The PIO Podcast: Recent Episodes
Robert Tornabene
A podcast for public information/public affairs officers who work in public sector organizations. These organizations include Police, Fire, EMS, FEMA, state, local, and federal government organizations. The goals of the podcast are simple: to learn, grow, and discuss issues that P.I.O.'s/P.O.A.'s may be faced within their profession. If you would like to support the podcast and our efforts to connect you with other Public Information Officers or Public Affairs Officers
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Summary: In this in-depth interview, Sergeant Major Daniel J Wallace shares his extensive military career, insights into strategic communication, leadership credibility, and the evolving landscape of military public affairs. Discover practical advice for aspiring public affairs professionals and the importance of authenticity and adaptability in high-pressure environments.
BIO: SGM Daniel Wallace enlisted in the U.S. Army in January 2003 as a health care specialist before reclassifying in November 2009 to become a public affairs specialist. He is currently assigned to the 21st Theater Sustainment Command as the Chief Public Affairs Noncommissioned Officer at Panzer Kaserne, Kaiserslautern, Germany.
SGM Wallace has served in a variety of positions during his 23 years of service, these include: Public Affairs Advisor to the Sergeant Major of the Army at the Pentagon, Virginia; First Sergeant for American Forces Network Pacific HQ at Yokota Air Base, Japan; Public Affairs Plans and Operations NCO for Eighth Army at Camp Humphreys South Korea; and Public Affairs Operations NCO for the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He has had multiple deployments, including: Operation Iraqi Freedom to Tikrit, Iraq, and Camp Burhing, Kuwait; and Operation Enduring Freedom to Kabul, Afghanistan.
SGM Wallace is a Christian and husband to Jobelle Wallace, and father to three daughters, Althea (22), Tyrish (21), and Ayumi (17), and one son, Gabriel (14).
SG<
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Episode Summary: In this episode, Alicia Johnson, founder of Two Lynchpin Road, shares valuable strategies for effective public communication during emergencies. Discover how trust, transparency, and community engagement shape public perception and improve crisis response.
BIO: Alicia is an emergency manager, resilience strategist, and Founder and CEO of Two Lynchpin Road — a woman-owned resilience consulting firm. With over 20 years of on-the-ground experience, she has spent her career on the question disaster response never fully answers: why do some communities recover while others don't — and what does trust have to do with it?
That question drives her Resilience Operating System, which treats Trust Infrastructure — the measurable connections between institutions and the communities they serve — as a non-negotiable foundation for disaster preparedness. Alicia's work helps governments and organizations build community trust, strengthen public engagement, and create information systems that actually reach people before a crisis demands it.
She has served as an expert to NATO, built White House-recognized preparedness resources, and worked with clients ranging from the City of Sonoma to state emergency management agencies across the country.
When she's not building trust infrastructure before a crisis tests it, you'll find her taking photographs and planning her next travel adventure. 10 countries, 47 states, and counting.
https://twolynchpinroad.com
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Episode Summary:
In this engaging interview, retired FBI agent Jerri Williams shares insights from her career, debunks common misconceptions about the FBI, and discusses the art of storytelling in law enforcement. Discover how honesty, relationship-building, and effective communication build public trust and how her journey into crime fiction complements her mission to educate the public.
BIO: Jerri Williams, a retired FBI agent, author, and podcaster, served 26 years in the FBI, specializing in economic fraud and corruption investigations. She’s now on a mission to show the public who the FBI is and what the FBI does. January 2026 marks her 10th anniversary hosting and producing FBI Case File Review, a true-crime podcast. Jerri has authored four books: two FBI police
procedurals and two nonfiction books that debunk misconceptions about the FBI found in books, TV, and movies. Her work helps true crime enthusiasts and aspiring FBI agents learn how the FBI investigates crime. Visit jerriwilliams.com.
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Episode Summary: In this insightful interview, Matt Davis, a law enforcement leader and founder of True Bold Leadership, shares his expertise on trauma-informed leadership, effective communication during crises, and building trust within organizations. Discover practical strategies to enhance public safety communication, foster internal trust, and uncover true boldness in leadership.
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Episode Summary: Rox Cruz, the public information officer for Mooresville, North Carolina, shares her diverse background, innovative communication strategies, and insights on community engagement, language access, and crisis communication. Discover how her unique experiences shape her approach to building trust and connecting with a rapidly evolving community.
Rox's BIO: Rox Cruz is a public information officer and marketing strategist who believes government communication should sound human, useful, and maybe even a little interesting... imagine that. In her position with the Town of Morrisville, she leads video storytelling, media relations, crisis communications, digital engagement, website user experience, and community outreach. Her career has spanned local government, nonprofit leadership, the music industry, and sports, giving her a broad perspective on how people connect with organizations. As a domestic violence survivor and CPTSD advocate, Rox is passionate about creating a culture of belonging within the workplace and community, thought leadership, and breaking stigmas through transparency around mental health and single motherhood. She lives in North Carolina with her two wild boys and loves to golf and create art.
Instagram: PlotTwistOffScript
LinkedIn Rox Cruz
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Episode Summary: In this insightful interview, Ted Czech, a former reporter turned public information officer, reflects on the state of American media, its challenges, and how trust can be rebuilt. He shares his journey, the systemic issues plaguing journalism, and practical advice for both journalists and PIOs.
Ted's BIO: Ted Czech spent 25 years as a crime and emergency journalist for newspapers in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. Currently, he serves as the Public Information Officer for the York County Office of Emergency Management and York County 911. In 2024, Ted published his first book, Saving the Beast: A recovering reporter reflects on America's broken media and how to fix it, and is now toiling over his second, a retrospective of his chaotic career as a reporter.
Ted's LinkedIn
Link to Ted's Book Saving the Beast
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Episode Summary: This episode explores the critical support systems for families of fallen first responders, highlighting the work of the 100 Club in Illinois. Caitlyn Brennan and Meg Krase share insights into immediate response, long-term support, and the importance of mental health and community engagement in the context of public safety tragedies.
Caitlyn's BIO: Caitlyn Brennan serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the 100 Club of Illinois, where she has dedicated her career to championing public servants and fostering resilient communities. With more than two decades of experience in Critical Incident Management and Community Development, Caitlyn has spent the past 13 years deeply focused on the unique challenges facing Illinois’ first responder community through her leadership at the 100 Club.
In her role as CEO, Caitlyn acts as a primary liaison and triage point during critical incidents affecting first responders across the State of Illinois. She works in close collaboration with statewide agencies, unions, policymakers, and mental health professionals to ensure that timely and culturally competent support services are available to those on the front lines. A passionate advocate for first responder wellness, Caitlyn is especially committed to expanding access to high-quality, trauma-informed resources that support long-term mental health and organizational resiliency.
Meg's BIO: Meg Krase is the Chief Program Officer for the 100 Club of Illinois and serves as the Clinical Director of the organization’s Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Team. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Meg has dedicated her career to supporting the first responder community through trauma-informed care, crisis intervention, and wellness programming.
Her professional background includes clinical roles with the McHenry County State’s Attorney’s Office, the McHenry County Child Advocacy Center, and the Carpentersville Police Department. Meg holds certifications as a Certified Clinical Trauma Professional (CCTP), an EMDR-trained clinician, and a Comprehensive Critical Incident Stress Management (CCISM) practitioner. She is a passionate advocate for the mental health and well-being of those who serve and protect, as well as their families.
100 Club of Illinois
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Episode Summary: In this episode, Kate Ella Murray, founder of Roam Communications, shares deep insights on how organizations can cut through noise, communicate with purpose, and foster trust, especially in the public sector and crisis situations. If you want to elevate your messaging and build credibility, this conversation is packed with practical strategies.
Kat's BIO;
Kat is a public relations professional with more than 20 years of experience in corporate and technology communications, including 12+ years working specifically with startups. Since founding ROAM Communications in 2013, she has supported nearly 90 companies with their communications programs, ranging from product launches and funding announcements to fractional leadership roles and ongoing strategic counsel.
ROAM was recognized as a 2025 Inc. Power Partner Award winner for the second consecutive year, making it the only Oklahoma company on the list. The firm operates as a boutique consultancy with a distinctive model: Kat serves as the sole full-time principal, working alongside a curated network of senior-level independent communications experts rather than traditional staff. This approach has fostered exceptional client relationships, with nine clients returning to work with ROAM at new ventures and nearly two dozen extending or expanding their original projects. ROAM is a WBENC-certified Women's Business Enterprise.
Prior to ROAM, Kat served as manager of global communications and public affairs at Google, where she managed product launches and communications strategy for Google Apps and Google+. She also worked as a senior account executive at Fleishman-Hillard International Communications in San Francisco.
Kat graduated summa cum laude from Emory University, where she became a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma and rowed on the varsity crew team. She is a native Oklahoman who returned to Tulsa five years ago, where she lives with her husband, Bryce, and their family, including four dogs.
Kat is active in community leadership, serving on the i2E Board of Directors, the Human Rights Commission for the City of Tulsa (Mayoral Appointee), and the Board of Trustees for Riverfield Country Day School (Recording Secretary). She is co-founder and board member of The Lemon-Aid Project, a youth entrepreneurship charity that has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars since the 1990s.
https://www.roamcomms.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kat-eller-murray/
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Episode Summary: In this episode, cybersecurity expert Robert Siciliano discusses the evolving threats of AI-driven scams, deep fakes, and human behavior. Learn how organizations and individuals can protect themselves in a rapidly changing digital landscape.
Robert's BIO: Robert Siciliano is a security analyst, best-selling author, and the Architect of The Strategic Human Firewall™. As one of the world’s most recognizable educators in personal and corporate protection, he is the
'Straight Talk' voice for a digital age.
You’ve seen his expertise on CNN, Fox News, CNBC, and Anderson Cooper 360, and read his insights in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Forbes.
Robert has served on the board of the Identity Theft Resource Center and is a core contributor to the Realtor® Safety Initiative. He is a man who literally goes to the extremes to prove a point—once even buying a working ATM on Craigslist just to demonstrate how easily our 'secure' systems can be cracked.
To contact Robert, ProtectNowLLC.com
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Episode Summary: In this insightful interview, PR expert Joe Buccino shares invaluable lessons from his extensive experience in media relations, crisis communication, and the evolving landscape of journalism. Discover how to build trust with reporters, adapt to digital changes, and leverage AI without losing the human touch.
Joe's BIO: Joe Buccino is a retired U.S. Army colonel and former Pentagon spokesman who advised senior leaders during some of the most high-stakes moments in recent national security. He served as Communications Director at U.S. Central Command and spokesperson for Secretaries of Defense James Mattis and Patrick Shanahan, shaping messaging during crises and global operations.
He is the founder of Joe Buccino Consulting, where he helps executives and organizations communicate clearly under pressure. Buccino is the author of When Every Word Counts: How to Earn Trust, Command Attention, and Communicate Clearly in Any Situation (Skyhorse, 2026), and a frequent military analyst on CNN, Fox News, and the BBC.
To order Joe's Book When Every Work Counts use the link shorturl.at/B2COO
Joe's LinkedIn
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Episode Summary: In this episode, we explore Paul's journey in communications and emergency management, which ultimately led to the creation of the PIO Calendar. The PIO Calendar is a centralized platform that connects public information officers with training, conferences, and professional development opportunities across the country and around the world. Through his firm, PDR Strategies, he advises organizations on crisis communications, leadership messaging, and building public trust through clear, effective communication.
Paul's BIO: Paul D. Raymond, Jr. is a strategic communications leader with a background in public safety, emergency management, and government operations. He has held senior leadership roles across New Hampshire state government, including serving as Assistant Commissioner at the New Hampshire Department of Corrections and as the Commissioner’s Strategic Communications Administrator at the New Hampshire Department of Safety.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Paul led communications within the State’s Joint Information Center, coordinating messaging across agencies during one of the most complex and high-consequence public information environments in recent history.
In addition to his government service, Paul is a FEMA contract instructor, teaching courses including L0105 Public Information Basics, E/L0388 Advanced Public Information Officer, and the Executive Public Information Officer program. His work in the classroom focuses on preparing PIOs to operate effectively in crisis, conflict, and high-pressure environments.
Paul is the founder of the PIO Calendar, a centralized platform that connects public information officers with training, conferences, and professional development opportunities across the country and around the world. Through his firm, PDR Strategies, he advises organizations on crisis communications, leadership messaging, and building public trust through clear, effective communication.
His work is grounded in a core belief: communication is not just support—it is a critical operational function that shapes outcomes in crisis and beyond. He is passionate about strengthening the PIO profession by making training more accessible, practical, and aligned with the realities of the job.
Paul lives in Concord, in the New England area, with his wife, Viola, and their young daughter.
Paul's LinkedIn
PIO Calender
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Episode Summary: Erika Mantallana shares insights on organizational intelligence, trust, and the strategic role of communication in organizations. Discover how internal trust impacts external reputation and how leaders can better connect with their teams.
Erika's BIO: Erika Mantallana is the founder of Threadwell Studio, a strategic communications consultancy built on a simple but hard-won idea: external trust is an inside job. After more than 20 years leading communications at Fortune 100 companies, national nonprofits, and publicly traded organizations, she made the leap from the executive suite to entrepreneurship. Now, she works with CMO and CCO-level leaders to reposition communications from a reactive delivery function to a driver of organizational intelligence.
Her work sits at the intersection of strategy, culture, and credibility. And because she knows not every team has the budget for a consulting engagement, she's built a growing library of practitioner tools and resources designed to make that same strategic thinking accessible to communications leaders at every level.
Connect with Erika on LinkedIn. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/erikamatallana/] or visit https://threadwellstudio.com/
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Episode Summary: In this insightful interview, social media strategist Tallie Proud shares her expertise on social listening, its misconceptions, and how organizations can better interpret online conversations to improve their communication strategies.
Tallie's BIO: Tallie Proud is a UK-based freelance digital marketing consultant specializing in social media training, strategy, digital skills, and more. She previously worked for Social Simulator, a crisis preparedness agency, where she supported international organizations with crisis exercises and social media training. Before that, she was part of the award-winning digital team at The Church of England. You can find her on LinkedIn in/tallieproud or contact her via her website: www.tallieproud.com
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Episode Summary: In this insightful interview, Molly Hart, a spokesperson for AAA, shares her expertise on traffic safety campaigns, media strategy, and public education efforts. Discover how AAA leverages data, storytelling, and social media to promote safe driving behaviors and prepare for seasonal travel challenges.
About Molly - In-depth public relations and governmental affairs experience across a variety of disciplines and sectors including corporations, non-profit organizations and governmental agencies. Proven track record of creating and executing targeted programs and campaigns to drive increased visibility, engagement and support of the organization.
Molly's LinkedIn
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Episode Summary: Nina Jankowicz shares insights on AI, disinformation, and best practices for public information officers in the digital age. Learn about the threats, guardrails, and strategies to maintain trust and integrity in information dissemination.
Nina's BIO: Nina Jankowicz is an internationally-recognized expert on disinformation and democratization, one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in AI, and the author of two books: How to Lose the Information War and How to Be A Woman Online.
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Episode Summary: In this engaging interview, Antonia Steinmiller, a dedicated municipal communications manager, shares her insights on effective public-sector communication, community engagement, and trust. Discover her innovative campaigns, strategies for authentic messaging, and how she leverages technology to connect with residents.
Antonia's BIO: As a dedicated communications professional, I specialize in developing and executing strategic communication initiatives that align with organizational objectives and engage diverse audiences. With a passion for storytelling, I craft compelling narratives that strengthen brand messaging and foster meaningful connections—particularly within the Homewood community.
Relationship-building is at the core of my work. I cultivate strong partnerships with media, stakeholders, and the public to enhance trust and strengthen the organization’s reputation. Trained in crisis communication, I am equipped to lead with clarity and confidence in high-pressure situations, ensuring consistent, effective messaging when it matters most. Many years of competitive cheerleading at the high school and collegiate levels prepared me to stand strong in front of an audience.
In today’s fast-paced digital environment, I leverage my expertise in social media, content development, and digital marketing to engage audiences and adapt to evolving trends. I am a firm believer in transparency and open communication—principles I carry into my work in government and public service.
My approach to civic outreach centers on creating opportunities for public engagement and dialogue, ensuring community members feel heard, informed, and empowered. In Homewood, our messaging is concise and clear. We stand on "informing, educating, and entertaining."
Outside of my communications work, I own and operate a full-service portrait photography business and proudly serve as a certified high school competitive cheerleading judge through the Illinois High School Association.
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Episode Summary: In this episode of the PIO podcast, Shel Holtz discusses the evolving landscape of organizational communication, emphasizing the importance of storytelling, measurable outcomes, and the integration of emerging technologies like AI. He highlights the unique challenges faced by government communicators, the necessity of crisis preparedness, and the role of internal communications in shaping organizational culture. Holtz also addresses the balance between automation and authenticity, the significance of building trust, and the strategic value of communication in achieving organizational goals.
Shel's BIO: BIO:
Shel Holtz is senior director of communications at Webcor, a commercial builder in California. He brings nearly 50 years of experience to the job in employee communications, corporate public relations, crisis communications, media relations, financial communications, investor relations, marketing communications, and compensation and benefits communications. Since the mid-1980s, Shel has been focused on the role that emerging digital technologies will play in organizational communication. He has been a thought leader on the application of email, the internet, the web, visual media, social media, chatbots, and other technologies to the practice of communication. Today, he is applying his critical eye to the use of Artificial Intelligence in communication. Before joining Webcor in 2017, he had consulted independently for more than 20 years as principal of Holtz Communication & Technology, working with organizations worldwide to employ technology in their communications. Earlier in his career, Shel was director of corporate communications for Allergan and Mattel, assignments that focused on internal communications, and he also spent time at two global human resources consulting firms in their internal communications practices. His first job in the field of organizational communication was with the energy company ARCO in Los Angeles, where he served as an internal communications representative. He has written six communication-themed books, including the internal communication primer, Corporate Conversations, and is co-host of the first and longest-running communication-focused podcast, “For Immediate Release,” which debuted in early January 2005. Shel has been a regular global speaker on topics related to internal communication and the application of online technology to strategic communication. He is a Fellow of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), a Senior Fellow of the Conference Board’s Marketing and Communication Center, and a Founding Research Fellow at the Team Flow Institute. He is a certified Strategic Communication Management Professional and an Accredited Business Communicator. He is currently a member of the Global Communication Certification Council and is set to become Vice Chair with automatic succession to Chair. Shel served six years on IABC’s international executive board and is a five-time winner of IABC’s Gold Quill award.
