Where is @rusnivek?

Emergency Management, Emergency Services, & Disaster Spox

Building relationships now will only increase successes

Posted on June 24, 2015 by rusnivek

We must continue to work closely with our partners in all emergency services because the safety of the public is of the utmost concern.

I am proud of the work I am asked to do because it brings agencies closer together and ultimately in times of crisis, agencies will seamlessly showcase their skills together and find success together.

Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Because 6/6 is good numbers.

I hope your agency is building stronger relationships BEFORE any major emergency or disaster. By strengthening partnerships with a wide swath professionals, we can only become smarter and more successful.

Call it “Increasing Situational Awareness/Common Operating Picture” or “All-hazards planning” – IDGAF.

Make it your prerogative to build relationships now. Right now.

Don’t make me step on your face. Do it!

This is the marker of many successful agencies.

@rusnivek

IMTish events in the rain

Posted on June 20, 2015 by rusnivek

Rather busy day doing some IMTish type stuff.

As a bonus, Disaster Response Trailers also served as a shelter from the rain.

As usual, I might have morphed into SOFR duties too. Onscene!

You know me, always trying to help.
@rusnivek

Created and designed and now piloting the new SM

Posted on June 18, 2015 by rusnivek

I rolled out my new FEMA presentation for FEMA Region-4 peeps at Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL.

At this time, this course is the semi-final pilot so I’m almost there!

Obvs, I had to incorporate a great preparedness campaign from my friends at the CDC. Have you heard of their preparedness campaign before? It costed the CDC a killer $87 (Get it? I’m so punny).

How about them Zombies?

Classroom activities make it easier for our all-hazards partners to come up with good messaging during preparedness, response, and recovery.

Shared experiences and open discussion amongst public safety providers allows for solid social media solutions to be developed for many common issues.

Participants use various hardware and software platforms to complete each assigned performance-based task. This showcases the spectrum of social media that spans hardware and software differences.

Final will be presented for certification in August in FEMA Region-9 at the State of California Emergency Operations Center located in Sacramento.

So nervous! But seriously, I’m so excited for this project, I can’t even…

@rusnivek

New task assignments for March

Posted on March 9, 2015 by rusnivek

March’s initial schedule will be changing very rapidly.

Week-3 will be spent in Region-3 and Week-4 will now be spent in Region -9

The old card read: 7-3-5-5-4.

The new card will read 7-5-3-5-9.

Being flexible is what response is all about right?

@rusnivek

Starting out – NIMS and ICS online classes

Posted on October 27, 2014 by rusnivek

If you are getting started in taking a few National Incident Management System (NIMS) / Incident Command System (ICS) classes, you’ve come to the right place! Best part about the classes below? They are all online, available 24/7/365, and can be done for free.

Here’s a list of recommended Incident Command System (ICS) classes according to the 2008 requirements.

1. ICS-100.b: Introduction to the Incident Command System (ICS)

2. ICS-700.a: National Incident Management System (NIMS) An Introduction

3. ICS-200.b: ICS for Single Resource and Initial Action Incidents

4. ICS-800.b: National Response Framework, An Introduction

After you complete the courses above, let me know so I can recommend the next steps in training.

BTW-You even get a certificate when you successfully complete the above class and post tests.

@rusnivek

The wrong hashtag and checking official accounts – Safety-PIO-SM-14-005

Posted on September 15, 2014 by rusnivek

14-005: The wrong hashtag and checking official accounts
Agency: TEEX	Topic(s): Official accounts and hashtags
Date: Fall 2014	Platform: Twitter

Citing the original source of information is a solid idea on Twitter. But citing the correct source with the correct Twitter handle is even more important. That’s what Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) did when they tweeted information about a gym bag/emergency preparedness kit.

The use of the wrong hashtag will drive your audience away from national trends. Remember, the general idea behind the hashtag is to help bring together trending posts especially this month because September is National Preparedness Month. My. Favorite. Month.

A quick search of “#Prepared2014” shows tens of thousands of tweets.

A search using “#BePrepared2014” yielded 13 tweets.

