio
Derek Cabrera (PhD, Cornell) is an internationally known systems scientist and serves on the faculty of Cornell University where he teaches systems thinking, systems leadership, and systems mapping and is Program Director for the Graduate Certification Program in Systems Thinking, Modeling, and Leadership (STML). He is senior scientist at Cabrera Research Lab, and Co-Founder and Chief Science Officer of Plectica, and inventor of the Plectica systems mapping software. He has given two TED Talks, written and produced a rap song, a children’s book on cognition, and authored numerous book chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles. His research has been profiled in peer-reviewed journals, trade magazines, and popular publications, and he is author of eight books including, Systems Thinking Made Simple: New Hope for Solving Wicked Problems (winner of the 2017 AECT outstanding book award), Thinking at Every Desk: Four Simple Skills to Transform Your Classroom, and Flock Not Clock: Design, Align, and Lead to Achieve Your Vision. Credited with discovering the underlying rules of systems thinking, Cabrera is co-editor of the Routledge Handbook of Systems Thinking. His work in public schools was documented in the full-length documentary film, RE:Thinking. He was Research Fellow at the Santa Fe Institute (SFI) for the Study of Complex Systems and National Science Foundation IGERT Fellow in Nonlinear Systems in the Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics at Cornell University. As a National Science Foundation postdoctoral fellow, he developed new techniques to model systems approaches in the evaluation of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Cabrera was awarded the Association of American Colleges and Universities' K. Patricia Cross Future Educational Leaders Award. He serves on the United States Military Academy at West Point’s Systems Engineering Advisory Board. His contributions to the field of systems thinking have been integrated into NSF, NIH, and USDA-NIFA programs, K-12, higher education, NGOs, federal agencies, corporations, and business schools. His systems models are used by many of Silicon Valley’s most innovative companies. His books are used as introductory text for undergraduate and graduate students in numerous colleges and universities including Cornell University and the US Military Academy at West Point. Cabrera has developed and patented a suite of systems thinking tools for use in academia, business, and beyond. Prior to becoming a scientist, Cabrera worked for fifteen years around the world as a mountain guide and experiential educator for Outward Bound and other organizations and has climbed many of the world’s highest mountains. He holds a PhD from Cornell University and lives in Ithaca, NY, with his wife, Laura Cabrera, three children, and three dogs.
Links
Website: www.crlab.us
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cabreraresearch
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cabreraresearch
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derekcabrera
Systems Mapping software: www.plectica.com
Systems Thinking Daily: https://www.facebook.com/groups/stdaily/
LinkedIn Learning Systems Thinking course: lnkd.in/e7KZMJD
Offerings: https://stml.plectica.com/partner-with-plectica
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Power Outage, Is Your Community Ready? Jul 25, 2019

Show notes

This week we are talking to Michael Cockrell about the power company’s (California) Public Safety Power Shutoff. The issue is that how do we prepare the public for these events? How do who is responsible for the losses associated with the power shutoff? What about the infirm that need power to live? Michael brings his expertise and research to this important topic.
Guest Bio
Michael Cockrell’s public service career has included law enforcement, water conservation enforcement, and emergency management. After 35-years at San Joaquin County’s Office of Emergency Services (OES), he retired as Director in December 2017. His OES experience between 1982-2017 included a wide range of emergencies and disasters such as floods, earthquake recovery, mass-casualty incidents, train derailments, hazardous materials releases, droughts, extreme heat and cold events. His education includes Associate and Bachelor degrees in Social Science, concentrating in Administration of Justice, and, a Master’s Degree in Public Administration. He has also completed many continued-education courses on administration and emergency management.
Michael is a contributor to SOUNDINGS Magazine a digital magazine reporting on issues and history concerning and involving the people of the California Delta and the Eastern San Francisco Bay, using the voices of a diverse group of journalists, photographers, videographers, guest editorialists, and a little fiction thrown in for good measure.
Links
LinkedIn: https: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-cockrell-291a4967/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/soundingsmag/
Website: https://soundingsmag.net/
Video: https://soundingsmag.net/2019/07/11/surviving-the-pge-power-shutdowns-part-1/
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Emotional and Physiological Trauma after an Act of Violence Jul 18, 2019

Show notes

This week we are talking to Manya Chyminski a survivor of the Boston Bombing. In Manya’s case she was not inflicted with physical wounds, she suffers from emotional trauma from being in the bombing zone. Manya was sitting in the grandstands when the 1st explosion occurred. Manya shares her story with us this week on the EM Weekly Show.
Guest Bio
Manya learned about courage, strength, and resilience the hard way – when bombs exploding at the finish line of the Boston Marathon shattered her life. From her experience of post-traumatic stress and being an invisible victim because of her lack of physical injuries, Manya gained an understanding of what it means to find one’s voice and fight for a seat at the table, the importance of moving past stigma and recognizing psychological impacts of violence and other difficult events, and the value of compassion and inclusiveness. A communications expert with a background in writing, research, and marketing, Manya has become an advocate for people who experience psychological wounds after violent events. And she has transformed her experience to become a keynote speaker helping individuals and organizations understand the psychological impacts of trauma, discover their strengths, build resiliency, and navigate through change and crisis. She explores difficult topics with compassion and honesty about her own journey and struggles. Through working with and meeting other survivors, first responders and receivers, and professionals in emergency management, homeland security, and public health, Manya knows the power of validation in resilience, recovery, and growth. She is passionate about getting the message out and helping audiences find their strengths and take the next steps.
Links
Web: www.manyachylinski.com
LinkedIn: https: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manyachylinski/
Twitter: @manyachylinski
Email: info@manyachylinski.com
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Youth and Preparedness Jul 11, 2019