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Episode Summary: In this episode of the PIO podcast, host Robert welcomes Moose Mutlow, a crisis communication and family liaison trainer, to discuss the intricacies of communicating with families during crises. Moose shares his diverse background, which includes years as a wilderness guide and experience in public information and family liaison roles. He emphasizes the importance of truth and immediacy when communicating with families, contrasting it with the more measured approach often required when dealing with the media. Moose highlights the emotional weight of family communication, noting that it requires a balance between professionalism and empathy, especially in high-stress situations where families are experiencing profound grief.
The conversation delves into the operational pressures faced by public information officers (PIOs) and how these can complicate their efforts to support families. Moose discusses the significance of providing families with control over their narratives and the importance of transparency in building trust within the community. He also addresses the concept of secondary harm, the role of silence in communication, and the need for PIOs to prioritize the well-being of families over agency reputation. Throughout the episode, Moose shares practical strategies for effective family communication, emphasizing the need for empathy, honesty, and a human-centered approach in crisis situations.
Moose's BIO: Moose Mutlow is an author and crisis-response trainer with extensive experience supporting families after fatalities, disasters, and major incidents. As a Family Liaison Officer, he works with public information officers, law enforcement, and emergency management professionals to strengthen family communication, reduce conflict, and deepen agency credibility during high-stakes events. He is the author of When Accidents Happen, Managing Crisis Communication as a Family Liaison Officer and teaches Family Liaison Officer courses across the country.
To Contact Moose www.moosemutlow.com
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In this episode of the PIO podcast, Braden Frame, CEO of the Cartographers Group, shares practical strategies for enhancing public safety communication. We explore how leadership, technology, and authenticity shape community trust and organizational success.
Key Topics:
- The importance of trust and transparency in public safety messaging
- Aligning leadership behavior with effective communication strategies
- The evolving landscape of social media and AI risks
- Building strong relationships with media professionals
- Developing a written crisis communication plan
- Metrics for measuring communication success — focusing on outcomes, not just output
- How to manage corrections and maintain credibility during crises
- Long-term strategic planning with content calendars
- Skills future PIOs will need, including technology literacy and relationship building
- Practical tips for internal and external stakeholder engagement
I built my career on the front lines of public safety as a firefighter and a nationally registered paramedic. On and off the job, I served in crisis response, political action, and labor leadership, learning how to lead decisively when the pressure is highest. A line-of-duty injury in 2020 ended my time in public service, but not my drive.
I went on to co-found Reactor Graphs and the Cartographers Group, building a national force in public safety strategy, campaigns, and lobbying, delivering results that strengthen the lives of public servants and the communities they protect. Most recently, I served as the Chief Commercial Officer for Wrap Technologies Inc, a publicly traded company with technology products in public safety, defense, and the rapidly expanding counter-UAS market. I've led marketing teams, product launches, internal and external partnerships, and executive leadership, as well as product R&D, trademark and patent filings, and training across the United States and Canada.
I've spent my life making tough calls in environments where trust and clarity matter most. Today, I help mission-driven partners do the same, operating with purpose, precision, and resilience when the outcome truly counts. As an experienced fractional Chief Operating Officer, I am ready to help your executive team lead and deliver with operational support and design for scale and success.
www.bradenframe.com
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Summary: In this episode, Nick Schuler, the Deputy Director of Communications and Incident Awareness for Cal Fire, shares insights on the evolution of wildfire communication strategies, the importance of community engagement, and the role of technology in managing wildfire risks. He emphasizes the need for transparency and public trust during emergencies, as well as the significance of preparing communities for wildfire threats. Schuler discusses the challenges of language barriers and the importance of educating the public on fire preparedness and defensible space. He also highlights the ongoing efforts to improve wildfire readiness through policy changes and community involvement.
Nick's LinkedIn
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Summary: In this episode of the PIO podcast, Robert interviews Brian Townsend, a retired DEA agent and founder of Only2MG, a nonprofit focused on raising awareness about the fentanyl crisis. Brian shares his extensive experience in law enforcement and discusses the alarming rise of fentanyl-related deaths in the United States. He explains the historical context of how fentanyl became prevalent in the drug supply, its integration into other drugs, and the dangers it poses. The conversation emphasizes the need for community engagement, consistent messaging, and a holistic approach to tackling the crisis, including reducing stigma and addressing the root causes of addiction. Brian also highlights the role of organized crime in the fentanyl epidemic and the importance of collaboration between law enforcement and public health sectors to create effective solutions.
Brian's Email
Brian's Website
Brian Townsend is a retired Supervisory Special Agent/Resident Agent in Charge with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Brian proudly served in law enforcement for 28 years; 5 years as a police officer in Joplin, Missouri, and 23 years with the DEA, where he held a variety of assignments with increasing responsibility.
Within the DEA, Brian served in three different formal leadership roles, managing multiple people, programs, and resources. He worked in Corpus Christi, Texas, Little Rock, Arkansas, and Springfield, Missouri, to combat drug trafficking and reduce drug-related crime.
In addition to serving in enforcement operations, Brian was assigned at the DEA
Training Academy in Quantico, Virginia. There, Brian managed DEA’s specialized
training unit and developed the leadership and development training unit. The
leadership and development training unit still serves as the primary resource for
leadership development throughout DEA and its extensive workforce of over
10,000 personnel.
Currently, Brian serves as a Law Enforcement Training Coordinator for the Mid-States Organized Crime Information Center (MOCIC), a Regional Information Sharing System (RISS) Center supporting law enforcement in nine states (Kansas, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin). He is also the founder and principal of Eagle 6 Training, providing
speaking, training, and consulting services to organizations worldwide.
Brian’s training expertise extends far beyond drug-related topics. He is frequently
invited to deliver training and presentations on a wide range of subjects, including
leadership development, cryptocurrency investigations, and the dark web. Brian’s
diverse training portfolio equips law enforcement and private organizations with
the knowledge and skills needed to address both emerging digital threats and
organizational challenges.
Most recently, Brian launched Only 2mg Inc. 501(c)(3), where he leverages his extensive experience and knowledge in the field of opioids. Brian is regularly invited to speak to audiences throughout the United States about fentanyl, focusing on raising awareness andfostering a deeper understanding of the opioid epidemic and illicit fentanyl crisis. His insights shed light on the evolving drug landscape and its devastating impact.
Additionally, Brian serves on the Board of Directors for the Drug Enforcement
Association of Federal Narcotics Agents (DEAFNA), continuing his commitment to
supporting law enforcement professionals and the mission of combating drug-
related crimes.
Brian’s insights have been featured in numerous news organizations and
publications, including FOX and CNN. He has participated in multiple interviews
and podcasts and is consistently sought after for his expertise.
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Summary: In this episode, Jen Becker discusses her journey into internal communications and the importance of effective communication within organizations. She highlights the common issues faced by public information officers (PIOs) and offers insights into improving internal communication strategies. Jen emphasizes the need for honesty, understanding employee perspectives, and creating efficient workflows, especially in small teams. She also shares her experiences with crisis communication and the significance of engaging employees during challenging times. The conversation concludes with practical advice for new PIOs and the importance of building rapport through informal interactions.
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Summary: In this episode of the PIO podcast, Robert interviews Kevin Mangan, the public information officer for High Springs, Florida. Kevin shares his journey from a volunteer firefighter to a PIO, emphasizing the unique challenges and responsibilities that come with working in a small agency. He discusses the importance of building relationships within the community, managing communications during crises, and the necessity of transparency and trust in a close-knit environment. Kevin highlights how social media has transformed public communication, allowing for real-time updates and engagement with the community, while also addressing the challenges of misinformation and rumor control.
Throughout the conversation, Kevin provides insights into the day-to-day operations of a PIO, including the balance of administrative duties and public outreach. He shares anecdotes about successful community engagement initiatives, such as collaborating with local organizations to effectively disseminate information. The episode concludes with Kevin's advice for new PIOs, emphasizing the importance of networking and maintaining credibility in public communications, and a reminder that mistakes are part of the learning process in this vital role.
Kevin’s BIO: Kevin entered the public safety sector in 2004 as a volunteer firefighter and part-time dispatcher in his hometown of Amherst, New Hampshire, before moving to Florida to pursue a career in radio in 2006.
Several years into his "Florida Man" designation, Kevin re-entered the fire service as a volunteer firefighter/PIO in High Springs, Florida, while working as a full-time radio station DJ and operations manager.
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for consistent, accurate information from local government, prompting the city to hire its first Public Information Officer. Mangan currently serves as the City's PIO and the fire department's PIO and Fire Administration Manager.
Kevin's LinkedIn
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Summary: In this episode, Brian Murray, the Public Information Officer for Harris County, Texas, discusses his dual role in emergency management and public communication. He highlights the unique challenges faced by Harris County, including its large population and diverse threats. The conversation delves into the complexities of emergency alerts, the importance of effective messaging, and the need for community engagement. Brian emphasizes the significance of training for staff and educating the public about alerts, while also addressing the future of communication in an increasingly automated world.
Brian's BIO: Brian Murray, MPA, is the Deputy Coordinator for Homeland Security & Emergency Management and Public Information Officer for the Harris County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management (HCOHSEM). Developing the processes and technology for communicating with the public
during disasters has been at the center of Murray’s career at HCOHSEM. He helped
establish the first physical Regional Joint Information Center at Houston TranStar, and his work in developing “JIC Strike Teams” earned HCOHSEM an Outstanding Emergency Public Information Award from the Emergency Management Association of Texas in 2015. Murray helped lead a workgroup of the Federal Communications Commission’s Communications Security, Reliability and
Interoperability Council (CSRIC) IV that paved the way for WEA 2.0 in 2016-2017. Murray is now a full member of CSRIC IX charged with making recommendations to the Commission on the security and development of the Nation’s communications systems in the age of artificial intelligence and the development of 6G technology.
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Episode Summary: In this conversation, Brenden Elwood discusses the importance of strategic communication for city council members. He emphasizes the need to understand how residents receive information and to implement multi-modal communication strategies. Elwood highlights the significance of being responsive to residents' needs and the impact of timely communication on building trust.
Brenden's BIO: Brenden services as the Vice President of Market Research at CivicPlus. He oversees the company’s resident and local government research to provide actionable insights and data to enhance resident and community engagement through accessible digital solutions that streamline and strengthen government operations. By working with local governments across the country, he has researched the importance of an agency’s digital presence, web accessibility, resident trust and satisfaction, as well as strategies to close these gaps at the local level, utilizing modern and accessible digital solutions. Brenden currently serves on the City Council of North Bend, Washington, where he helps shape local policy with residents at the forefront.
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Summary: In this conversation, Gretchen Papez, the System Director of PR and Media Relations at Valley Health Systems, shares her insights on the evolving landscape of healthcare communications. She discusses the importance of proactive messaging, crisis communication preparedness, and integrating various communication strategies. Gretchen emphasizes the need to build trust within the community, adapt to trends like home healthcare, and manage misinformation. She also highlights best practices for stakeholder communication and the significance of storytelling in healthcare. The discussion concludes with advice for emerging communication professionals and reflections on the future of healthcare communication.
Gretchen's BIO: Gretchen Papez, APR, has spent the majority of her career in health care public relations and marketing communications in Las Vegas, NV. In her spare time, she enjoys volunteering, reading, walking, traveling and spending time with her family, friends and pups.
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Episode Summary: In this conversation, Lisa McDonald shares an intriguing story about a five-foot alligator discovered in a storm drain, highlighting the unexpected wildlife encounters that can occur in urban settings. She discusses how the video of this discovery went viral on social media, emphasizing the impact of engaging content in public works and community awareness.
Lisa's BIO; Lisa McDonald studied Radio and Television Communications at the University of Central Florida, graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree. Lisa started her career in local radio before moving to television news, where she worked for 19 years. She was an assignment editor at WKMG Ch 6 and FOX 35 news, handling breaking news, sending crews to scenes, and scheduling stories. Lisa transitioned to Public Information, starting at the City of Mount Dora in 2017, before moving on to Orange County Fire Rescue as lead PIO. She is currently the Communications Manager for the City of Oviedo and began working there two weeks before Hurricane Nicole hit Central Florida. Lisa’s specialties include document remediation, videography, and writing. Lisa was born just outside Washington, DC, and raised in Winter Park, Florida. She lives in Oviedo and has always loved the community she now serves. She has a son in the Navy. She and her long-time partner have a cat named Gary, and she also teaches yoga on the side. She has been a yoga instructor since 2010 and can honestly say she is passionate about municipal communications.
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Episode Summary: In this episode of the PIO Podcast, Robert interviews Gaurav Gupta, head of R&D at Kotter, discussing the transformative role of AI in public information and communication. Gaurav shares insights on generative AI's impact on content creation, the importance of effective communication strategies, and the need for transparency in AI usage. They explore the challenges posed by misinformation, the need to reskill the workforce, and the importance of aligning AI tools with agency strategies. The conversation emphasizes that AI should be viewed as an enabler of change rather than a replacement for human roles, underscoring the importance of leadership and adaptability in navigating the evolving AI landscape.
Gaurav's BIO: GAURAV GUPTA has been helping organizations and individuals unleash potential and maximize business outcomes for over 20 years. His expertise is in change leadership and strategy execution. By combining thinking from behavioral science, leadership development, and strategy implementation, he has advised leaders on their most important business initiatives across industries as diverse as finance, healthcare, extraction, oil and gas, and chemicals. Having worked in over 10 countries, Gaur3av draws on extensive global experience in collaborating with leaders to develop and implement new ways of working in their organizations. Gaurav is the head of R+D at Kotter and collaborates with Dr. John Kotter, the world-renowned expert on change and leadership, to develop the most successful approaches to create large-scale change and greater adaptability. Gaurav is the co-author of the book Change: How Organizations Achieve Hard-to-Imagine Results in Uncertain and Volatile Times. Gaurav represents Kotter through speaking engagements, consulting, and facilitated learning events. Gaurav also co-founded Ka Partners, a firm established to help growing startups perform better through greater employee engagement, more efficient resource utilization, and better decision-making. Gaurav has delivered keynote addresses for corporate clients and at various conferences. He has published numerous articles, including in HBR, MIT Sloan Review, and Forbes, and has been quoted in publications like The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and USA Today. He holds a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Cornell University and a Bachelor’s degree in Physics from Middlebury College, where he graduated summa cum laude.
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Episode Summary: In this conversation, Deana DiPaola discusses her experiences in crisis management, particularly during her first weekend on call when national neo-Nazi groups came to her city, in addition to handling one of the largest 4th of July fireworks events in the state. She highlights the importance of understanding community safety, effective communication, and the challenges of leadership in such critical situations.
Deana's BIo: I am a reliable, respectful, empathetic, and dependable individual. Throughout my career, I have consistently demonstrated flexibility, versatility, and dedication to the organization. I am committed to the goals and objectives of the Police Department and work closely with our respected business partners in Central Florida as the current Public Information Officer.
Deana's Email
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Host Robert Tornabene conducts a countdown of the 10 most downloaded episodes of 2025.
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Summary: In this episode of the PIO Podcast, Robert interviews Katie Watts, a Public Information Officer from the Fairfax County Police Department. They discuss Katie's journey in law enforcement, the challenges of communicating traffic safety, and the innovative use of Tappy, a social media tool designed to engage the community and educate them about traffic safety. Katie shares insights on public reactions, the demographics engaging with Tappy, and the lessons learned from integrating this tool into their community outreach efforts. The conversation concludes with advice for other law enforcement agencies and thoughts on the future of Tappy in safety education.
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Summary: In this episode of the PIO Podcast, Robert interviews Brandon Karr, Director of Customer Success at DroneSense by Versaterm, discussing the transformative role of drones in public safety. Brandon shares insights from his experience in law enforcement and the evolution of drone programs, emphasizing the importance of transparency, community engagement, and the integration of AI technology. The conversation covers real-world applications of drones in crisis situations, the balance between costs and benefits, and the future of drone technology in enhancing public safety operations.
Drone Sense by Versaterm - Versaterm
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Summary: In this episode of the PIO Podcast, Chief Kevin Warych of the Sun Prairie Police Department discusses his transition from Green Bay to Sun Prairie, emphasizing the importance of community policing and building relationships. He shares insights on transparency in law enforcement, the challenges of balancing operational security with public information, and the role of social media in connecting with the community. Chief Warych also highlights the importance of fostering a culture of openness and accountability within the department, while outlining his goals for community engagement and the need to invest in law enforcement's reputation. He concludes with advice for fellow leaders and reflections on the challenges and rewards of police work.
Sun Prairie PD Website
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Episode Summary: In this episode, Susan Simons, president and founder of Under the Shield, discusses her journey in law enforcement and the evolution of her organization, which focuses on mental health support for first responders. She introduces the psychological garbage can theory, emphasizing the importance of addressing stress and trauma in law enforcement. The conversation highlights the stigma surrounding mental health, the need for public awareness, and the significance of resiliency training. Susan shares insights on the importance of preventative measures and training programs to support officers and their families, ultimately aiming to reduce suicide rates and improve overall well-being in the law enforcement community.
Susan's BIO: Susan Lewis Simons, M.S., B.C.E.T.S., F.A.A.E.T.S.
President & Founder, Under the Shield, Inc.
Susan Lewis Simons is the President and Founder of Under the Shield, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization she launched in 1992. For over three decades, Susan has been recognized nationally and internationally as a subject-matter expert in Law Enforcement and Military Stress and Post-Traumatic Stress Injury (PTSI). She is the creator of the Simons Theory of the Psychological Garbage Can—a groundbreaking model written in 1992 that has helped countless individuals in public safety and the military better understand and manage the cumulative effects of trauma. Effective January 1, 2025, this theory will be the AZPOST state standard, required in all Arizona basic academy classes as j part of proficiency training.
Website: http://undertheshield.com/
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Summary: In this episode, Jeff Wenninger, a retired LAPD officer and CEO of Law Enforcement Consultants, shares his unique journey into policing, influenced by personal experiences and a desire to improve law enforcement practices. He discusses the insular mindset prevalent in police departments, the need for reimagining policing beyond mere reform, and the importance of community trust and transparency. We will discuss Jeff's latest book, "On Thin Ice." Wenninger emphasizes the role of effective communication in building relationships with the community and advocates for a cultural shift within law enforcement to prioritize empathy and critical thinking. He concludes with insights on driving change from within and the collaborative effort required to improve policing in society.
To contact Jeff or order his new book, go to https://www.onthinicebook.com,available now for immediate download on Amazon.com.