Those two letters really do make a difference. A big difference.

Also, when citing sources, make sure they are current agency accounts. The @readydotgov account has tweeted twice in 2014 and has 396 followers.

It also states in the description box “please follow us @Readygov”

The verified @Readygov Twitter account has 3,000 tweets with almost 90,000 followers and has been tweeting since August 2008.

No matter how good your communications plans are, your mechanical no-look cut/paste actions must be double checked every time. It takes five seconds to check. Additionally, you stand the possibility of your readers questioning the validity of your information when they see that you posted old/not used stuff.

A more effective tweet could have read:

If you can pack a gym bag, you can pack an emergency bag: ow.ly/i/4Eui3 #Prepared2014 #NatlPrep @ReadyGov @AnaheimCERT

By phrasing it this way:

You cite FEMA’s main current preparedness Twitter account (@ReadyGov).
You use the correct national hashtag to increase visibility in your message (#Prepared2014).
You add additional hashtags to help pair your efforts with national campaign themes in your message.
You cite the right agency accounts on Twitter which will help them gain visibility with your audience.
Your agency shows coordinated efforts with national response agencies when you use @mentions on twitter.

Time is valuable, so tweet good stuff.

@rusnivek

***To download this as a single-page printable format, click this:

TheWrongHashtagAndCheckingOfficialAccounts-Safety-PIO-SM-14-005a

A lonely shortened Facebook link on Twitter – Safety-PIO-SM-14-004

Posted on August 29, 2014 by rusnivek

14-004: A lonely shortened Facebook link on Twitter
Agency: South Central Sierra Interagency IMT	Topic(s): Shared information/update
Date: Summer 2014	Platform: Twitter

Speed is primarily the reason why everyone loves social media…especially Twitter. Many agencies use social media to provide updates and information when assigned to certain incidents. That’s what the South Central Sierra Interagency Incident Management Team did during the French Fire in California when they pushed this lonely shortened Facebook link out on Twitter.

I get that 140 character max on Twitter is short…and you have lots to say…and you don’t have time…and blah blah blah. Everyone else doesn’t have time too. But pushing a non-descript link, does raise a concern that perhaps your account has been compromised by spam bots. Your agency has worked diligently to establish solid working relationships. During an emergency is the WORST time for your audience to question and/or ignore your official accounts with trusted reliable information.

If your social media plan calls for directing all efforts to Facebook as the primary source of information, a Public Information Officer (PIO) should still take the time to provide a little information (like a short description) on other platforms driving the traffic to that primary source. Providing just a link is not enough.

In the PIO business, we are forced to be precise, however just providing a link pertaining to a dangerous situation or disasters will not be enough to satiate the Twittersphere’s social interest.

Audiences change on various social media platforms, however, many agencies *think* they are all the same.

Knowing your audience is the hallmark of success. If you pair your Facebook and Twitter accounts to save time and to pass the exact same message – you should consider separating them now. Remember, you write/post/share information differently on various social media platforms .

A more effective tweet could have read:

Still assigned to the French Fire here in California-Check out pictures frm @BLMNational Interagency Fire fb.me/1BV35Tytx #CAWildfire

By phrasing it this way:

You have more visibility by informing your followers that your team is still assigned to the incident.
The link looks less spammy and readers know what the specific content is in the link.
Your #hashtag will give more information about the current overall disaster/emergency.
Your readers are likely to click on this hyperlink because it will take them to a picture. People love pictures.
Your agency shows coordinated efforts with national response agencies when you use @mentions on twitter.

Time is valuable, so tweet good stuff.

@rusnivek

***To download this as a single-page printable format, click this: ALonelyShortenedFacebookLinkOnTwitter-Safety-PIO-SM-14-004a

All-Hazardy participation and collaboration for flooding

Posted on August 13, 2014 by rusnivek

Great first day in our flood course here at Ohio EMA in Columbus.

I am fortunate that the participants in this class have outstanding stories from previous declarations and experiences from local, state, and regional responses during emergency flooding.

Some have shared their 500 year flooding stories from just the past 7 years (and clearly, it’s time to revisit the categorization and re-term these floods).