Show notes

This week are talking to Dr. Ryan Akers about youth preparedness. Ryan is the founder of MyPI Short for My Preparedness Initiative, MyPI provides a challenging youth preparedness and leadership development opportunity in which teenagers are empowered to take ownership of their preparedness and to assist their families and surrounding communities with the same, all with the goal of enhancing individual, family, and community preparedness and resilience, and at the same creating a new standard for youth preparedness across the nation.
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-akers-1097266/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MyPINational/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MyPI_National
Website: http://mypinational.extension.msstate.edu/about-us
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EM Weekly Happy Independance Day 2019 Jul 04, 2019

Show notes

This week we are talking about Inversion, and how it can be applied to Emergency Management. As well as I am wishing everyone a happy 4th of July (The American Independence Day Celebration).

Lessons Learned from The Big One California Firestorms Jun 27, 2019

Show notes

This week we are talking to Brentt Blaser about responding to the Northern California’s firestorm in Sonoma. Brentt shares his story and the impact that the fire had on the county.
Guest Bio
Brentt Blaser is an experienced Emergency Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the public safety industry. He is skilled in Public Safety, Government, GIS, Emergency Management, and Preparedness. Strong community and social services professional with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) from Arizona State University.
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brentt-blaser-a319ba5a/
Website: http://sonomacounty.ca.gov/Home/
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The Crisis Academy Why you need to pay attention Jun 20, 2019

Show notes

This week we are talking to Camilla Barker-DeStefano, she is the founder of the Crisis Academy, a new online emergency management training platform. Camilla has a tremendous and exciting background, and her journey to emergency management is one that you will want to hear.
Guest Bio
Dr. Camilla Barker-DeStefano (Oxon) LLM LLB (Hons) FRSA AFHEA
Camilla is an academic international lawyer and consultant, specializing in the laws of disaster preparedness, response, and recovery at the international, regional, and national levels.
Camilla has worked in various research and advisory roles with organizations including the United Nations, British Red Cross, and Keeping Children Safe. Some of Camilla’s past projects have involved: establishing legal bases for humanitarian access in armed conflict; prohibitions on the use of explosive weapons; child safeguarding in the context of UN and regional peacekeeping; mission planning and security; international criminal cooperation (UN-Interpol-Europol); disaster preparedness; the protection of women and children in refugee and IDP camps; campaigns to raise awareness of and prevent sexual exploitation and abuse; measures to tackle extreme poverty; counter-terrorism (under NDA); and transitional justice and the rule of law.
Presently, Camilla is an independent consultant helping organizations to utilize applicable disaster laws to make their operations faster, easier, and safer, which ultimately means better protection for affected populations and higher value-for-money for donors. Camilla is also the founder of the Crisis Academy, online education, and professional development platform for emergency management and response professionals.
Camilla holds a DPhil in Law from the University of Oxford, where she was twice a Modern Law Review Scholar and Tutor in Public International Law; a LLM from Harvard Law School, where she was a Fulbright Scholar; and a First Class LLB (Hons) English and European Laws from Queen Mary, University of London, and the University of Bologna, Italy, where she was an Erasmus Scholar. Camilla’s doctoral thesis ‘The Unlawful Refusal of Emergency Humanitarian Aid’ was published as a paperback in 2019.
Related Shows
Links
Twitter:
@BarkerDeStefano
@crisis_academy
LinkedIn:
www.linkedin.com/in/barker-destefano
www.linkedin.com/company/crisis-academy
Website
Instructor landing page: https://mailchi.mp/7dcf482f7afd/instructors
Student landing page: www.crisisacademy.org
Amazon link to book: https://amzn.to/2IthC3E
Email: camilla@crisisacademy.org
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You’re It Crisis Change and How to Lead When It Matters Most Jun 13, 2019