Jeff's Publishing Company; https://populacepubishing.com
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Summary: In this episode of the PIO Podcast, Robert Tornabene interviews Erin Stillwagon, the Public Information Officer for the Garden City Fire Department. Erin shares her unexpected journey into the role of PIO, emphasizing the importance of community engagement, especially with children, to foster a positive relationship between the fire department and the public. She discusses the strategies used in social media to communicate effectively, without highlighting tragedies, instead focusing on education and outreach. Erin also touches on the significance of crisis communication, the use of technology and AI in her work, and the value of building a supportive network within the PIO community. The conversation concludes with personal insights and rapid-fire questions, highlighting Erin's optimistic outlook on life and her commitment to helping others.
Erin's BIO - Erin Stillwagon is the Public Information Officer for the Garden City Fire Department located in Garden City, Kansas. Erin Stillwagon has always been driven by a deep desire to help others, which is reflected in her work with the Garden City Fire Department. In her role, Erin combines her skills in project management, public relations, and leadership to support the department’s mission and engage with the community. She takes pride in creating meaningful connections, whether coordinating public safety initiatives, crafting effective communications, or collaborating with her team to enhance daily operations.
A lifelong resident of Garden City, Erin is passionate about giving back to the community that shaped her, and she approaches every task with care, dedication, and a genuine commitment to making a difference. Known for her critical thinking and leadership, Erin has successfully enhanced departmental operations through innovative problem-solving and streamlined processes. Her commitment to excellence and dedication to helping others define her approach to both her career and public service.
Erin is actively involved with several professional organizations, including the National Information Officers Association (NIOA), Kansas Association of Public Information Officers (KAPIO), and Kansas Women Leading Government. She holds the Advanced Public Information Officer credential from FEMA's Emergency Management Institute and played a pivotal role in bringing the first inaugural 620 Day to life, a celebration that highlights the unique spirit and community of the 620 area code.
A longtime Kansas State University football fanatic, Erin is equally passionate about her family’s bucket list goal to watch a game at every MLB stadium. True to her personality, she will always choose a dog over a human, reflecting her love for animals and her lighthearted approach to life.
To contact Erin via her LinkedIn
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Summary: In this episode, Tiffany Muehlbauer, CEO of ARMA Communications, discusses the importance of proactive communication strategies for public sector organizations. She introduces the Pool Theory, which emphasizes the need for consistent community engagement to build trust and visibility before a crisis occurs. Tiffany provides practical advice for Public Information Officers (PIOs) on shifting from reactive to proactive communication, building relationships with skeptical communities, and utilizing storytelling to resonate with the public. She also highlights common mistakes in communication and offers actionable steps for improving visibility and trust.
Tiffany's BIO
Tiffany Muehlbauer is the founder and CEO of Arma Communications, a boutique corporate communications agency that helps businesses communicate with clarity, confidence, and authority.
With over two decades of marketing experience across both public and privately held companies, Tiffany specializes in building brand momentum and proactive visibility through integrated communications strategies.
She is a firm believer that in today’s fast-moving landscape, brands that wait for a crisis to speak up are already too late. Tiffany champions the philosophy that visibility is stability—and she leads by example.
At the core of her approach is The Pool Theory of Brand Visibility. Tiffany teaches that in a still pool, even a small pebble can create disruptive ripples. But in a pool full of movement—people, floaties, and energy—even a large stone barely makes a splash. The same is true for brands: when you’re already in motion, a PR challenge becomes a ripple, not a wave.
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Summary: In this episode of the PIO Podcast, Drew Anderson, the Public Information Officer for the Bellevue Police Department, shares his unique journey from political operative to PIO. He discusses the importance of community engagement in a diverse city like Bellevue, the challenges faced during crisis communications, and the strategies employed to effectively communicate with the public. Drew emphasizes the significance of preparation, media training for law enforcement, and adapting to trends in public communications. He offers valuable advice for new PIOs and reflects on the key aspects of his role in maintaining transparency and trust within the community.
Drew's LinkedIn
Drew's X Account
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In this episode of the PIO podcast, Robert Tornabene interviews Matthew Oleniuk, a risk strategist, about the complexities of project management in the public sector. Matthew shares his extensive background in risk and audit, highlighting the challenges faced by public sector projects, particularly the infamous Phoenix project. The conversation explores the significance of communication, the role of Public Information Officers (PIOs), and the necessity of proactive leadership in mitigating risks and ensuring project success. Matthew emphasizes the necessity for PIOs to be involved in project discussions early on and to challenge the status quo to prevent crises from escalating.
Matthew's LinkedIn
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In this episode, John Pope, the Public Information Officer for Newport Beach, shares his journey from journalism to public relations within government agencies. He discusses his daily responsibilities, the unique challenges of communicating in a diverse community, and the importance of transparency and effective communication strategies. John also highlights the significance of crisis communication, media relations, and the tools he uses to engage with the public. He reflects on successful campaigns, the impact of AI in public relations, and offers valuable advice for new PIOs while dispelling common myths about the profession
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Summary
In this episode, Parth Shah, CEO of Polimorphic, discusses the transformative role of AI in government communications and public service. He shares insights from his background in civic technology and the challenges faced by public agencies in managing communications, public records, and community engagement. Parth emphasizes the importance of AI in enhancing customer service, addressing misinformation, and improving accessibility for diverse populations. He also highlights the need for governments to adapt to technological advancements to meet rising public expectations and maintain effective service delivery.
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In this episode of the PIO podcast, Commander Mike Shaw of the Michigan State Police shares his extensive experience in law enforcement and the evolution of public information officers (PIOs). He discusses the importance of adapting to technological changes, the structure of the communications division, and the challenges faced by PIOs in modern policing. Mike emphasizes the need for community engagement and the role of social media in disseminating information. He also touches on the future of PIO work, including the integration of AI and the importance of continuous learning in the field.
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Summary In this episode, Robert Tornabene interviews Jennifer Hillmann, the Director of Communications for Thompson Valley EMS. Jennifer shares her journey into the field of communications, her experiences as a public information officer (PIO), and the importance of calm communication during crises. She discusses the role of social media in emergency management, the integration of AI tools in communications, and the future of PIOs in a tech-savvy world. Jennifer emphasizes the need for effective communication in various industries and the misconceptions surrounding the PIO role. The conversation concludes with key takeaways and advice for aspiring communicators.
Jennifer's BIO Jennifer Hillmann serves as the Public Information Officer and Executive Director of Communications for Thompson Valley EMS, where she leads all facets of internal and external communications, crisis response, public relations, and community engagement. With more than two decades of experience spanning local, state, and federal government, Jennifer is a recognized leader in emergency communications, public affairs strategy, and organizational messaging.
Jennifer has managed communications during some of Colorado’s most complex emergencies, including the High Park Fire, the 2013 floods, ice storms/blizzards, and COVID-19 during the 2020 Census. As a FEMA-certified PIO and instructor of G290/G291 courses, she has trained hundreds of emergency communication professionals in public information protocols. Her work has also earned her several honors, including the Meritorious Service Medal and Distinguished Service Award for excellence in disaster communications.
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Summary: In this episode of the PIO podcast, Sergeant Carla Burr from the Amarillo Police Department shares her extensive journey in law enforcement, detailing her transition from dispatcher to Public Information Officer. She discusses the department's structure, the importance of community engagement through social media, and her experiences working with local media. Carla also highlights the challenges of handling missing persons cases and the value of podcasting for raising awareness about cold cases and fostering collaboration within the community. In this engaging conversation, Carla Burr discusses her experiences in law enforcement, focusing on community engagement, the challenges of recruitment, and the importance of effective communication. She shares insights on managing the agency's website, training for crisis communication, and the role of social media policies. Carla also highlights her use of AI tools like ChatGPT to enhance her writing and communication efforts. As she reflects on her career goals and aspirations, she emphasizes the significance of kindness and community support in law enforcement.
Carla's BIO: Carla Burr has been with the Amarillo Police Department since 1993, starting as a dispatcher before becoming an officer in 1996 (FIGHTING 66th ACADEMY). She was assigned evening patrol and later served as a field training officer. In 2001, Carla joined the School Liaison \program, where she was promoted to Corporal and became a Hostage Negotiator. In 2009, she
was promoted to Sergeant and was assigned to the Robbery and Domestic Violence Squad. From 2012 to 2015, she was assigned as the Academy Sergeant and spent time as a patrol Sergeant. In 2015, Carla was assigned as a Dispatch Supervisor/Liaison for 3 years. Since 2018, Carla has served as the department’s public information officer. She is one of the coaches for the academy's fitness program and a member of the Peer Support team. Outside of work, she coaches at CrossFit 806 and volunteers with organizations like Amarillo Area CASA, the Lone Star Runners Club, and Special Olympics. She cherishes her close-knit community, her loving family spread across the country, and, of course, her three spoiled dogs.
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Summary: In this episode of the PIO podcast, Jen Longaecker, the Deputy Communications Director for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, shares her unique journey from journalism to public safety communications. She discusses the challenges faced during the 2020 civil unrest, the importance of social media in crisis management, and the strategies employed to engage the community and recruit new law enforcement personnel. Jen emphasizes the significance of storytelling in public safety communications and the need for effective messaging templates to navigate crises. In this conversation, Jen Longaecker discusses the evolving role of law enforcement and the importance of community engagement. She highlights the challenges faced by communications professionals in adapting to changing media consumption habits and the impact of AI on storytelling. Jen shares her aspirations in crisis communication and offers valuable advice for aspiring public information officers, emphasizing the importance of genuine storytelling and preparedness in crises. The discussion concludes with key takeaways on effective communication strategies and the importance of curiosity in the field.
Jen's BIO: Jen Longaecker has worked for the Department of Public Safety since 2013 in a variety of roles. She began her time with DPS as a public information officer for the State Fire Marshal division and Office of Pipeline Safety. She also served as DPS’ social media manager and staff photographer. Jen left DPS briefly to work as a communications manager for a Twin Cities suburb but returned to DPS and is currently the deputy communications director, leading a team of 25 communications specialists and public information officers.
Jen has experience handling strategic communications and social media messaging during critical incidents.
She was in the joint information center during the historic civil unrest following the death of George Floyd and the killing of Daunte Wright, and also developed strategic communication for the COVID-19 pandemic and Line 3 pipeline construction. Jen has taken photos at several funerals for Minnesota fallen first responders and has helped local agencies with crisis communications and media relations.
Before coming to DPS, Jen was a 911 dispatcher for the Washington County Sheriff’s Office. Jen spent the early stages of her career as a newspaper editor and reporter covering public safety and courts.
Jen lives in the Twin Cities with her husband and her dog, a pug named Evie. In her spare time, she plays the saxophone in two swing bands and is training to provide PIO support on large-scale fires and other emergencies across the country.
Jen is a University of Wisconsin-River Falls graduate.
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Summary: In this episode of the PIO podcast, Robert Tornabene interviews Megan Black, the Public Information Officer for the Renton Police Department. Megan shares her journey from a long career in broadcast journalism to her current role in law enforcement communications. She discusses the importance of community engagement, the role of crime analysis in effective communication, and the significance of storytelling in law enforcement. Megan emphasizes the need for transparency and building relationships with the media, as well as her thoughts on the impact of artificial intelligence in the field. The conversation concludes with rapid-fire questions that reveal Megan's insights and values.
Meeghan's BIO: Meeghan Black is the Communications and Community Engagement Manager for the Renton Police Department. Before joining RPD, Meeghan served as the Public Information Officer for the Bellevue Police Department and had a nearly three-decade-long career in broadcast journalism. During both careers, Meeghan has covered natural disasters, protests, riots during 2020, a line-of-duty death, officer misconduct, and other issues.
Meeghan is a native of the Seattle area and has lived in Renton with her husband and daughter for the past 20 years.
Meeghan's Email
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In this episode, retired Chief of Police Thomas Weitzel discusses his extensive career in law enforcement, the challenges posed by the Safety Act in Illinois, and the implications for policing and community safety. He emphasizes the need for proactive policing, the importance of maintaining high standards for officers, and the role of social media in shaping public perception. Weitzel also addresses the impact of recent youth crime incidents and the necessity for transparency and communication between law enforcement and the community. He advocates for legislative reforms to improve policing standards and officer morale, while sharing personal insights on leadership and community engagement.
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Summary: In this episode of the PIO podcast, host Robert Tornabene interviews Brent Patterson, the Public Information Officer and Media Relations Director at the Madison County Sheriff's Department in Huntsville, Alabama. Brent shares his unique journey from law enforcement to becoming a PIO, discussing the challenges and responsibilities of the role, the importance of social media in law enforcement, and the impact of AI on public relations. He emphasizes the need for transparency and community engagement while reflecting on personal insights and experiences throughout his career.
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Summary: In this episode, Leah Tedesco, a senior consultant at Social Simulator, discusses the importance of crisis communication preparedness and the role of Public Information Officers (PIOs) in crisis management. She explains how Social Simulator's platform replicates various communication channels to train organizations in effectively handling crises. Leah highlights the challenges posed by misinformation and the need for PIOs to adapt to new technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) and deepfakes. The conversation also explores the future of crisis communication training and the importance of adopting a holistic approach to crisis management.
Leah's BIO: Leah is a Senior Consultant at Social Simulator. She helps design webinars, crisis preparedness training, and social media strategies to help clients build confidence in their digital presence. Leah takes a human-centered approach to social media strategy, working to understand broader communicative values and using that insight to inform how individuals interact with social media. Leah holds an MA in Anthropology from the University of Virginia, with a focus on linguistic and communicative practices in online spaces.
Leah's Email
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Episode Summary: In this conversation, Sam Toles from Civic Social discusses the innovative approach of empowering Public Information Officers (PIOs) in local governments to effectively engage with their communities through social media. He emphasizes the importance of authenticity, strategic planning, and the need for a modern approach to communication that resonates with younger audiences. Toles shares insights on navigating social media algorithms, the significance of platforms like TikTok, and the pitfalls of relying on traditional marketing strategies and style guides. The discussion highlights the transformative potential of social media in public relations and the necessity for government agencies to adapt to the evolving digital landscape. In this conversation, Sam Toles and Robert Tornabene discuss the importance of social media in government communication, emphasizing the need for a culture of content creation within local government. They explore real-world case studies that demonstrate the positive impact of effective social media strategies, highlighting the role of public information officers (PIOs) in fostering community engagement and trust. Toles shares personal insights and anecdotes that illustrate the challenges and successes of implementing these strategies, ultimately advocating for a proactive approach to government communication.
Sam's BIO: Sam Toles is a former local elected official and one of the world’s top experts in digital media and communications.
Leveraging over two decades of experience at the intersection of content strategy, technology, and public service, Sam launched CiviSocial, a first-of-its-kind approach designed exclusively for local government communicators who want to cut through the noise, reduce the negativity, and reach their communities effectively.
Before founding CiviSocial, Sam served as Chief Content Officer at Bleacher Report and led digital media strategies at major brands including MGM Studios. He’s also run a social media platform as the General Manager of Vimeo. His expertise in content creation, digital storytelling, and audience engagement has driven billions of interactions across the medium.
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Summary: In this episode of the PIO podcast, Robert Tornabene interviews Amy Maxwell, the public relations manager for the Hamilton County Office of Emergency Management in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Amy shares her journey from working in cardiology to emergency management, detailing her responsibilities as the sole public information officer. She discusses her daily tasks, including managing social media, community engagement, and crisis communication. Amy also highlights the importance of weather radios, the adoption of new alert systems, and her passion for photography and the use of AI in emergency services. The conversation concludes with rapid-fire questions and Amy's insights on organization and continuous learning in her field.
Amy's BIO: Maxwell provides creative support for internal and external communication efforts for HCOEM and 13 volunteer fire/rescue agencies, including print publications, websites, electronic communication, community engagements, media, and video productions. She is the administrator for ten social media accounts and a webmaster for five websites. She prepares Integrated Public Alert Warning System (IPAWS) messages for Emergency Notifications for the public and HCOEM Emergency Notification System, REGROUP.
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Summary: In this episode, Amanda Schoepp, a digital content editor at Hyatt Hotels Corporation, discusses her role in enhancing website copy and transitioning from journalism to content editing. She shares insights on common mistakes made in media releases, the importance of clarity and conciseness in writing, and the differences between content marketing and digital marketing. The conversation concludes with Amanda's reflections and wisdom on letting go of control.
Amanda's BIO: Amanda Schoepp is an experienced editor and writer, particularly in digital and traditional marketing. With an original background as a reporter, Amanda is a [somewhat nerdy] AP style expert with a keen eye for detail. Past roles include copywriter, editor, and communications specialist for various corporations, startups, content marketing agencies, and nonprofits. Currently, she is a digital content editor at Hyatt Hotels Corporation.
To Contact Amanda via LinkedIn
http://amandaschoepp.com/
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Summary: In this episode of the PIO podcast, host Robert Tornabene interviews Jamie Sacco, the Public Information Officer for Shawnee, Oklahoma. Jamie shares her journey from working in news to becoming a PIO, discussing her role's unique challenges and opportunities. She emphasizes the importance of community engagement, effective communication strategies, and the need for a proactive approach in addressing local issues such as homelessness and the opioid crisis. Jamie also highlights the significance of crisis communication and the use of technology in her work, including social media and emergency alert systems. The conversation concludes with insights on the future of public information officers and the evolving communication landscape in local government.
Jamie's BIO: Jamie Sacco was hired as the Public Information Officer for the City of Shawnee and the Shawnee Fire Department in November 2023. Prior to working for the City, Jamie was an Assignment Desk Editor at FOX26 in Houston, where she covered many major events. She also has experience as a Trial Technician, where she assisted on high-priority cases presented in civil and federal court.
Jamie has a bachelor's degree in communication with a focus in Broadcast Journalism. She completed the 2024 Leadership Shawnee Class 37 with honors and is currently a member of the National Information Officers Association.
To contact Jamie via LinkedIn
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Episode Summary: In this episode, Robert Tornabene interviews Juliet Casey, the Director of Marketing and Media Design at Los Medanos College. They discuss Juliet's transition from journalism to public information, the importance of accuracy and accountability in communication, and the impact of community engagement. Juliet shares her experiences in recruitment strategies for community colleges, the challenges faced in public information roles, and her thoughts on the role of AI in communication. The conversation emphasizes the significance of effective messaging and the need for public information officers to maintain high standards in their work.
Juliet's BIO; Juliet V. Casey is an award-winning bilingual communications professional and former journalist. She has worked in major news organizations across the Southwest. She has served as a public information officer and communications director for government agencies in Nevada and California. During her time in government, she has gained extensive experience in issue management, strategic leadership, crisis communications and integrated marketing. Casey loves sharing her free time with family, neighbors, and pugs.