Here, FEMA staff, Ohio EMA staff, Ohio National Guard, and local Fire/Rescue services collectively discuss creative options to better serve numerous vulnerable population communities during an emergency evacuation during flooding.

IMHO, I really enjoy seeing this type of All-Hazardy professionals at the table.

Collaborating early can only strengthen joint response during any disaster.

@rusnivek

Wednesday meetings at FEMA #SURINDC

Posted on August 1, 2014 by rusnivek

As usual, I always make it a point to stop by FEMA HQ to meet with a few friends and teams working the FEMA magic.

First stop was to see the crew leading the Ready Campaign. Lots to discuss including the measure of preparedness and how we can more heavily promote preparedness digitally within each community. We constantly need to access our information that we are pushing and additionally make sure that the information is specific and actionable…esp during a disaster.

The general public seeks solid information FROM MOBILE DEVICES during an emergency. We cannot convolute the message, it must be clear and concise.

Did you know FEMA’s Ready.Gov program was featured at the White House Innovation for Disaster Response Recovery Event on Tuesday during the presentation by Appallicious? Check out the event and pictures here.

Mobile platforms must be easy to navigate and less cluttered. Almost everything is read on mobile platforms right? Duh! Esp since you can’t take/turn on your desktop computer while you are evacuating to an emergency.

Between meetings, I usually find a moment to take a funny picture with the hard-working FEMA pro, my friend Jana. She. Is. Hilarious.

Short meeting with the Digital Team at FEMA to discuss social media efforts and promoting great programs like FEMA’s SocialHub and Twitter Alerts.

But seriously, make sure you turn on your Twitter Alerts to get pertinent messaging from FEMA. It can be done from your mobile phone and it takes seconds to do.

In the coming months, we will be exploring a few classes that we can help cross promote a few programs. And I hope I get chosen to teach the class at FEMA HQ.

End of the day was spent chilling in the Executive Administration side of the house. And of course trying to catch a few moments with Craig.

Whew…what a day!

@rusnivek

My day at the White House #WHSMEM #SURINDC #DisasterTech

Posted on July 30, 2014 by rusnivek

The top Emergency Managers from across the country were invited to the White House on Tuesday July 29, 2014 for the White House Innovation for Disaster Response and Recovery Initiative. I am so fortunate to be invited to this momentous event.

The best-of-the-best Emergency Management officials met with leaders from the technology industry to discuss tools and general methods being used during disasters.

Wait, did you say the White House invited Kevin Sur? Yes. Official invite to the White House. Check!

#OMG – #Holycow.

The event was coordinated by The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), and The National Security Council (NSC). This event will bring together technologists, entrepreneurs, and members of the disaster response community to showcase tools that will make a tangible impact in the lives of survivors of large-scale emergencies. The White House Innovation for Disaster Response and Recovery Initiative was first launched by the Administration in the wake of Hurricane Sandy to find the most effective ways technology can empower survivors, first responders, and local, state, tribal, territorial, and Federal government with critical information and resources.

Waiting in line to go through security was quite boring, but since I was with all the top Social Media Emergency Management peeps…it was only appropriate for us to take one of these.

(From L to R) @schuback @sct_r @CherylBle @MaryJoFly @ENeitzel @rusnivek

#WHSMEM #SURINDC #DisasterTech

The morning was filled with 5 different workshops. I was selected to attend the User-Centered Design workshop that was to identify challenges where innovation can improve community preparedness and resilience.

Great discussion amongst peers from all over the county including my friend Alicia Johnson (@UrbanAreaAlicia) who highlighted the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management new program SF72.

My takeaways from the morning workshops? We need to continually evaluate the preparedness efforts in each community as there is no constant. Aside from quantifying preparedness (which is almost virtually impossible), we need to seek alternate ways to better serve our communities including ones who have distinct challenges.

I have 3 specific items that I need to work on: Community Preparedness Evaluation tool/matrix, a tiered plan to reward “preparedness”, and Preparedness pack program. More on these possible programs later.

After a quick lunch, we headed to the main conference room.