Show notes

This week we are talking to Eric McNulty from the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative at Harvard. We have had Eric on to speak about the NPLI; however today we are talking about the new book that has just been releases called You’re it.
Guest Bio
Eric is an active writer, speaker, and educator on leadership and, in particular, leading through crisis, change, and turbulence. He holds an appointment as associate director of the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative (NPLI), a joint program of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and as Instructor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Eric teaches in numerous executive education and graduate level courses at Harvard as well as at M.I.T and the University of California, San Diego. He speaks to executive audiences around the world about the challenges of leading in the fast-moving, unpredictable circumstances.
Eric is co-author of the book, You’re It: Crisis, Change, and How to Lead When it Matters Most (PublicAffairs, June 2019) and author of Three Critical Shifts in Thinking for the Evolving Leader (O’Reilly. 2015) and Your Critical First 10 Days as a Leader (Safari, 2015). He is also the co-author, along with Dr. Leonard Marcus and Dr. Barry Dorn, of the second edition of Renegotiating Health Care: Resolving Conflict to Build Collaboration (Jossey-Bass, 2011). Eric is a co-author of a chapter on meta-leadership in the McGraw-Hill Homeland Security Handbook (2012) and many articles on leadership, decision-making, and negotiation.
Eric’s columns on leadership and management appear regularly at strategy+business, where he is a contributing editor. He seeks to stimulate honest conversations and return humanity to organizations. He has particular expertise in leading as a subject matter expert, whether a physician, engineer, or preparedness and response executive.
Eric holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics (with honors) from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and a Master’s degree in Leadership from Lesley University.
Related Shows
https://sitchradio.com/em-weekly-14-engaging-senior-leadership-emergency-management/
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emcnulty/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RicherEarth
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RicherEarth
Website: https://npli.sph.harvard.edu/
https://ericmcnulty.com/
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Who Should Emergency Managers Report To Jun 06, 2019

Show notes

This week we are talking to Jerusha Kasch from Rice University about the role of the emergency manager and were they belong in the organization chart. This is one of the key parts to increasing the professional standards of the field of emergency management.
Guest Bio
Jerusha Kasch began her Emergency Management career as a young girl in a house hold that had a serious preparedness focus. Her family maintained a 1 year food/necessities storage process for 10 people. Once, for Christmas, she and all her siblings were asked what item they wanted to contribute to the food storage for a year as their Christmas gift. You will have to ask her what she chose.
Jerusha has officially worked as an emergency manager for over 10 years, but she pulls strongly on her other response backgrounds to support her emergency management role. Prior to her emergency management years, she has 18 years’ experience in multiple other response systems including, EMS, Law Enforcement, Hospital and clinical care. Jerusha has filled nearly all ICS command and general staff roles and has been extremely blessed over the years to consistently be in the right place at the right time, to be trained by skilled individuals. While Jerusha has attended several colleges and universities, she eventually finished her undergraduate and graduate studies at Portland State University, in Portland Oregon. Two of the universities she attended had mottos that were service based. “Enter to learn, go forth to serve” and “Let knowledge serve the city” are words that she has adopted in her life as a public servant. She takes them very seriously (with a splash of fun and humor, of course).
A great deal of Jerusha’s time is spent training others for emergency management roles. Jerusha has been a CPD certified ICS instructor for 10 years and during that time has taught many (too many to count) ICS course curricula in multiple states (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Texas) at the basic and advanced level. She was one of the first Master level PIOs in the nation and continues to teach advanced PIO courses for FEMA and Wiland & Associates.
Jerusha has been a member of several Incident Management Teams and has successfully built 4 Type III IMTs over the last 10 years.
Jerusha is originally from Alabama and is a HUGE University of Alabama (ROLL TIDE) fan. She is married to a super cool husband, mother to a blended family of 5 and a grandmother of 3. She loves adrenaline sports of all kinds and has a bucket list a mile long.
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerusha-kasch-a00333160/
Website: https://emergency.rice.edu/
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Using Technology in Disaster Logistics May 30, 2019

Show notes

This week we talk to Brian Sims of the Disaster Logistics Board. As you may have heard that infantry fights the battles, but logistics wins the wars. That saying is true. We have won wars by disrupting the supply lines. So in the context of Emergency Management, logistics is one of the critical elements that we need to address.
Guest Bio
Brian left the US Army Infantry in 2010 and began studying Social Work. In that time, he began volunteering for Team Rubicon, where he found a new mission, and served as a PIO and Communications Manager for the State of Florida, Program Operations Manager for the State of Hawaii, and was the Region IV Deputy Director of Program Operations. In that time he also studied Emergency Management at Barry University, furthering his professional education within the industry. Brian also has extensive experience within the DHS and FEMA’s ICS/NIMS/GISP training courses and certification structure. He has deployed in multiple roles with various volunteer-based organizations active in disasters, including, most recently, as an Incident Commander for a Regional LSA during the Hurricane Michael response.
A new Florida VOAD Member organization, The Disaster Logistics Board (www.disasterlogs.org), focuses on mitigating and managing Disaster Supply Chain issues. Their Incident Management Assistance Team (IMAT) seeks to solve “The Second Disaster” (spontaneous donations and volunteers) utilizing off the shelf technology in innovative ways, and to provide industry standard tools, technology, and techniques to organizations via strategic partnerships and boots-on-ground support.
The Disaster Logistics Board provides All-Hazards experience with the secure collection and distribution of Geospatial Intelligence, Mapping, and Logistics/Donation Management, in compliance with DHS data policies. They are strategically partnered with Esri ArcGIS Public Safety Division and Disaster Response Team, FL SERT, Volunteer Florida, Focused Mission, PanoSkin, and Boxstorm.
Related Shows
Links
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-sims-b6684396/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DisasterLogs
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/disasterlogisticsboard/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DisasterLogs/
Website: DisasterLogisticsBoard.org
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