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Episode Summary: In this episode, Sergeant Jessica Shehan, a Public Information Officer for the Virginia State Police, shares her journey into law enforcement and the unique challenges of her role. She discusses the importance of transparency in communication, the impact of social media on public relations, and her experiences in recruitment and community outreach. Jessica emphasizes the rewarding nature of her job and the continuous learning involved in adapting to modern communication methods. In this engaging conversation, Jessica Shehan discusses her efforts to revive community engagement through the Special Olympics, the challenges of recruiting volunteers, and the use of technology and AI in public information roles. She shares her aspirations for professional development and the ongoing recruitment challenges law enforcement faces. The discussion concludes with rapid-fire questions that reveal personal insights and reflections on leadership and community service.
Jessica's BIO: I joined the Virginia State Police in 2006 after graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University. Over the years, I have served in various roles, including recruitment, which has helped prepare me for my current Division 1 Public Information Officer position. I love my position, and I am excited to be leaning toward new training to expand my knowledge.
In my spare time, I teach Spin and enjoy working out. I am also a wife and full-time mother to two beautiful daughters and three energetic dogs.
jessica.shehan@vsp.va.gov
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Summary: In this episode of the PIO podcast, Scott Mann, a retired Green Beret, shares his journey from a small town in Arkansas to becoming a leader in the U.S. Army Special Forces. He discusses the challenges of transitioning to civilian life, the emotional toll of military service, and the importance of storytelling for healing. Scott also addresses the controversial withdrawal from Afghanistan and the abandonment of allies, emphasizing the need for self-reliance and resilience in today's divided society. His books, 'Operation Pineapple Express' and 'Nobody's Coming to Save You,' explore these themes and call for a return to community and connection amidst the chaos. In this conversation, Scott discusses the abandonment of Afghan allies and the subsequent rise of terrorism, highlighting the failures of intelligence and the hubris that has led to a growing vulnerability in the United States. He emphasizes the importance of community resilience and preparedness in the face of potential threats, advocating for proactive measures and collaboration between local communities and law enforcement. Scott also stresses the need for a shift in mindset regarding terrorism, urging individuals and organizations to take the threat seriously and prepare accordingly.
Scott's Bio: Lieutenant Colonel (Ret.) Scott Mann is a former U.S. Army Green Beret with tours worldwide, including Colombia, Peru, and multiple deployments in Afghanistan. He is a warrior storyteller, host of The Scott Mann Podcast, and the founder of Rooftop Leadership and Scott Mann Leadership Academy, where he shares the rapport-building and storytelling skills he learned in Special Forces to help today's leaders make better human connections in high-stakes,
low-trust engagements. Scott is the author of Nobody is Coming to Save You, a leadership field guide to making better human connections in this time of division, and the instant New York Times Best Seller, Operation Pineapple Express, a third-person narrative detailing the harrowing stories of the Veterans, volunteers, and Afghan Allies who navigated the US abandonment of Afghanistan in August of 2021. He is the founder of the 501 (c) (3) Task Force Pineapple, which supports Veterans and educates civilians. Scott is also a playwright and actor with his award-winning play, Last Out: Elegy of a Green Beret, touring stages across the country to provide healing to our Veterans and Families of the Fallen, as well as providing insight to our citizens on the personal cost of the longest war in our Nation’s history.To learn more about Scott’s whole body of work, visit ScottMann.com.
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Summary: In this episode of the PIO Podcast, Stephen Kuhr shares his extensive experience in emergency management, discussing his journey from the New York City Emergency Medical Service to his role at Colorado Springs Utilities. He emphasizes the importance of crisis communication, the differences between public and private sector emergency management, and the critical lessons learned throughout his career. Stephen highlights the need for transparency and effective communication during crises, and he shares practical insights on integrating crisis communications into emergency management plans.
Steven's BIO: Steven Kuhr has spent his career in Emergency Management, building a diverse portfolio of leadership positions across multiple sectors. Mr. Kuhr served as Director of Emergency Management, Enterprise Continuity, and Security Operations at Colorado Springs Utilities.
While serving in this position, Mr. Kuhr oversaw crisis, risk, and resiliency operations for energy and water utilities and dam operations for Colorado’s second largest city. During this 0time, Mr. Kuhr also served as a Director with the InfraGard-Denver and co-founded the Colorado Critical Infrastructure Alliance.
Earlier, Mr. Kuhr served with the New York City Office of Emergency Management as a founding Deputy Commissioner, leading emergency operations and multi-risk emergency planning.
Prior to that he served with the New York City Fire Department as EMS Deputy Chief and Special Operations Commander.
Mr. Kuhr is a trusted Crisis Management Leader. He has advised elected officials, CEOs and “C-Suite” Leaders during complex emergencies, major disasters, and terrorist attacks. Mr. Kuhr is also a respected consultant, serving as Managing Director and Emergency Management Practice Leader at Kroll Inc., and President and Chief Operating Officer at Strategic Emergency Group LLC. Mr. Kuhr has advised a variety of organizations in several business industries and government sectors to include federal, state, and local government agencies, transportation (rail, aviation, seaport, and surface), financial, energy (electricity/natural gas), water/wastewater, dams, major league baseball, cable news, commercial properties, defense, justice, law enforcement, and an agency serving people with disabilities and special needs.
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Summary: In this episode of the PIO podcast, Kent Keller, former police officer and now CEO of OS Media Group, shares his journey from law enforcement to marketing for public safety agencies. He discusses the importance of community engagement, the challenges public information officers face, and how his company aims to support smaller agencies with their communication needs. Keller also explores the role of social media and AI in public safety, and offers insights into the future of public information officers and best practices for effective communication.
Kent's BIO: Kent Keller is a retired police officer who now lives in the Omaha-Metro area after serving more than 11 years in Northern Colorado. Kent's last assignment as a sworn officer was as the Greeley Police Department's PIO & Media Relations Manager. Due to a career-ending on-duty car accident, Kent founded OS Media Group and transitioned to being the Greeley Police Department’s first-ever civilian contracted PIO & Media Relations Manager.
While serving in this new capacity, Kent & OS Media Group more than doubled the Greeley Police Department’s followers across all social media channels. In addition, they increased GPD’s community engagement, helped skyrocket apprehensions of career criminals, completely refreshed the look of their brand, authored hundreds of press releases, and deployed tens of thousands of social media posts. Community Outreach campaigns and techniques started in Greeley by OS Media Group have been adopted by several other Denver-Metro police and public safety agencies.
Kent also recognized a need and lack of support for small to medium-sized public safety agencies to have the same access to excellent social media management and branding assets, even if they didn’t have the same budget. Kent and his team can help you connect better with your community or step in and do it for you.
You can see more examples of OS Media Group’s work and client success stories at OSMGMarketing.com. You can contact Kent directly by email at Kent@OSMediaPromo.com.
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In this Special Edition, Sarah Lux discusses the importance of go bags for public information officers (PIOs) and shares her personal experiences and insights on what to include. She emphasizes the need for emergency preparedness and provides practical tips on essential items, balancing technology with traditional tools, and unique, surprisingly valuable items. The conversation also covers power management solutions and personal well-being items for those working during crises. In this conversation, Sarah Lux shares her insights on the essential items for a go bag, the importance of regularly evaluating its contents, and how to customize it for different crises. She emphasizes the need for preparedness in reputational crises and advises new public information officers (PIOs) on building their first go bag. The discussion also touches on the support agencies should provide to PIOs regarding go bags and concludes with key takeaways on the necessity of having a go bag for every PIO.
Sarah's BIO: Sarah Lux earned a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Central Florida and a master’s degree in Public Relations from Full Sail University. Sarah has practiced Public Relations for over 10 years, specifically focusing on community education, government affairs, and crisis communications. She is part of the Florida Association of Public Information Officers’ deployment team and a PIO for Florida’s Region 5 All-Hazards Incident Management Team. She has been deployed by the state of Florida to aid communications in other counties four times, including Fort Myers Beach after Hurricane Ian. She earned her Master PIO certification in 2024, a federal training program that has accepted and certified less than 175 PIOs in the nation. Lux prides herself on her ability to clearly explain complex governmental matters to citizens in her community. She currently serves as Public Information Manager for the City of Orlando and owns her own communications consulting firm, Lux Communications.
SARAH's Go Bag List
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Summary: In this episode of the PIO podcast, host Robert Tornabene interviews Carolina Montelongo, the Public Relations Coordinator for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. Carolina shares her journey from journalism to becoming a Public Information Officer (PIO), emphasizing the importance of community engagement, especially within the Hispanic community. She discusses the structure of the Sheriff's Office, the role of PIOs, and the strategies used for crisis communication. Carolina also highlights her initiative, CACO News, to provide reliable information to the Latino community. The conversation concludes with her recognition as the Hispanic Civilian Employee of the Year and her insights on effective communication and community connection.
Carolina's BIO: Carolina Montelongo was born in Caracas, Venezuela. She graduated from Metropolitana University, Caracas, with a BA in Modern Languages in 2017. Pursuing her passion for storytelling, she relocated to Miami, Florida, to earn her Master's in Multimedia Journalism.
Carolina worked as a Radio Host for Radio Caracol and then at the U.S. Agency for Global Media for four years. There, she contributed to providing a free press to Cubans facing oppression under the Castro Dictatorship. Carolina's dedication to journalism led her to obtain a talent visa, allowing her to pursue her dreams of working and continuing to live in the United States.
Carolina saw that misinformation was a big issue in the Latino community. So, she created @Caconews as a space where people can get reliable information. Through that platform, she takes on the role of a truth-seeker, deciphering complex news and laws and ensuring that the content she creates clarifies and positively contributes to the Latino community.
In June 2023, Carolina started a new professional adventure as a Public Relations Coordinator at the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. She's committed to bringing the Hispanic community and law enforcement closer by creating helpful content and sharing educational information with the Latino community.
Outside of her professional life, Carolina has dedicated part of her life to dancing flamenco and playing volleyball. She also enjoys traveling with her husband and practicing CrossFit.
Carolina's Email
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Author, life coach, entrepreneur, founder of Tornabene Wine, Miss New York 2022.
Baxter Learns to Save (Amazon)
https://tornabenewines.com
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Summary: In this episode of the PIO podcast, host Robert Tornabene interviews Dawn Small, the strategic communications manager for Aurora Fire Rescue. Dawn shares her journey from public relations agencies to the fire service, highlighting her experiences and the changes she aims to implement in communications. The conversation delves into the importance of community engagement, the role of social media, and the daily responsibilities of a PIO in a busy fire department. Dawn emphasizes the need for strategic planning and collaboration with media to communicate safety messages and improve public education effectively. In this conversation, Robert Tornabene and Dawn Small discuss the importance of strategic communication planning, particularly in the context of public safety and fire departments. They explore how engaging with firefighters can enhance communication effectiveness, the role of AI in streamlining communication efforts, and the significance of having a cohesive plan that aligns with leadership. The discussion also touches on personal insights and rapid-fire questions that reveal more about Dawn's perspectives and experiences.
Dawn's BIO: With nearly three decades of broad-based communications expertise spanning the public and private sectors, Dawn Small serves as strategic communications manager for Aurora Fire Rescue, an all-hazards fire department with 17 fire stations and nearly 500 firefighters/paramedics serving the city of Aurora, Colo.
Dawn leads the Public Information Office for AFR, overseeing internal and external communications, emergency communications, media relations, and community engagement for the department.
During the first decade of her career, Dawn cut her teeth in communications at international public relations firms such as Fleishman-Hillard and Weber Shandwick Worldwide. She managed and implemented public relations programs for various public and corporate affairs clients. While working with public-sector agencies such as the City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Office of International Trade, and Los Angeles World Airports, she became exposed to the sense of fulfillment that comes with strengthening the community and impacting individual lives through public education, community relations, and effective communications outreach.
After spending the next decade of her career in global external communications, internal communications, and content marketing leadership roles for Arrow Electronics Inc., a Fortune 150 technology firm, and full-stack technology solutions provider Flexential, she felt the call to shift back to the public sector. She led communications and marketing for the Colorado Retirement Association, a quasi-governmental organization providing retirement plans for Colorado city and county employees, followed by two years as a communications strategist for the City of Centennial, Colo., before joining AFR.
Dawn holds a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication from the University of South Dakota and Advanced Public Information Officer certification from the Federal Emergency Management Association.
Dawn Smalls LinkedIn
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Summary: In this episode of the PIO podcast, Robert Tornabene interviews Rick Rice, the public information officer for the Asheville Police Department. They discuss Rick's background in radio, the challenges they faced during Hurricane Helene, and the launch of the APD Pod Squad podcast aimed at improving community engagement. Rick shares insights on managing misinformation during the crisis and the importance of clear communication. The conversation also touches on using AI in public information strategies and reflections on the podcast's impact on the community.
Rick's BIO: Rick Rice spent over thirty years in radio, with over twenty years
on the air in Asheville, beginning in 1999. Rice has also been a fixture at local
sporting events as the public address announcer at McCormick Field for the
Asheville Tourists from 2000-2016 and for the Asheville Smoke hockey team until
they folded in 2002. Rice has also been the public address announcer for UNC
Asheville Men’s and Women’s Basketball and the Voice of the Southern
Conference Basketball Tournament for over a decade.
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Summary: In this conversation, Doug Levy discusses his extensive background in journalism and emergency communications, leading to the writing of his book, 'The Golden Hour.' He emphasizes the critical importance of timely and accurate communication during crises, outlining common mistakes made by Public Information Officers (PIOs) and the evolving role of social media in disseminating information. Levy shares insights on effectively balancing rapid responses with the need for accuracy and understanding community dynamics in communication strategies. Doug Levy shares insights on effective crisis communication strategies in this conversation, emphasizing the importance of quick and credible information dissemination during emergencies. He discusses the necessity of preparation for unexpected crises, the value of building relationships with the media, and the critical role of practice in ensuring effective communication. Levy highlights real-world examples, including the Boston Marathon bombing, to illustrate the importance of having a solid plan and adaptability. He concludes with key takeaways for Public Information Officers (PIOs) to enhance their effectiveness in crises.
Doug's BIO: Doug Levy is a communications strategist, media and presentation coach and freelance writer. He was a reporter for USA Today and other national media for 20 years, covering front-page stories such as crimes, wildfires and other disasters, medical and scientific research, policy debates, and scientific or other misconduct. His first experience as a PIO was leading a volunteer fire department in Maryland in the 1990s. Since then, he led communications at two major universities and served on the emergency management teams. He has helped police and other government officials, medical center leaders, scientists, and universities prepare for, navigate, and respond to crises and adapt in the era of nonstop social media communication, partisan news outlets, and divided communities. His book, The Communications Golden Hour: The Essential Guide to Public Information When Every Minute Counts, has been an acclaimed handbook for public information officers since it was first released in 2018. Find out more at douglevy.com.
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Summary of the Podcast: in this episode, Ashley Bradshaw, the Public Information and Engagement Specialist for the Kyle Police Department, shares her journey into law enforcement communication. She discusses the challenges and opportunities of being the first PIO in her department, the importance of community engagement, and innovative strategies for connecting with youth. Ashley emphasizes social media's role in recruitment and AI's use to enhance public relations efforts. The conversation highlights the significance of building relationships between law enforcement and the community and the ongoing need for effective communication strategies.
Ashley's BIO : Ashlee Bradshaw became a Public Information Officer in a rather unconventional way. With over a decade worth of experience in Public Relations and Marketing, along with a term served as an elected City Councilmember, Ashlee found a passion for connecting government agencies with the communities they serve. In her role as the Public Information and Community Engagement Specialist at the Kyle Police Department, her passion has only grown stronger. She enjoys using strategic and proactive communications to highlight the good work done by the officers to foster a strong relationship with the residents.
Ashlee's LinkedIn
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Episode Summary: In this episode of the PIO podcast, PR expert Molly McPherson shares her insights on navigating media crises, the importance of social media in crisis management, and the common pitfalls faced by public information officers (PIOs). She emphasizes the need for transparency, accountability, and stakeholder engagement in communications and discusses how to transform crises into opportunities for building trust. Molly also reflects on her experiences at FEMA and the lessons learned from various case studies in crisis management.
Molly's Bio: In Molly McPherson's world, just about anything is a tell. That's how The Boston Globe described Molly's work as a crisis communications expert who moonlights as a celebrity PR whisperer on TikTok.
As an APR-certified crisis management and public relations practitioner, Molly uses her deep understanding of media culture to benefit her clients and the over half a million social media followers who look to her for insight into brand and celebrity actions, whether genuine or part of a PR stunt.
She is the host of "The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson" podcast and author of "Indestructible: Reclaim Control and Respond with Confidence in a Media Crisis."
In her career, she's known as an innovator in crisis communication, from introducing digital media strategies at FEMA to developing some of the first crisis communication web resources as communications director for cruise lines during critical incidents like the 9/11 attacks and the 2002 Norovirus outbreaks.
Her insights have garnered international attention, making her a recurring commentator for respected outlets such as NBC News, GMA, The Today Show, CNN, NPR, Access Hollywood, CTV News, and The Today Show in Australia. She has also been a featured commentator on ABC's Impact x Nightline, Vice TV's NINE LIVES OF...and TMZ Investigates on Fox Television.
Additionally, Molly has provided commentary for outlets such as the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the BBC, and the Wall Street Journal.
Beyond her media presence, Molly is a celebrated keynote speaker, an Adweek Creative Visionary Award winner, and a Forbes.com contributor writing about leadership and crisis management. She has taught companies, leaders, and brands, as well as hundreds of thousands of online followers, how to navigate a PR crisis in the tricky digital media era.
Molly's Website: https://www.mollymcpherson.com/
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Summary: In this episode, Jeff Wenninger, a retired LAPD officer and CEO of Law Enforcement Consultants, discusses his unique background and the challenges facing law enforcement today. He emphasizes the need for cultural change within police departments, the importance of proper training and competence, and the role of public information officers in crisis management. Winninger advocates for transparency, accountability, and community engagement, while also highlighting the impact of technology on communication. He concludes with thoughts on leadership and the necessity for law enforcement to evolve with societal expectations.
Jeff's Bio - Jeff Wenninger is a nationally recognized law enforcement expert with over 33 years of experience, primarily with the LAPD. As the Founder & CEO of Law Enforcement Consultants, LLC, he specializes in police use of force incidents, crowd management, school safety, and developing police management best practices. His work aims to align police methods with societal expectations, improve public trust, and enhance police training. A court-recognized use of force expert, Jeff has testified in criminal and civil cases and administrative hearings. His distinguished career includes extensive experience with dignitary protection, elite LAPD units, and overseeing high-profile security details.