Before the event started, former FEMA Deputy Director Richard Serino and I were cracking jokes at dinner last night…so he decided to sit behind me and continue to poke fun/make jokes. So since he’s a tech guy, we decided on a #selfie to commemorate our time at the White House.

If you ever get the chance to meet Rich in real life (IRL)…you should. He’s awesome.

Side note: As we were about to start, all of our mobile devices and cell phones were having small connectivity issues. I think I figured it out first…Marine-1 was inbound to the WH with POTUS for his press briefing on the South Lawn regarding the issues in Gaza.

Back to our #DisasterTech event!

Senior Advisor to the White House CTO Brian Forde started out the afternoon session.

And since this was a technology event, it was the US Chief Technology Officer Todd Park who gave the opening remarks. Additionally, the new DHS FEMA Assoc Admininstrator Joe Nimmich gave the keynote speech.

Numerous Federal agencies and private companies presented their latest tools and apps that have been used. CTO Tony Surma from Microsoft Disaster Response who discussed the information they used from the Boston Bombing.

Side bar: Later in the afternoon, I got a chance to talk one-on-one to the folks from Boston regarding their response. Inspiring stories in the face of adversity…

VP of Technology Kevin Busque from TaskRabbit and the Director of Public Policy and Civic Partnerships Molly Turner from Airbnb and my friends from San Francisco and Portland.

Nice work Alicia!

Director of Public Policy and Market Development Padden Murphy from Getround, Technology Lead, NGA readiness, Response, and Recovery Group Raymond Bauer from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGIA), and Deputy Assistant Secretary William Bryan from the US Department of Energy (DOE) talking about the Lantern Live program.

Government Partnerships Manager Ryan Mannion, SeeClick Fix, Associate Director for Natural Hazards Dr David Applegate from the US Geological Survey, Associate Division Director Dr. Paul Lemieux from the National Homeland Security Research Center at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), AAAS Fellow on Data and Innovation Dr. Meredith Lee from the US Department of Homeland Security, and Product Manager in Crisis Response and Civic Innovation Nigel Snoad from Google who gave a compelling update on their Crisis Mapping projects which have millions of live hits per minute. Nigel’s presentation was powerful and reminds all of us, hands down, that we need open standard data with every technology platform.

Following Google was Technology Integration Officer Al Gembara at the US Agency for International Development (USAID) talking about his deployment to the Philippines and then CEO and Founder Yo Yoshida from Appallicious who pulled information from FEMA’s Ready.gov site during disasters for information on what to do.

National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Dr. Karen DeSalvo from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Senior Director Maryfran Tyler from NPR Labs who had a great piece of hardware using preexisting technology for populations with disabilities in alerting using a tablet and a box device that works over radio…yes I said radio. If you haven’t seen it, you should. I think this one might be a must have for all EMs to participate in rolling out to their communities.

IMHO, I didn’t like presentation given by Chief Information Officer Bryson Koehler from The Weather Channel because it gave the perception that private industry was taking over notification for public safety agencies. Ahem, to be clear, this is the job of the National Weather Service (NWS).

Following was presentations from External Affairs Specialist Kristin Hogan Schildwachter from the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management, and Developer Evangelist Robert Lackey from Twilio.

Closing out the day, we heard from the Under Secretary for Science and Technology Dr. Reginald Brothers from DHS and the Deputy Homeland Security Advisor Rand Beers of the White House National Security Council.

After these short presentations in the afternoon, we got a chance to talk to each of these companies and see their tech first hand. Overall, I have several favorites from today, but I believe that we as Emergency Management should continue to push for open data sharing and cross-platform compatibility.

Trust me, I get the private sector stuff…all about profit margins and of course making wads of money. After quick meetings with FEMA Administration including Administrator Fugate’s staff, we should continue to share for free what is right for all victims of disaster.

As far as I know, I was the only representative from Ohio to attend and I am truly honored to be invited to the White House to represent these great initiatives.

Without question, I am excited to be a part of this technology that will no doubt one day save lives before, during, and after a disaster.

@rusnivek