Jeff's contributions have earned him prestigious awards such as the LAPD Medal of Valor, Police Star, and Meritorious Unit Citation. He excelled athletically and academically, overcoming dyslexia and a speech impediment to earn degrees in sociology, psychology, and criminal justice. His commitment to community service extends beyond his professional life, involving numerous charitable projects and school safety programs. A regular contributor to NPR and law enforcement print media, Jeff resides in Ohio with his son. He is working on a book proposing actionable solutions for improving law enforcement practices.
Jeff's LinkedIn
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Episode Summary: In this episode of the PIO Podcast, host Robert Tornabene interviews Holly Stark, Outreach Program Manager with the Washington State Emergency Management Division. Holly shares her journey from journalism to emergency management, emphasizing the importance of storytelling in building trust and empathy within communities. She discusses how effective communication can enhance disaster preparedness and the role of public information officers in conveying critical information. Holly also highlights the need for consistency in messaging to foster public trust and engagement.
Hollie's Bio - Hollie Stark is a writer, outdoor enthusiast, and mother. She is passionate about emergency public information, preparedness, geohazards, and telling stories to help move the needle.
Email - hollie.stark@mil.wa.gov
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Summary of the Interview: In this episode of the PIO podcast, Kevin Strauss, the communications manager for the Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency, discusses his journey from college athletics to public communication. He shares insights on the challenges faced in unifying communication strategies post-COVID, the importance of digital advertising, and the management of water resources amid drought conditions. Kevin emphasizes the significance of internal communication, the impact of AI on public perception, and the necessity of having a supportive team to effectively convey messages to the community. He concludes with personal insights and rapid-fire questions that reveal his values and beliefs in communication.
Kevin's Bio - Kevin Strauss is the Communications Manager for the Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency (SCV Water) and is responsible for all internal and external Agency communications. Previously, Strauss spent six years as a Communications Specialist with the City of Santa Clarita. During his career, Strauss has produced several award-winning public relations campaigns and recently led SCV Water’s brand relaunch initiative and crafted the Agency’s first digital media strategy. For his work, he was named the 2024 Communicator of the Year by the California Association of Public Information Officials (CAPIO).
When he was with the City of Santa Clarita, the Communications Division was named the 2020 Frank Potter Cowan Crisis Communications Leader by CAPIO for its response to the Tick Fire and Saugus High School shooting in 2019. Prior to joining the City of Santa Clarita, Strauss worked for six years in the Athletics Department at California State University, Northridge (CSUN), first as an intern then as Assistant Sports Information Director before being promoted to Assistant Athletic Director for Digital Marketing. Strauss earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism with an emphasis in public relations from CSUN. He and his family reside in Santa Clarita.
Kevin's Email
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Summary: In this episode of the PIO podcast, Lauren Burton, the Director of Communications and Community Relations for the Douglas County District Attorney's Office in Georgia, shares her unique journey from victim advocacy to her current role. She discusses the importance of community engagement, the challenges of digital communication, and the strategies she employs to ensure consistent messaging and effective outreach. Lauren highlights successful media campaigns, the role of social media, and the impact of her office's visibility in the community. She also touches on the use of AI tools in her work and emphasizes the importance of self-care for public information officers.
Lauren's Bio - Lauren Burden is the Director of Communications and Community Relations for the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office. In this role, she oversees the office’s social media, website, marketing, and media communications. She also coordinates and organizes the office’s participation in community events, plans office-sponsored community events, and organizes all internal events.
Lauren graduated from Georgia College and State University with a degree in Sociology. She began her career at the Douglas County District Attorney’s Office as a Victim Advocate in April 2013. In 2021, she took on the role of communications coordinator before transitioning to her current position full-time in January 2022. She was honored with the office’s Barry Wood Award in 2021.was recognized as a Top Young Professional in Douglas County in 2022, and received the InnovateHER award at the CelebrateHER awards with the Douglas County Chamber in 2024.
In addition to her professional work, Lauren actively contributes to her community by serving on several boards, including New Georgia Baseball as Secretary, Paulding County Baseball Advisory Board as Secretary, Douglas County Young Professionals as Treasurer, and The ATIR Community. Outside of work and volunteering, she enjoys spending time with her fourteen-year-old son and her family.
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Summary - In this episode of the PIO podcast, Robert Tornabene interviews Summer DeRay, an experienced Public Information Officer (PIO) with a rich background in communications and community engagement. Summer shares her journey from working in newsrooms to her current role at the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). She discusses the importance of building relationships with local tribes, the evolution of social media in public information, and the significance of community engagement. Summer also emphasizes the need for self-care among PIOs to prevent burnout and shares her success stories in community outreach. The conversation concludes with rapid-fire questions that reveal Summer's personal insights and philosophies.
Summer's BiIO: Summer Derrey is an MPIO with nearly 20 years of experience at WSDOT. She excels at breaking down complex engineering jargon into easy-to-understand information for the public. From Washington’s harsh winter weather to summer construction projects, Derrey uses various communication methods. Recently, her work has centered on traffic safety, community engagement, and tribal relations.
LinkedIn Summer's Email - Summerinthefall@gmail.com
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Summary: In this episode of the PIO podcast, Robert Tornabene interviews Donna Rossi, the Deputy Director of Public Affairs for the Phoenix Police Department. Donna shares her unique journey from being a police officer to a broadcast journalist and leading the Public Affairs Bureau. The conversation covers the current staffing challenges the Phoenix PD faces, the importance of crisis communication, and the innovative strategies being implemented to enhance community relations and transparency. Donna emphasizes the need for collaboration between sworn and civilian staff and discusses the significance of internal communications within the department. The episode concludes with rapid-fire questions and key takeaways from Donna's experiences and insights.
Donna's Email Donna.Rossi@pheonix.gov
Recruitment Website: joinphxpd.com
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Summary: In this episode of the PIO Podcast, Special Projects Coordinator Taylor Merriss from the Evansville Police Department shares insights about her role, community engagement strategies, and the importance of transparency in law enforcement. She discusses her background, the challenges of recruiting, and the innovative ways the department connects with the community, including their podcast 'What's Your 20'. Taylor emphasizes the significance of building trust and relationships within the community and highlights her experiences in various outreach initiatives.
Taylor's Bio: Officer Taylor Merriss was born and raised in southeast side Evansville. She is proud of her roots and alma mater: Bosse High School and the University of Southern Indiana. She was a collegiate athlete who played golf and received criminal justice and sociology degrees. She has been a member of the Evansville Police Department for 9 years and in her most current position, as Special Projects Coordinator, for nearly 4 years. She takes pride in being a liaison to the local and national media and her community. She won the Evansville Regional Economic Partnerships’ Young Professional of the Year for 2024.
Taylors Email - tmerriss@evansvillepolice.com
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Bridget has firsthand experience with harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and a hostile work environment. As the only female on the SWAT team, along with her time on patrol and as an undercover narcotics investigator, she knows what it feels like to have no one to trust and to feel defeated at every turn.
This is why Bridget started the Lady Law Shield: to help those feeling overwhelmed and frustrated by a seemingly unwinnable battle. Bridget is passionate about helping anyone facing the same types of internal employment-related issues discover their ability to find happiness daily, regardless of the environment or circumstances surrounding them.
Bridget has 30 years of wellness, leadership, law enforcement, and legal training and experience that you can leverage for a blueprint on how to feel more comfort, ease, and support for increased balance and joy in life.
Bridget is an attorney, former Deputy Sheriff (Patrol, SWAT, and Undercover Narcotics), and founder and CEO of the Lady Law Shield Law Firm and Protective Wellness. She is licensed to practice in TX, LA, NY, and FL. Lady Law Shield helps clients across the country with employment-related issues based on violations of protections afforded by federal law.
Bridgets Email - bridget@ladylawsheild.com
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Victorian Simmons currently works as the Public Information Officer for the Town of Apex. Prior to her position with Apex, she was the Community Engagement Specialist for the Greensboro Fire Department. Victorian has been published in Firehouse Magazine and was a featured speaker at the 2024 NFPA Conference and the North Carolina Fire Educators Conference. She is the 2023 Greensboro Mosi Award recipient for reaching non-English speaking communities with fire safety video messages and the 2024 Greensboro Employee Innovation Award recipient for designing and developing a booklet to help community members after they have been affected by fires. She was just selected as the 2024 International Rising Star by Women in Fire Safety. She has been recognized multiple times and has received awards from her community for using creative strategies to effectively reach specific audiences with life saving information. She is locally known for her small business Fire & Oak where she teaches smaller departments how to effectively use digital communications like social media, website design, and photography/videography. She is an adjunct Professor for GTCC Fire Academy where she teaches Public Safety Communications courses to students in North Carolina, Virginia and South Carolina. Though she has a quickly growing career in the fire industry, she has an extensive background in marketing and communications. Simmons has a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Keuka College, a Master’s degree in Business Management from Elmira College, and is currently working on her Ph.D. in Strategic Communication from Liberty University. She has spent the last 9 years in managerial roles focused on strategic communications, marketing, writing, photography, social media, and design.
Victorian's LinkedIn
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Jonee Lewis is an Emmy-award-winning Journalist who is now the Director of Communications and Public Affairs for the Tampa Police Department.
Jonee’ is a Lakeland native with 13 years of experience in the media industry, having previously served as a reporter for Fox 13 in Tampa and television news stations in Memphis, Winston-Salem, Myrtle Beach, Gainesville, and Tallahassee.
She holds a Master of Arts in Mass Communication from the University of Florida and a Bachelor of Science in Mass Media Studies from Florida State University.
She is thrilled to serve her community in this new capacity and promote positive relationships between law enforcement and those who live, work, and visit the City of Tampa.
Email - mailto: tpd-pio@tampagov.net
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As the Executive Director of Public Affairs for the Atlanta Police Department, Chata Spikes manages the department’s overall communication strategy which includes developing organizational messaging both internal and external.
Ms. Spikes has worked in media and public relations industry for more than 18 years. She served as Media Liaison for the Georgia Department of Transportation, Public Information Officer for DeKalb County government, Communications Specialist Supervisor/Technical Writer for Time Warner/Turner Broadcasting and an Assistant Professor of Mass Communications at her alma mater Fort Valley State University.
Additionally, she had a successful media career having worked for WSB-TV (Atlanta, Ga.), CNN (Atlanta, Ga.), DeKalb County-TV, Fox News Network, and WYFF News (Greenville, SC) in variety of on-camera and off-camera roles.
In 2016, she joined Atlanta Police Department in the role of Deputy Director of Public Affairs under Chief George N. Turner, until her departure to become the first Director of Communications and External Affairs for the City of South Fulton.
Most recently, she has owned and operated a communications/leadership consulting firm specializing in media, leadership and customer service training for diverse audiences to include schools, churches and government entities.
She rejoined the Atlanta Police Department in 2020 under Chief Rodney N. Bryant.
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Stephen Combs currently serves as the Public Information Officer (PIO) for Bluffton Township Fire District, having joined the agency in February 2023. In his role, he oversees all communications for the district's nine stations, including handling service calls, public education, community events, and media relations.
Highlights:
Credentialing: Stephen is among only 35 internationally credentialed PIOs through the Commission on Professional Credentialing (CPC). He's also a FEMA Master PIO and South Carolina Certified Emergency Manager.
Experience: He boasts nearly a decade of experience in disaster response, crisis communications, and strategic planning.
Teaching Role: Stephen is an adjunct instructor with Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), providing national training in public information principles for all-hazards incidents.
Previous Work: Before joining Bluffton, he worked at the Anderson County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina, offering strategic communications guidance and managing Joint Information Centers during significant emergencies.
Notable Incidents: Stephen has managed communication efforts for various major incidents, including the South Carolina "1000-year Flood" in 2015 and the Townville Elementary School shooting in 2016.
Published Author: He contributed to the 2022 ASIS Security Industry Book of the Year, writing the chapter "Successfully Navigating Media for the Emergency Manager."
Stephen Combs brings a wealth of expertise and experience to his role, making him a valuable asset to the Bluffton Township Fire District.
Stephen's Email
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Sarah Loyd is the Head of Product Success & Evangelism at Social News Desk, where she has spent more than a decade helping to develop cutting-edge software that supports social media workflows for government, journalism, and education. With a solid social media management and journalism background, Sarah is dedicated to ensuring clients get the most out of the platform. She spends her free time cheering on her son and the San Antonio Spurs in San Antonio, Texas.
Sarah Loyd's LinkedIn
Email info@socialnewsdesk.com
SocialNewsDesk.com
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It should be noted that this entire podcast episode was created with the assistance of Notebook LM. The information was gathered from blog posts to the Life of A PIO Blog, which comes out weekly. To subscribe to our substack. Please follow the link. https://piopodcast.substack.com/
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In our season finale, we highlight the 10 most listened-to episodes of 2024.
1 S4 - E6 Alexa Boylon, Director of Communications, Indianapolis Metro PD
2 S4 - E1 Kayla Gneck Smith, PIO Tempe PD
3 S4 - E2 Jesse Carr, PIO Dallas PD
4 S4 - E4 Julie Mann, PIO Kane County Government, Kane Cty Illinois
5 S4 - E40 Captain Jon Vick, PIO Lawrence County Sheriff's Office
6 S4 - E 39 Kristi Jourdan, PIO Contra Costa County Government, CA
7 s4 - E22 Chief of Police Christopher Cook. Chief, Whitesettlement PD, TX
8 s4 - E7 Cara Cruz, PIO Pittsburgh PD
9 S4 - E9 Brent Weisburg, Director of Communications, Salt Lake City PD
10 S4 - E5 Irene Mahoney, PIO Mesa PD
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The host of the PIO Podcast wants to wish everyone a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving Holiday!
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Every organization faces the challenge of accelerating change. We help you turn that challenge into an opportunity.
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Lexi Qass’uq Trainer (Cup’ik/Yup’ik) is a communications and storytelling professional. As an Alaska Native woman, Lexi is passionate about giving back to her community and preserving her cultural heritage. She actively incorporates her traditional values into her work, ensuring her strategies are effective, culturally appropriate, and inclusive.
Lexi's Email
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Lt. Patrick Juliano began his career with the Palm Coast Fire Department in 2006 as a Volunteer Firefighter and became a career firefighter in 2008. He earned his Firefighter Certification from First Coast Technical College, obtained his EMT Certification in New York, and completed his Paramedic training and Associate Degree at Daytona State College. Patrick furthered his education by earning a Bachelor’s Degree from Flagler College and a Master’s from Barry University. He was promoted to Driver Engineer in 2018 and to Lieutenant in 2021. Before joining the fire service, he worked as an EMT in New York and spent several years in the funeral industry. In addition to his firefighting responsibilities, Lieutenant Juliano serves as the department's Public Information Officer and is the Palm Coast Professional Firefighters Vice President.
Patrick's Email
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Zack Seipert is the Marketing & Communications Specialist for the Central Utah Water Conservancy District and co-author of “The Most Amazing Marketing Book Ever.” Zack knows how to get important messages seen, heard, and understood in today’s fast-paced world. He has a bachelor’s degree in Digital Marketing from Utah Valley University and currently serves as the West Region Council Representative for the Government Social Media Professional Association. Find him online at zackseipert.com and on LinkedIn @zack-seipert
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Sarah Lux earned a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the University of Central Florida and a master’s degree in public relations from Full Sail University. Sarah has practiced Public Relations for ten years, focusing on community education, government affairs, and crisis communications. She is part of the Florida Association of Public Information Officers’ deployment team and the Lead PIO for Florida’s Region 5 All-Hazards Incident Management Team. The state of Florida has deployed her to aid communications in other counties four times, including Fort Myers Beach, after Hurricane Ian. She is part of the 2024 Master PIO cohort, a federal training program that has accepted and certified less than 170 PIOs nationwide. Lux prides herself on her ability to explain complex governmental matters to citizens in her community clearly.
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Laura McElroy is an award-winning journalist and communication strategist with 33 years of experience. She has managed high-profile crises and large events, like the Republican National Convention and Super Bowl XLIII. She consults for government agencies and major companies, develops communication strategies, and provides executive-level training. She has a deep understanding of media dynamics, crisis communication, and community outreach
https://mcelroymediagroup.com/
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Anna Smith is the Public Information Officer for Morehead City, NC, and has more than a decade of professional communications experience. She graduated from Penn State with a degree in Print Journalism and Spanish before moving to North Carolina in 2011.
She enjoys disseminating information on the city’s departments, including Fire-EMS and Police. When she isn’t covering everything from community events to crisis communications, you can find her baking, reading a good book, or spending time with her husband and their cat, Otto.
Anna's LinkedIn
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Captain John Vik is a native of Lancaster County, Nebraska and began working in law enforcement through the military. He served in the 155th Security Forces Squadron of the Nebraska Air National Guard from 2001 – 2007 including time on active duty in support of Operations Noble Eagle & Enduring Freedom. He joined the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office in 2007 and graduated from the Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center’s 167th Basic Training Academy.
During his career, Captain Vik has served in all sworn divisions within the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office, including assignments as a Patrol Deputy, Field Training Officer, Criminal Investigator, Crash Reconstructionist, and Instructor. He was promoted to Sergeant in 2013 and then to Captain in 2017. Today, Captain Vik commands LSO’s Patrol Division, overseeing uniformed patrol operations throughout Lancaster County.
Captain Vik has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He is a certified instructor for Georgetown University Law Center’s ABLE Program (Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement) and a graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, Virginia.
Captain Vik’s proudest accomplishments are his marriage and his fatherhood. He and his wife, Heather, live in Lancaster County with their four children.
John Vik's LinkedIn902 Podcast
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Kristi is a former newspaper reporter with 15 years of experience leading and supporting crisis communications, cofounder and executive communications, external and internal communications, community relations, media relations, and more for Fortune 500 companies, local government, in-house, and agencies. She is the director for the Office of Communications & Media at Contra Costa County.
Email - Kristi.Jourdan@contracostatv.org
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Lisa Glass is the Team Lead of communications & Engagement for the Bay of Plenty Civil Defence Emergency Management Group office in New Zealand. She is a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) and a National Emergency Management Response Team (NZ EMAT) member. Lisa is the first person outside the United States to be selected for the FEMA Master PIO program, which she will complete in September. Lisa has graduate qualifications in business and public sector communications. Before joining emergency management, she worked in corporate comms and PR after a long stretch as a reporter, correspondent, and producer in TV News and Current Affairs.
Bay of Plenty Emergency Services
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Sonu Wasu is currently working as a Public Information Officer for the City of Chandler Police Department. She previously worked as the Public Safety, PIO for the Town of Queen Creek, where she helped put together a campaign to launch the Queen Creek Police Department and served as the Town’s first PIO for Police & Fire.
Sonu has also worked in the private sector, handling internal and external communications for executives at a Fortune 200 company. She served as a Brand Ambassador for Avnet and helped launch the Asian-American & Pacific Islander employee resource group.
Prior to that Sonu was a broadcast news reporter for 25-years. She has worked for multiple networks around the country reporting on everything from breaking news to city, county and state government, courtroom trials, tornadoes, floods, wildfires, extreme heat and Haboobs. Sonu also spent months at the U.S.- Mexico border in Arizona covering immigration issues, drug & human smuggling, and the plight of migrants repeatedly trying to illegally enter into the United States.
Sonu has won multiple journalism awards for her work on immigration issues, human trafficking, and other feature and spot news stories. She graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a degree in Bioengineering and is currently completing a B.S. in Strategic Communications.
She is an FBI-LEEDA and FEMA certified Public Information Officer, working toward her certification as a Master PIO through FBI-LEEDA.
Sonu's email
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Maren McKay is the Public Affairs and Communications Manager for the Lynnwood Police Department! She comes from a strong broadcast journalist background after reporting in two bureaus in Northwest Montana. She reported during the height of COVID and BLM and broke stories to people around the state. After reporting, she switched to public relations and was the PR Manager for Whitefish Mountain Resort. Her favorite thing about that job? Snowboarding every day in the winter and Huckleberry picking in the summer. There, she led DEI conversations and re-structured the resort's newsletter. A few years ago, Maren moved to Seattle, where she was the PR Manager for the Space Needle and Chihuly Garden and Glass. She coordinated high-profile commercial shoots there and led the first New Year's at the Needle show since COVID. In her current role as Public Affairs and Communications Manager, Maren oversees all external and internal messaging. She's created crisis communications plans, established the department's brand and voice, and strengthened internal communications. No day is the same at the department! Outside work, Maren loves traveling with her husband, spending time with friends, and wrangling her 9-year-old Pit mix, Jackson.
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Cynthia McLaughlin serves as the Public Information Officer for the Sarasota Police Department under the Office of the Chief of Police, a role she assumed later in 2023 after joining the department in January of the same year.
In this capacity, Cynthia develops, implements, and evaluates communication strategies and public information campaigns to inform Sarasota citizens about the department's services, programs, and initiatives. Her work is crucial in missing persons cases, crime prevention, and the identification of suspects.
Cynthia ensures that the department maintains a quality reputation by effectively communicating with a wide range of audiences, including organizations, neighborhood associations, employees, news media, and other community partners through both social and traditional media. She is passionate about humanizing the badge and maintaining transparency with the community.
Cynthia brings extensive experience in social media and reporting from television news stations across the country, including East Texas and Bismarck, North Dakota. She served as the evening news anchor at SNN, The Suncoast News Network, which brought her to the Suncoast. Her quick and concise ability to disseminate news has earned her numerous state-wide and multi-state Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) awards for Investigative and Spot News Reporting, competing among all market sizes, including major cities. She was also a Lone Star Emmy award finalist for her relentless coverage during a severe winter storm that knocked out power to most of the state.
Originally from Dallas, Texas, Cynthia graduated from Southern Methodist University with degrees in Journalism and Business.
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Kim Clark (she/her) helps communicators discover and own their unique DEI narrative. She works with communicators to combine the power of communications with the possibility of diversity, equity, and inclusion to create stronger and safer workplace cultures for every employee and increase trust and reputation with their audience.
She is the co-author of The Conscious Communicator: The fine art of not saying stupid sh*t, an Amazon #1 bestseller that features The DEPTH Model (TM). DEPTH is a strategic and proactive positional framework to guide organizations on DEI and social topics and messaging.
https://www.kimclarkcommunications.com/
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Hillary Mintz serves as the Public Information Officer for Waukesha County. She joined the County in 2023 after spending over a decade as a trusted journalist for WISN-TV, the local ABC affiliate in Milwaukee, where she covered news across Southeast Wisconsin. In her role as PIO, Hillary works in the County Executive’s Office, where she collaborates with the County’s 17 departments, managing media relations and communications both internally for staff and externally for the community. She also oversees several of the County’s social media channels, posting creative video content about various departments, events, and urgent, critical information.
Hillary has been certified by FEMA as an Advanced Public Information Officer. Her passion for public service and dedication to keeping the community informed are qualities she brings from her background in local TV news. Prior to Hillary’s time in news and at Waukesha County, she grew up near Philadelphia and played Division 1 tennis for the University of Iowa.
Hillary continues to play tennis competitively and with her family.
This Is Propaganda
Challenging marketers' delusions about the cultural impact of our work. A WEBBY winner!
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Scott Thomsen has served on the board of the NAGC for eight years, including previous roles as president-elect and communications director. He is the director of communications and public affairs for the Ventura County (California) Fire Department, overseeing the public information officers, community education, and community engagement. Previously, he served in various communications roles, including director, for Seattle City Light, a municipally owned electric utility, after a 20-year career in journalism as a reporter and editor for multiple news organizations, including The Orange County Register and The Associated Press.
Lawrence J. Parnell, M.B.A., is an award-winning Public Relations professional and academic who is an Associate Professor and Director of the George Washington University Master’s in Strategic Public Relations program. He has served in this role for 14 years, and the GWU Master’s is now one of the best-known and most admired programs in the US.
He holds a BS in Journalism from Boston University and an MBA from the University of New Haven. He is pursuing an advanced Strategic Management and Public Policy degree from the GW School of Business.
He also operates Parnell Communications, a strategic communications and leadership training firm. He advises government, corporate, and non-profit organizations on executive development and strategic communications.
Prior to coming to GW, he had a 32-year career in the private and public sectors. He has worked in corporate, agency, and government settings globally and in national and statewide political campaigns. PR Week recognized him as PR Professional of the Year (2003) and named him to the PR News Hall of Fame in 2009.
He is a frequent author and speaker on communications strategy, crisis and issues management, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at industry conferences and universities worldwide.
He is the co-author of a top-selling public relations textbook, Introduction to Public Relations, published by Sage Publishing. The text, now in its second edition, is used by over 35 undergraduate Mass Communications and Public Relations programs in North America.
He is a member of the Page Society and serves on the Board of the National Capital Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). Parnell is active on Twitter (@gwprmasters) and LinkedIn, posting commentary and sharing research and his insights on current issues in communications and politics.
To read the study (Click Her
This Is Propaganda
Challenging marketers' delusions about the cultural impact of our work. A WEBBY winner!
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
The Brandon T. Adams Audio Experience
Welcome to The Brandon T. Adams Audio Experience, hosted by entrepreneur, investor,...
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Greg Matusky is a passionate student of human communications and how it powers our culture, economy, and future. As CEO of Gregory FCA, one of the 40 largest PR firms in America, he has helped develop the communication skills of hundreds of professionals, providing them with insights from more than 40 years of experience in storytelling, from his beginnings as a magazine article writer to his present role as head of Gregory FCA.
A student of Gladwell, Pinker, and Chomsky, he is not afraid to delve into the rabbit holes of linguistics and cognition to uncover the process of human communications and share his discoveries. His most recent interest lies in artificial intelligence and how AI transforms corporate communications and public relations. In that respect, he oversaw the development of one of the first generative AI tools for public relations professionals, Gladwrite, which his team created before OpenAI introduced ChatGPT in November 2022. In early 2023, the team at Gregory FCA launched WriteRelease, a free AI press release creation tool customized to produce more than 70 news release types. Matusky’s fascination with AI is driven by a deep desire to allow others to do it digitally in seconds, which took him years to master.
Last year, Matusky launched his podcast series, "The Disruption is Now," where he interviews leaders across various industries to explore how AI impacts their fields.
This Is Propaganda
Challenging marketers' delusions about the cultural impact of our work. A WEBBY winner!
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
The Brandon T. Adams Audio Experience
Welcome to The Brandon T. Adams Audio Experience, hosted by entrepreneur, investor,...
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Michael Sugrue began his law enforcement career in the United States Air Force as a Security Forces Officer in 1998. As a Security Forces Officer, Michael specialized in Law Enforcement, Global Force Protection, Anti-Terrorism, Nuclear Security, Foreign Air Field Assessments and Air Base Ground Defense.
Michael served in a variety of assignments, including Flight Leader, Flight Commander, Senior Watch Officer, Chief of Command Post, and Chief of Security Forces.
Michael served all over the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. He was also a Security Forces Phoenix Raven with the unique identifier of #1173. Michael honorably separated from the Air Force as a Captain in 2004.
Immediately after the Air Force, Michael was hired by the Walnut Creek Police Department, where he served in a variety of assignments including Patrol Officer, Driver Training Instructor (EVOC), Field Training Officer (FTO), SIU Detective, Undercover CA DOJ Narcotic Task Force Agent (Contra Costa County), Public Information Officer (PIO) and Patrol Sergeant.
Michael was awarded the Walnut Creek PD Distinguished Service Medal in 2014 for his heroic and life-saving actions during a Fatal Officer Involved Shooting in 2012.
Michael ultimately medically retired in 2018. He is now a Peer Volunteer at the West Coast Post Trauma Retreat (WCPR) and an Ambassador for Save A Warrior (SAW).
Michael is a dedicated advocate for awareness, prevention, education, and training on Post Traumatic Stress Injury (PTSI) and First Responder Suicide Prevention. Michael continues to speak at law enforcement agencies all over the United States.
Subject in Mission 22 “Smash The Stigma” short documentary film, and subject in full-length documentary film “Residual: Cumulative Trauma and PTSD in First Responders.”
In his International #1 BEST-SELLING book, RELENTLESS COURAGE: Winning the Battle Against Frontline Trauma, along with Dr. Shauna Springer, PhD, they tackle the complexity of trauma within the law enforcement community, uncovering the unspoken barriers, and outline a path to healing.
RELENTLESS COURAGE was released in Spring 2022 and has been described by Lt. Col. David Grossman, best-selling author of On Killing and On Combat, as “one of the most important books of our time” and “the natural successor to On Combat.”
HIS NEW BOOK IS AVAILABLE HERE
amzn.to/3vDZvSw
This Is Propaganda
Challenging marketers' delusions about the cultural impact of our work. A WEBBY winner!
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This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Stephanie "Steph" Bishop currently serves as a Public Information Officer and member of the Command and General Staff of California Interagency Incident Management Team 4 (CIIMT 4), a Federal Type 1“All-Hazards” Incident Management Team. Stephanie serves as the lead managing and mentoring other Public Information Officers to establish and coordinate all media, community, and stakeholder relation information needs during an incident. In addition, she is responsible for establishing and maintaining positive interpersonal and interagency working relationships with local, state, tribal, and federal governments to ensure the right message is being delivered to those affected promptly and accurately.
Before joining CIIMT4, she had a diverse and impressive background in various fields related to public safety, communications, and emergency response that gave her a unique perspective on the challenges faced in public relations. Stephanie was introduced to public information during her 18 years in law enforcement, specializing in child crimes and human trafficking, where she would assist in communicating with the media and public about ongoing investigations and high-profile cases.
With over 25 years of experience and training, she has a wealth of knowledge and skills that she brings to her role as a Public Information Officer. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Criminology from Regis University. She attended Purdue University, obtaining a Master’s in Crisis and Strategic Communications and Strategic Management. Stephanie has a passion for sharing her experience with others through teaching and has been a subject matter expert in strategic communications. She is an instructor for the USFS and NPS in Region 5 S203 Public Information Course, L952 All Hazards Public Information, and assists in mentoring and coaching in Command and General Staff courses.
Stephanies Email
This Is Propaganda
Challenging marketers' delusions about the cultural impact of our work. A WEBBY winner!
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This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Dr. Jonathan Schwabish is an economist, writer, teacher, and data communications expert. He is considered a leading voice for clarity and accessibility in how analysts, researchers, and scholars communicate their findings. Across four books, he has provided a comprehensive guide to creating, communicating, and distributing data-rich content. Better Presentations coaches people through preparing, designing, and delivering data communication products; Elevate the Debatehelps people develop a strategic plan to communicating their work across multiple platforms and channels; and Better Data Visualizations details essential strategies to create more effective data visualizations. His most recent book, Data Visualization in Excel, hit bookshelves in May 2023 and helps readers create better graphs and charts in the Excel software tool. He is on Twitter @jschwabish.
Connect with me:
PolicyViz website (http://policyviz.com/)
Substack (https://jschwabish.substack.com/)
Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/policyviz)
Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/jschwabish/?hl=en)
LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanschwabish/)
Twitter (https://twitter.com/jschwabish)
YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/JonSchwabish)
This Is Propaganda
Challenging marketers' delusions about the cultural impact of our work. A WEBBY winner!
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Support the Show.
This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Darren Wright is currently the Public Information Officer for Oro Valley AZ Police.
He retired from the Washington State Patrol as a Sergeant, after serving 31 years. His final assignment was the Headquarters Public Information Officer (PIO), where he handled major media inquiries, statewide impact incidents and oversaw the district PIO program.
He has a master’s degree in communications with a Public Relations concentration from Southern New Hampshire University and a bachelor’s degree in communication from the same university.
He is an Honorably discharged veteran from the United States Marine Corps.
Darren Wright - dwright@orovalleyaz.gov
This Is Propaganda
Challenging marketers' delusions about the cultural impact of our work. A WEBBY winner!
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This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Keaira Turner has a knack and passion for managing brands for companies and building strategic communication that helps bridge the gap between organizations and their consumers. Keaira attended the University of Alabama at Birmingham and graduated in December 2016 with her bachelor’s degree in communication studies. Deciding to further her education, Ms. Turner sought to gain her master’s degree. In 2019, Keaira graduated with honors in Integrated Media Communication from Webster University and is enrolled in a doctorate program at Liberty University for strategic media. During her career, Keaira worked full-time within corporate communication spaces to bring more awareness and ideas on increasing marketing efforts. With a remarkable tenure in PR and marketing, Keaira has mastered the art of crafting and executing strategic communication plans. Her deep understanding of marketing dynamics and ability to leverage the power of communication have earned her widespread recognition and accolades throughout her career. This experience has led Keaira to assume the Director of Public Affairs role for the City of Chattanooga Police Department. Through her innovative ideas and unwavering dedication, she implemented various changes that heightened awareness and strengthened community relations.
This Is Propaganda
Challenging marketers' delusions about the cultural impact of our work. A WEBBY winner!
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This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Lisa Farbtein
Lisa Farbstein is a dynamic, results-focused, creative veteran media relations/public affairs professional with more than 30 years of experience. She has been a spokesperson with the Transportation Security Administration for 13 years and is currently responsible for covering seven states, including seven of the largest airports in the country—JFK, Newark, LaGuardia, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Reagan-National and Dulles Airports. Prior to joining TSA, Ms. Farbstein was the chief spokesperson for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority—or Metro--the subway and bus system in the nation’s capital, where she worked for 10 years. Ms. Farbstein has also served as the chief spokesperson for the Arlington (Virginia) Public School system and a spokesperson for Hood College, a small liberal arts college in central Maryland. She began her career as a journalist. Ms. Farbstein earned her bachelor’s degree from Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania, and her master’s degree from Hood College in Maryland.
Emily Bonilla - Pieton
Emily Bonilla-Pieton has been with the US government for nearly 15 years and is currently the TSA's Lead Social Media Strategist. A first-generation Salvadorian-Puerto Rican child of immigrants and so-called "Army Brat," she credits her cultural upbringing and life experiences as the foundation for her current success. A lover of pop culture and storytelling, she once aspired to be a news reporter and quickly shifted gears to a different type of media. Now, as TSA’s lead social media strategist, she incorporates trending topics and helps make them into relatable but informative content. Much of her and her team’s work has been recognized nationally, including being recognized by Forbes magazine as "12 Examples of Vocal Brands That Stand Out on Social Media."
MyTSA App
TSA LinkedIn
TSA Instagram
TSA Facebook
TSA Twitter
TSA Youtube
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This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Allison Waters-Merritt has worked with the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office in Florida for 6 years as the agency's sole Public Information Officer. Before working as a PIO, Allison worked for 27 years in newspapers, starting as a photojournalist before moving to advertising, special sections editor, and news editor. She has a journalism degree from the University of Florida.
Putnam County Sheriffs Media Email Address media@putnamsheriff.org
Just Access Podcast
Your go-to listen for fascinating interviews and discussions about human rights today
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This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Keith Thornton, a public safety expert with almost 25 years of experience, has a diverse community service background. From volunteering as a firefighter, emergency medical technician, police officer, and 911 dispatcher to his current role as a public safety account executive in the private sector, Keith's dedication to public safety is unwavering. Beyond his professional responsibilities, he actively advocates for first responders, foster children, and LGBTQAI+ community while always emphasizing the importance of mental health support.
Just Access Podcast
Your go-to listen for fascinating interviews and discussions about human rights today
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Christopher Cook was appointed in 2022 as the Chief of Police for the City of White Settlement, Texas, a suburb of 21,000 residents in Western Tarrant County and nestled in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area, the 5th largest in the U.S., with almost 7 million residents. Prior to that, he served as a Deputy Police Chief for the Arlington, Texas Police Department. White Settlement, known as the gateway to national defense, is home to major defense industries, including Lockheed Martin and the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base-Fort Worth.
The White Settlement Police Department, one of only 186 agencies across Texas out of 2,700, is accredited by the Law Enforcement Agency Best Practices Accreditation Program, the gold standard for recognition, through the Texas Police Chief’s Association. The department, nationally recognized with awards, is a full-service law enforcement agency with 53 team members. In May 2024, Christopher became a published author with The Art of Strategic Communication, a Police Chief’s Guide to Mastering Soundbites, Storytelling, and Community Engagement.
This book culminated a three-year project that started while working as a Deputy Police Chief in Arlington, Texas, including writing and pulling resources together to assist law enforcement leaders and strategic communication advisors. Christopher Cook was appointed in 2023 to the Caruth Police Institute Executive Advisory Board, also appointed as an Associate Advisor to the Advisory Board of the Institute for Law Enforcement Administration and appointed to the Executive Board of the FBI National Command Course Association. He was also elected in 2023 to serve as a member of the Fort Worth Airpower Council, which provides support to military members and families. On December 6, 2023, Chief Cook was appointed to the International Association of Chiefs of Police – Police Professional Standards, Ethics, and Image Committee by IACP President Wade Carpenter.
Christopher Cook began his law enforcement career at the Tarrant County Criminal Justice Training Center in 1995 and eventually worked at the Arlington, Texas Police Department, where he assailed through the ranks and retired as a Deputy
Police Chief in 2022. While in Arlington, he served as the department’s Chief Spokesperson and Chief of Staff as a member of the executive team.
Chief Cook served as the Vice President, President, and Immediate Past President of the National Information Officers Association (NIOA), representing the largest group of government communicators in the world from 2019-2023. Chief Cook was appointed Chair for the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA) – Public Information Officers (PIO) Committee in 2018, representing 78 of the largest police departments in the United States and Canada. He was also elected General Chair for the International Association of Chiefs of Police – PIO Section from 2015-2018. Chief Cook has also served as a Regional Vice Chair for the IACP.
Amazon link to the Art of Strategic Communication
Chief Cook's LinkedIn
Grave Injustice
The makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court and the cases they are hearing are no...
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This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Ashley McDonald, MPIO is Public Relations/Communications Manager for the North America Fleet Division of Corpay in Brentwood, Tennessee. Before moving into the private sector, she served as public information officer for Murfreesboro Fire Rescue and Rutherford County Fire Rescue departments (Tennessee) for ten years collectively.
She now works in a volunteer capacity as public information officer for both the Emergency Management Association of Tennessee and Tennessee Firemen’s Association, and supports the Tennessee Fire Chiefs Association’s Mutual Aid Section.
McDonald holds a B.S. degree in Public Relations from Middle Tennessee State University and has completed both the FEMA Emergency Management Institute and FBI-LEEDA Master PIO programs.
She is a past president of the National Information Officers Association. During her time as president, McDonald led the charge to develop a professional designation and credentialing process for public information officers through the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE) for which she was awarded NIOA’s “Leadership in Public Information Award” in 2023.
McDonald earned her Public Information Officer designation from the CPSE Commission on Professional Credentialing in 2022 and has served on the Commission as the PIO representative since November 2022.
Ashley's email
Ashley's LinkedIn Profile
Center for Public Safety Excellence Website
Grave Injustice
The makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court and the cases they are hearing are no...
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This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Transparency: The New Buzzword of the 21st Century”
In this episode, we discuss how law enforcement agencies define transparency and how agencies should work to be as transparent as possible. The panelists for this discussion include:
- Nelly Miles
- Adamy Myrick
- Katie Nelson
- Tamron Olden
- Gary Woodruff
We asked our five panelists these questions.
- Defining Transparency in Law Enforcement: How do our panelists define transparency within their agencies, and what strategies are employed to balance it with operational security while building public trust?
- Mechanisms and Technologies for Transparency: What are the current policies, technologies, or practices proving effective in enhancing transparency in police practices?
- Impact of Body-Worn Cameras: How do body-worn cameras contribute to transparency and accountability, and how do agencies balance their use with legal and privacy considerations?
- Communication and Perception of Law Enforcement Actions: How can law enforcement agencies improve the communication of their actions to ensure that the public’s perception aligns with the reality of policing?
- Collaboration for Enhanced Transparency: How can Public Information Officers (PIOs) work alongside community organizations and advocacy groups to foster transparency and address concerns about bias and fairness in policing?
The Influence Factor by The Influencer Marketing Factory
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MAHD House Bar Talk
Jimmy and Gito just talking about things going around at MAHD House Bar & Grille...
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This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Lauren Reimer has been the Public Information Officer for the Pinal County Sheriff's Office since Nov 2019. Pinal County is located between Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona.
Prior to her time as PIO, Lauren spent seven years as a news reporter in various cities, lastly Phoenix, Arizona.
Sam Salzwedel has been the primary video creator and backup PIO for the Pinal County Sheriff's Office in Arizona since 2019. He has a journalism degree from the Walter Cronkite School at Arizona State University. Before joining PCSO, he spent 12 years as a photojournalist and reporter in the television news industry in Tucson, Arizona.
During their time with PCSO, they have worked to grow the agency's presence on social media and gained nearly 2M cumulative followers. PCSO is now the 2nd most-followed law enforcement agency in the country on Facebook, only behind the FBI.
PCSOPIO@Pinal.gov
The Influence Factor by The Influencer Marketing Factory
Top 1% Podcast About Influencer Marketing, Creator Economy, Social Commerce and more.
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This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Jan McInnis is a keynote speaker, comedian, comedy writer, and author. She has written for Jay Leno’s Tonight Show monologue as well as many other people, places and groups – radio, TV, syndicated cartoon strips, guests on the Jerry Springer show (her parents are proud). For 20+ years she’s traveled the country as a keynote speaker and comedian sharing her unique and practical tips on how to use humor in business (yes it’s a business skill!). She's been featured in the Huffington Post, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post for her clean humor, and she's the author of 2 books - Finding the Funny Fast – How to Create Quick Humor to Connect with Clients, Coworkers and Crowds," and "Convention Comedian: Stories and Wisdom From Two Decades of Chicken Dinners and Comedy Clubs." www.TheWorkLady.com
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This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Kith’s President, Stephanie Craig, has built her reputation as a crisis expert by guiding some of the world’s most prominent people and organizations through their most trying moments. Combining her deep experience in politics, media and business, she mitigates crisis, repairs reputations and inoculates against future crises.
Prior to joining Kith, Stephanie was the founder and CEO of the Apeiron Strategy Group where she counted former First Lady Rosalynn Carter and the mayor of the nation’s 10th largest city as clients. When not handling crisis, Stephanie used her company to support causes she cares about by helping to establish the groundbreaking group — I Am ALS and chairing the Force to End Harassment in Advocacy as an effort during the #Metoo movement.
In her career, Stephanie has guided media organizations, Fortune 50 tech companies and members of the House and Senate in the United States and Canada through some of their most trying days. She sharpened her crisis skills on several campaigns including three presidentials. She is a battleground specialist and likely the only person to have worked in both houses on Capitol Hill and Parliament Hill.
Having known Kith's founder, Bill Coletti, since their time at Public Strategies, Stephanie jumped at the chance to work together again because of their shared belief that there is a better way to be a crisis consultant — the Kith way.
SELECT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- Holds distinction as one of the only people to ever work in the U.S. House and Senate, and the Canadian House and Senate.
- Led efforts for Fortune 50 CEO’s campaign to raise over $5 million to support his chairmanship of a corporate giving campaign.
- Ran the global stakeholder network for a multinational technology company preserving billions of dollars.
- Developed and executed the 2020 political strategy for a former First Lady.
- Partnered to create, launch and grow a leading women’s organization.
- Created a marketing and communications department for a global media and insights company that enabled them to completely shift their image in the midst of a complete change to their business-model, which has helped the company go from losing money to posting a $27 million profit in 2020.
- Navigated the nation’s largest and most comprehensive tech policy group through lawsuits, corporate espionage, CEO transition and merger.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Stephanie Craig
President, Kith
202-329-7545
linkedin.com/in/craigstephanie
www.kith.co
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This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Todd Fox is the Founder and Managing Director of the Close Protection Corps, a specialized services firm that works with celebrities, dignitaries and C-suite executives in challenging environments. The company was founded in 1999 with initial services focused on the Latin market. Fox’s company became known for protective service operations in challenging environments such as Mexico, Colombia, Haiti, Iraq, Balkans, Turkey and Russia. The company has performed protective operations across the full
spectrum of clients ranging from Madonna and Janet Jackson, to Supreme Court Justices and UN Officials.
Martial Arts Training
• Black Belt 4th Gracie Jiu Jitsu
• Black Belt 1st Kenpo Karate
• Amateur Muay Thai
• Black Belt 5th Japanese Ju JitsuBlack Belt National Champion (IBJJF)
PROFESSIONAL MMA
- Professional Wins 10, Losses 2
- Hook n Shoot, Submission Fighting Championships, Ring of Fury,
- Reality Submission Fighting, World War III, Universal Challenge, AF Combat
PUBLICATIONS AUTHORED
• POWER OF PAPER & PLASTIC: An Unofficial Guide to Backstage Passes
• UNDERPINNING: Foundational Concepts in Force Instruction
• PROTECTIVE PERSPECTIVE: A Peek Behind the Curtain
• PROTECTION for & from HUMANITY: Modern Survival Strategies
• ALL ACCESS: The Secrets of Tour Security
FORMAL EDUCATION
- Bachelor of Science, Business Administration, Columbia College, St. Louis, MO 1999
- Master of Business Administration, MBA (80% complete) Webster University, St. Louis, MO
- Certificate of Criminal Justice, Mineral Area College, Park Hills, MO
Todds Website TourProtection.com
Email Fox@TourProtection.com
Instagram @TourTraining
Support the show
This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
She was the first female to ever achieve the rank of Major and Jenell Atlas was the first female captain ever placed over the Indiantown substation.
Jenell Atlas is an award-winning officer; as Public Information Officer, she regularly took interviews from national news organizations (Good Morning America, New York Times, etc..) about the Martin County Sheriff Office for nine years, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Many of her ideas helped develop good public relations between the Sheriff’s Office and the community.
Under Sheriff Crowder’s administration, Deputy Atlas pointed the agency toward the need for a Public Information Officer, a website, a Sheriff’s calendar for residents, and a child support roundup for dads who were behind in payments. For that campaign, Deputy Atlas used her own story.
Jenell is an avid traveler, moving all across America on the open road with her RV Travel club.
Jenell's Email
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This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Amazon - A Practical Guide to Starting Your Own PR Firm
Liselle serves as founder and president of DeGrave Communications, a boutique
public relations firm, and podcaster for the “PRessing On in Public Relations”
podcast. Having grown up with Cuban refugee parents, her drive to create and
live the American dream has always been rooted deep inside her. As a young girl,
Liselle gave tap lessons to her neighbors, organized her grandmother’s closet for cash, and even saved her lunch money just to fund her early business shenanigans. She is passionate about small businesses and encourages entrepreneurship everywhere she goes.
Liselle enjoys spending quality time on her ranch with her husband, two children, a dog, bees and chickens. Having always been an “old soul,” she enjoys antiquing, gardening, reading, studying natural living and trying just about anything with lavender in it.
To connect with Liselle, visit DeGravePR.com
Rachel is the driving force behind RMG Communications, where creativity and strategy collide to create award-winning campaigns that truly make an impact. She also co-hosts the popular and award-winning “PRessing On in Public Relations” podcast, blending wisdom and wit on PR, life and business.
Beyond overseeing RMG, podcasting and writing books, Rachel’s heart belongs to travel. You can find her exploring new horizons and seeking inspiration in far-flung places. When she returns to her cozy Arizona home, she enjoys spending time with her husband, Trent, and the charming crew of rescue cats: Patrick, Trinnie, Scarlett, Stormy, Elsie, Mav, and Roo. Together, they make a purr-fect family.
To connect with Rachel, visit RMGComm.com
Listen to their Pressing On Podcast
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This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Sgt. English has been with the Joliet Police Department for nearly 25 years and has held the role of Public Affairs Sergeant at my department for the past 3.5 years. Sgt. English is the Assistant Commander of our Crisis Negotiator Team, a member of our peer assistance team, and a member of our department’s pipes and drums band. Outside of the department, he is a pre-licensed psychotherapist. Sgt. English has been married to my college sweetheart for nearly 24 years, and we have two adult sons.
Sgt. Dwayne English #53
Email: denglish@joliet.gov
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This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Shelley Lynch joined the FBI as the Public Affairs Officer for the Charlotte Division in 2011. She has handled many high-profile cases and countless investigations of fugitive and missing children in North Carolina. Lynch assisted with crisis communications after the Boston Marathon Bombing and the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando. She regularly coordinates with FBI Headquarters, FBI offices nationwide, and state and local law enforcement agencies to develop and implement strategies to best communicate with and respond to media inquiries. Before her work in the FBI, she spent 16 years in the television news industry working at television stations in Augusta, Georgia, and Charlotte, North Carolina, as a producer and executive producer.
FBI Website on educational material on Sextortion
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This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Recently retired Chief Gary Woodruff is a 40-year law enforcement veteran, serving in the US Army Military Police/Criminal Investigations Division, Frankfort (IN) Police Department, and Lawrence (IN) Police Department.
Gary started his career in 1983, joining the US Army Military Police, where after completing Basic Training & MP School at Ft McClellan, AL, he was assigned to the US Forces Police station in Kaiserslautern, Germany, a joint Army/Air Force law enforcement operation serving the largest American community outside of the US. For his last year of military service, Gary was assigned as an Investigator at the US Army Criminal Investigations Division office at Ft Harrison, IN.
Upon concluding his commitment to the military, Gary joined the Frankfort (IN) Police Department, graduating from the 89th Session of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy. At Frankfort PD, Gary initially served in the Patrol Division, eventually earning promotion as a detective in the Criminal Investigations Division, attained the rank of Captain, served as the Project Director of a multi-jurisdictional Federal, State, and Local drug task force, was the department Public Information Officer, and responsible for dignitary protection, among other duties.
In 2000, Gary transferred to the Lawrence (IN) Police Department, where he served the remaining 24 years of his career, primarily as a detective in the Investigations Division, two years as Commander of the Investigations Division, served as the department's Public Information Officer/Media Relations Chief, provided dignitary/executive protection, was appointed Deputy Chief in 2010, and as Chief of Police in 2022.
During his career, Gary earned several certifications as a use of force instructor, regularly guest instructing at the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy and across the US as a contract instructor.
Post-retirement, Gary continues leveraging his career experiences as a consultant, contractor, instructor, media analyst, and dignitary/executive protection provider.
Gary's LinkedIn
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This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Ashley Turner, APIO is an award-winning Social Media Manager and Public Information Officer renowned for her crisis communication and social media expertise. With a focus on customer-centric strategies, she has elevated trust and service delivery in calm and challenging situations. Leading a team of 50 social media administrators across 36 social media accounts, Ashley has implemented award-winning training programs, policies, reports, and content calendars. During emergencies like Hurricane Ian, she has excelled in digital communications, managing website updates, press releases, and social media monitoring. Notably, she’s increased her social media following by 43% and expanded impressions by 166% in less than three years, showcasing her proficiency in content curation and social media knowledge. Notably, Ashley has been honored with a national award from the Government Social Media Conference and the Nextdoor platform for her exceptional use of the platform, adding another layer of distinction to her remarkable achievements in the field. Recently honored as a 30 under 30 professional by the National Recreation & Park Association. A sought-after speaker and published author, Ashley actively contributes to shaping conversations on social media and crisis communications at local, state, and national levels.
Ashley's Email
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This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Brent Weisberg is the communications administrative director for the Salt Lake City Police Department. Weisberg joined the department in July 2021 after spending three years as the communications director for the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office in Portland, Oregon. Prior to his time overseeing strategic communications for the district attorney’s office and Salt Lake City Police, Weisberg spent 10 years as a television reporter in Portland where he primarily covered breaking news and filed reports covering the criminal justice system in Portland throughout Oregon. In his current role, Weisberg, as a senior staff member to the Chief, manages a team of public information officers and professional staff who provide timely responses to media and other community members. He is also responsible for overseeing and coordinating the department’s internal and external communications and community-relations strategy. Weisberg has a heavy emphasis on crisis communications and enjoys working with his team to identify creative and strategic ways to show case the work of the Salt Lake City Police Department. In 2021, the Portland Police Bureau awarded Weisberg, and several other key public information officers, with the department’s “Achievement Medal” for his communications work during the 2020 riots in Portland, Oregon. Weisberg graduated from Washington State University.
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This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Scotty Leamon is the Public Safety Information Officer for the Coconut Creek Police Department, and Coconut Creek Fire Rescue. Born in Athens, Tennessee, he graduated from Middle Tennessee State University in 1998 with a degree in Mass Communications. He spent nearly 15 years as a TV reporter, working in Bowling Green, KY (WBKO), Myrtle Beach, SC (WFXB & WBTW), and Roanoke, VA (WSLS). He joined the PIO ranks in 2013 when he took the PIO job with the Roanoke Police Department. He came to Coconut Creek in 2018 to be its police department’s first civilian PIO. In his free time he enjoys the agony that the Dolphins, Heat, Panthers, and Marlins regularly put him through. He makes weekly trips to the beach. He also tweets free PIO advice from his X handle: @PIOnParadise.
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This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Cara Cruz is a former broadcast journalist with close to 20 years of experience as a producer and reporter with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in Vancouver, Toronto, and Washington, D.C.
She has been with the City of Pittsburgh since 2019 as a Public Information Officer for the Department of Public Safety, which includes Pittsburgh Police, Pittsburgh Fire, and Pittsburgh EMS.
Cara is a former competitive figure skater, and in her off time, she can be found running, skating, or scouring Western Pennsylvania and Ohio for vintage finds for the antique store she owns and operates with a Pittsburgh Police homicide detective and his wife.
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This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
After working in local news for nearly a decade, Alexa decided it was time to use her strategic communication storytelling skills for a new and meaningful cause.
Currently, she am responsible for telling the story of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) as their Chief Communication Officer. She also has the honor of showcasing the brave men and women who protect and serve Indy in a monthly video called “Behind The Badge.”
Prior to joining IMPD, Alexa was a morning on-air reporter for FOX59/CBS4 in Indianapolis where she would rise before the sun did to report on breaking news and deliver critical information to Hoosiers starting their day.
Before moving to Indy, Alexa was a reporter for Spectrum News first in Binghamton, NY and then in Syracuse NY, covering stories in two of the snowiest areas in the country.
Alexa's Twitter @AlexaBoylanMedia
Support the show
This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Irene Mahoney joined the Mesa Arizona Police Department in 2018 after more
than 15 years in the news business. As an Executive Producer and News Director, Irene managed newsrooms across the country, in various markets including Los Angeles, Boston, San Diego and Portland.
She is a multiple Emmy Winner, Peabody Award recipient and has also received
an Edward R. Murrow Award for Overall Excellence and various Associated Press
Awards. Originally from Boston, Irene and her family moved to Arizona in 2014. When she joined Mesa PD, Irene brought her media skills to the department to enhance its
communication and transparency with the community.
In addition to answering media inquiries and providing information on incidents,
she and the Media Relations Team use their growing social media platforms to
help share the amazing work that the officers in Mesa do every day. Irene is an avid sports fan and she and her husband keep busy with two teenage daughters; one is a competitive dancer, the other a competitive cheerleader.
They also have two dogs, a Frenchie named Bryan and Sadie the rescue dog!
Irene's Email - Irene.Mahoney@mesaaz.gov
Support the show
This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Julie Mann has worked over three decades as an award-winning journalist in the city of Chicago and suburbs as a reporter, anchor and managing editor of WBBM Newsradio. She was named one of the 10 Most Powerful Women in Chicago Journalism in 2014, 2017, and 2019. In 2021, she accepted the Public Information Officer position with Kane County Government, where she serves as liaison for local and national media on behalf of the county and promotes awareness of the county’s mission programs, policies and initiatives.
Email - mannjulie@co.kane.il.us
Support the show
This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Jenny Weekes is a marketing strategist and owner of Hartwood Creative, where she helps agencies elevate their online presence. With more than 20 years in the fire service, she educates agencies on how to serve their community at the highest level through training and coaching.
Throughout her fire service career in Washington State, she has served as the lead PIO for a variety of large-scale events, including multiple train derailments, a plane crash, wildfires and numerous multi-jurisdictional incidents. She also serves as a PIO on a local Type-3 Incident Management Team, where she has been activated for COVID and multiple law enforcement and fire service LODDs.
She built Hartwood Creative to train and educate government agencies on how best to tell their story, especially through social media. As someone who has managed social media accounts since 2009, she has seen a lot of evolution and has built courses that give agencies strategies they can apply immediately. Her goal is to empower agencies to understand they have a voice and give them the confidence to build their brand around it. She has worked with clients to train their staff, increase recruiting efforts, streamline marketing processes, manage their social media, and launch new social media accounts, among other services.
Jenny earned her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington and Master’s degree from Southern New Hampshire University, both in communications.
https://hartwoodcreative.com/
Support the show
This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Jesse Carr is the Senior Public Information Officer with the Dallas Police Department and Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps Reserve. With a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Southern Methodist University (SMU), Jesse’s expertise includes roles in community engagement, media relations, and crisis response.
Support the show
This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Kayla has been with the Tempe Police Department since August 2016. Prior to my police years, I worked in the hospital, specifically the ER, for ten years on the administration side before making the change to policing. Most of my police career has been in patrol. I have held many ancillary duties from the Mounted Unit, SVU liaison, Intelligence, PIO (before full-time), Crisis intervention, and more. I work full-time in the PIO office, the Office of the Chief.
Kayla has a Bachelor of Science in Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Kayla continues her training and education in crisis communication, WMD operations, Incident command, NIMS, active shooter, and anything and everything that assists with emergency operations and the overall community resiliency after a major crisis incident.
Kayla is currently co-chaired on Securing the Cities with the Maricopa Department of Emergency Management, which focuses on preventing an adversary's successful possession, movement, and deployment of nuclear or radiological weapons and component materials. Here, Kayla concentrates explicitly on the public information sector and crisis communication. Kayla works with PIOs across the county, and our goal is to have pre-establish commutations for radiological and nuclear incidents, both large and small, giving PIOs tools and resources to take the “fear” out of radiation communication but also to feel comfortable providing these types of communications to the community.
Kayla takes one day at a time as she never knows where each will take her. Kayla has goals for bridging the gap with crisis communication, public safety, emergency management, and overall community resiliency.
Support the show
This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
In this episode, I take some excerpts from our guests throughout the year and highlight them. We also have podcast statistics. See you in early 2024.
Support the show
This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Erika Thomas is the Public Information Officer Manager for the Lincoln Police Department in Lincoln, Nebraska. Prior to starting at LPD in March 2023, Erika spent 20 years working in TV and radio as an award-winning journalist. She was most recently the evening anchor for the CBS affiliate in Northwest Arkansas.
Email: lpd3627@cjis.lincoln.ne.gov
Cell: 402-805-7469
Erika Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/realerikathomas
Erika LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erika-thomas-350b6111b
Public Safety PIO Women: https://www.facebook.com/groups/844197057215129
LPD Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lincolnpolicedepartment/
LPD Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/Lincoln_Police
LPD Recruiting: https://joinLPD.com
Support the show
This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
As the Public Information Officer for the Town of Summerville, SC, my passion for effective communication and commitment to the community drives my work as a PIO. With over six years of experience, Christopher has a proven track record of success. Christopher has led projects such as rebranding initiatives, website redesigns, crisis communications, social media growth, and launching the first municipal-based podcast in the Lowcountry. Christopher believes informed communities can positively impact, and I strive to connect with those I serve. Christoper is also an FAA-certified drone pilot, a prime example of how I blend innovation with service. As a kid, I developed a love for service in my quest to become an Eagle Scout. Additionally, I am a Leadership Charleston Graduate and an Honors graduate of Charleston Southern University. My professional achievements are no match to the joy of being a girl dad to my 17-month-old, Parker. Through innovative communication strategies, breathtaking aerial imagery, or top-notch dad jokes, my work is driven by a desire to inspire and serve.
Support the show
This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Sarah Alexander serves as the Digital Communications Coordinator for the Lexington County Sheriff's Department, a full-service and nationally accredited law enforcement agency in Lexington, SC. She has been in the position since Nov. 2021.
She is the agency story-teller. She is responsible for agency photography and videography, special projects and graphics, while being cross-trained in many other PIO duties. Sarah is driven by the good people and good stories within LCSD. She strives to represent them to the best of her ability to show the county who is there to serve them.
Sarah loves her community. As a native of Lexington, she has a special appreciation for the people of Lexington County and their communication needs.
She is a graduate from Winthrop University with a Bachelor's Degree in Mass Communication. Following graduation, she became the Assignment Desk Editor at a local broadcast news station in Columbia, SC.
Sarah lives in Lexington with her husband and their dog, Gus
Sarah's LinkedIn
Support the show
This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Mark Economou has been the Public Information Manager for the Boca Raton Police Department since 2008. Mark is also the Southeast region chair for the PIO section of the IACP. He served as PIO chair and co-chair for the Regional Domestic Security Task Force Region 7 in South Florida for over eight years. His media and public relations background spans nearly 20 years. I spent nearly 15 years in radio and television news as Director of Media Relations for a Public Relations firm in Rhode Island. He was also a Media Relations Specialist for a large national bank. He has presented to several police organizations around the country on the role and strategy of the Public Information Officer and the use of social media.
Mark's Social and Contact Information.
LinkedIn
X - Twitter
Email
Support the show
This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
Veronica Hill is a communications professional energized by creativity and collaboration. Veronica has a passion for developing mission-driven communication strategies and public information campaigns. With experience in the sectors of education, non-profit, and law enforcement, Veronica thrives on community and building connections. Veronica holds a bachelor’s degree in strategic communication from Wichita State University and a master’s in theology from Newman University. Veronica lives with her significant other and their two dogs in Columbia, South Carolina.
Veronica's LinkedIn
Support the show
This episode is sponsored by John Guilfoil Public Relations. From crisis communications to website development; visit our website JGPR.net or call 617.993.0003
About Trent Faris - Trent Faris serves as Public Information Officer for the York County Sheriff’s Office, a full-service and nationally accredited law enforcement agency employing approximately 400 full and part-time, sworn, and civilian personnel. He has held this position for nine years.
Trent is responsible for the daily coordination, circulation, formulation, and dissemination of communications to the media and publicity pertaining to the York County Sheriff's Office.
Trent is trained in Crisis Communications, achieving Advanced PIO training through FEMA and the FBI-LEEDA Master PIO course.
He develops communication strategies and tactics to promote, enhance, and protect the agency's brand of fostering a positive and mutually beneficial relationship with the citizens of York County and the Sheriff's Office. In addition to those duties, Trent oversees video production for the York County Sheriff's Office aimed at public service announcements and crime prevention and assists with criminal investigations through visual media.
Trent manages website content and social media sites for the York County Sheriff's Office, The Sheriff's Foundation of York County, Inc., and Crime Stoppers of York County.
A native of Rock Hill, SC, Trent graduated in 2002 from Winthrop University with a Bachelor's Degree in Mass Communication, one of only two accredited journalism schools in South Carolina. Trent was nominated for an Emmy for work on a series of stories about World War II veterans living in the greater Charlotte area. Also earned and won several awards for reports from the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas.
Before joining the YCSO, he worked for seven years as the South Carolina Bureau Reporter/Multi-Media Journalist for WBTV News in Charlotte NC. Before WBTV, he worked as a Sports Reporter and Photojournalist at CN2 News in Rock Hill SC. While attending Winthrop University, Trent worked and interned at WBT Radio WLNK Radio in Charlotte, NC
Trent is a veteran of the US Navy, serving as an Aviation Ordnanceman as well as serving with the US Marine detachment for ship security from 1994 to 1997.
In his spare time, Trent is a volunteer soccer and basketball coach and is the Cooperative Weather Observer in Catawba, SC for the National Weather Service.
Trent's Twitter handle @trentfaris
Support the showSponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
Results-driven Public Relations Professional with a proven track record in managing public information, marketing campaigns, and community outreach initiatives. Strong expertise in media relations, crisis communications, and strategic planning. Demonstrates exceptional writing skills and the ability to build effective relationships with stakeholders. Committed to achieving organizational goals through impactful communication strategies.
roberttornabene@gmail.com
www.linkedin.com/in/robert-tornabene
Support the showSponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
Austin McDaniel is the Communications Director for the Alaska Department of Public Safety. As communications director, he oversees four professional staff members, and the public information office team that manages all external and internal communications for the Alaska State Troopers, Alaska Wildlife Troopers, and Alaska State Fire Marshals Office. He also ensures the department remains compliant with the Alaska Public Records Act, and oversees nine professional staff that manage these requests. Austin joined the Alaska State Troopers in 2020 after serving as the Deputy Communications Director for Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy, where he oversaw all digital communications for the Governor’s Office and overall digital communications strategy for the State of Alaska. He has also worked in communications positions for Alaska Governor Sean Parnell, Alaska telecommunications company GCI, and local CBS affiliate KTVA. Austin is a lifelong Alaskan that can be found hunting, fishing, and enjoying all of the outdoors activities that The Last Frontier has to offer with his wife and son.
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
Mike Koehler is the founder of Smirk New Media, Oklahoma's original digital marketing agency. Smirk has grown from one pawnshop laptop to working with nationwide brands. We’ve put together a scrappy team of experts who help companies connect with their customers online using creative content, targeted advertising, customer service innovation and data-driven strategy.
Specialties: social media strategy, social media content, understanding social media channels, multimedia storytelling, new media, content marketing, writing
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
I have been with the Oxford Police Department since 2005. I have held numerous positions, such as Reserve Officer, Patrol Officer, DUI Officer, Sergeant of the DUI Unit, Patrol Lieutenant, Admin Lieutenant, Patrol Captain, and now Admin Captain. Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Mississippi in 2006 and Master's Degree in Law Enforcement and Public Safety Leadership from the University of San Diego in 2020. Attended the 270th Session of the FBI National Academy in Quantico, VA. Married with 2 beautiful girls.
Hildon - hsessums@oxfordpolice.net
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
Luis Agostini is the public information officer for the DEA Chicago Field Division. Prior to joining the DEA, Luis served as an assistant director of communications with the Chicago Police Department. Luis brings over two decades of communications experience from his time in the DEA and CPD, his 12 years of service in the United States Marine Corps as a combat correspondent and public affairs chief, and five years in the private sector at various public relations firms in Chicago.
DEA Twitter DEACHICAGODiv Luis Email luis.agostini@dea.gov
Overpowered Tools
Stop losing customers to a missed phone call with Missed Call Text-Back!
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
Shawna Bruce brings her clients 40 years of risk and crisis communications, public information, and media relations experience. Shawna served as a Public Affairs Officer in the Canadian Armed Forces before transitioning to Dow Chemical Canada's National Public Affairs Leader, where she was responsible for corporate communications and support to Dow's petrochemical sites across Canada.
Today, Shawna runs her own consulting business focusing on helping organizations boost their confidence and communication capacity during crises. She is also a curriculum writer and instructor for courses at NAIT (Northern Alberta Institute of Technology) and the Justice Institute of British Columbia, sharing her knowledge and expertise with aspiring professionals.
A true believer in giving back to your community Shawna volunteers as a Board Member for the North East Region Community Awareness and Emergency Response (NR CAER) mutual aid group, First in the Field (a Veteran's Organization founded by her family), ForVeterans Advisory Council (University of British Columbia) and is newly appointed Associate Board Member with the Concordia University of Edmonton.
Shawna is a graduate of Carleton University (Mass Communications), Algonquin College (Public Relations Diploma), the Defense Information School (DINFOS - US), and Royal Roads University (MA Disaster and Emergency Management).
Shawna's Email
Shawna's Twitter
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
Barry Furey is an award-winning public safety executive with over 50 years of experience. Serving as a fire officer in three states, a 9-1-1 director in four, and as a consultant here and abroad, he has authored more than 300 articles, contributed to industry texts, and published two books, including his recent "Managing 9-1-1, 365 Days a Year", available on Amazon Kindle.
Chairman of numerous committees, he led the creation of the Association of Public Safety Communications Officials (APCO) "Homeland Security White Paper," which examined best practices for emergency communications centers after 9/11.
Barry can be contacted through his website www.bareyFurey.com
Socially Unacceptable
The marketing podcast that celebrates work mishaps and delivers lessons in your lunchbreak
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
Allison Breanna Hudson currently serves as Division Manager in the Office of Community Affairs for the Houston Police Department. She has 20 years of experience in crisis communication, media management, and all things public safety. Prior to her move to the Houston Police Department, she served a year as program manager and advanced public information officer for the City of Houston Office of Emergency Management and ten years with the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Office in Ascension Parish, Louisiana.
Hudson has served in several volunteer roles as President of the Donaldsonville Chamber of Commerce, Rotary Club of Donaldsonville, and the Arc of East Ascension. She has also served as Vice-President for the Iris Domestic Violence Center.
After six short months of transitioning to Houston, Allison was awarded the Top 40 under 40 for the Houston Business Journal, making it her third 40 under 40 award; previously the Baton Rouge Business Report in 2016 and Xavier University Top 40 under 40 alumni award in 2016.
Hudson also serves as an instructor for FEMA, teaching public information courses, Joint Information Center training, and crisis communication and social media classes.
Allison's Email
Socially Unacceptable
The marketing podcast that celebrates work mishaps and delivers lessons in your lunchbreak
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
Trent's Bio
Trent has been a professional copywriter since 2015.
Trent has predominately worked with the firearms, outdoor, defense, and marketing industries.
Some notable clients Trent has such as Ammo Terra (former) and Sportsman's Warehouse (current).
Over the years, Trent appeared on numerous podcasts, primarily focusing on self-help, marketing, and storytelling.
Email: secondageallanon@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trent.gander.33
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
Jerred A. Johnson has an extensive background in public safety, spanning over 16 years in firefighting and rescue, campus law enforcement, criminology, the American Red Cross, and now Homeland Security/Emergency Management. Jerred is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice: Homeland Security at Liberty University after receiving an Associate's Degree in General Studies, a Bachelor's in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland College Park, a Graduate Certificate in Homeland Security Management and a Master's Degree in Emergency Management from the University of Maryland Global Campus. He is the Emergency Management and Homeland Security Planner and the Public Information Officer for Somerset County Emergency Services located in Princess Anne, Maryland.
Recently, Jerred was appointed as the Public Information Officer and Executive Officer of the Stockton Volunteer Fire Company and voted in as a Board of Trustee member, as well as a volunteer firefighter/rescue technician and medical responder. In his spare time, Jerred volunteers with his church enjoys free time with his dog, Sophia, and his cat, Nola, and enjoys anything outdoors like fishing, hunting, camping, and hiking.
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
In this week's episode, we interview Dana Whyte, the Communications Manager from Michigan State University Department of Police and Public Safety, on the shooting on campus on February 13, 2023.
Dana's Bio
Dana Whyte is the Communications Manager and Spokesperson for the Michigan State University Department of Police and Public Safety, leading all strategic communication initiatives for MSU DPPS. She manages the department's website and social media pages, serves as the spokesperson for media interviews, and is in charge of internal communications, including developing and distributing a monthly employee newsletter.
Dana comes to MSU DPPS from a journalistic background, serving as a television news reporter for four years. She worked for both WOOD-TV8 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and WLNS-TV in Lansing, Michigan, covering historic events such as the coronavirus pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the 2020 Presidential Election. She received her bachelor's degree from Central Michigan University in Broadcast & Cinematic Arts and is currently pursuing her master's degree in Strategic Communication from MSU. In her spare time, Dana enjoys reading, traveling, and serving as a fitness instructor at The Barre Code East Lansing.
Dana's LinkedIn
Dana's Email Address
PR & Lattes
Fill up your cup on everything PR and communications.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
Bill Delaney has over 40 years of experience in the fire service, first as a volunteer and career firefighter and, over the last 23 years, as a civilian manager. He retired as a Public Information Officer with the Fairfax County (VA) Fire & Rescue Department in May 2023. Bill serves as a social media consultant with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. Bill is considered a thought leader in public safety social media use and a nationally recognized speaker presenting at Women in Fire, Firehouse Expo, IAFC, and the NFPA. Mr. Delaney is a past chair of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Virtual Social Media Working Group.
Bills e-mail
Bills Twitter @billdelaney
AgriFutures On Air
The official podcast channel for AgriFutures Australia.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
Nicole's BIO
Ms. Nicole Shutts has been with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for 12 years. She currently serves as a Training Specialist in the Emergency Management Professional Program (EMPP) Branch at Emergency Management Institute (EMI). She manages the Public Information Officer Program which portfolio consists of the Advanced Public Information Officer (APIO) training and exercise course and the Master Public Information Officer Program (MPIO). During her 4 years with the program, she has successfully managed the PIO training of over 700 federal, local, state, tribal and territorial public information officers across the country. Previously, Ms. Shutts managed FEMA’s Surge Capacity Force training, Human Resources and Financial Management courses, as well as the FEMA Corps Basic and position specific training courses.
Furthermore, she managed FEMA’s Emergency Manager Orientation and was responsible for providing the information and tools needed for over 2000 new employees to be successful within the FEMA, and to support the FEMA mission and disaster survivors. Prior to joining FEMA, Ms. Shutts spent 10 years with Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) in various capacities. She served as the Administrative Computer Specialist for LCPS where she planned, designed, and developed training. In addition, she facilitated and delivered computer software training for internal and external administrative staff and conducted computer training programs for the Department for Personnel Services.
Nicole's Email: nicole.shutts@fema.dhs.gov
AgriFutures On Air
The official podcast channel for AgriFutures Australia.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
Season: 3 - Episode: 15
John Guilfoil is a former Boston Globe staff reporter who served as deputy press secretary to the late former Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino. He is the founder of JGPR, a public relations agency created in 2013 to strengthen communications strategy for police and fire departments.
Since its founding, the company has expanded to include school districts, public health agencies, public works, state/county agencies and whole municipal governments, as well as non-profits and business clients.
John has been recognized nationally for his public affairs and crisis management work, and he has conducted public relations and media relations training for clients in more than 40 states.
In 2015 and 2016, John was named the National Public Affairs Professional of the Year by the public relations trade association PR News. The same organization also named him the 2016 National Crisis Manager of the Year.
In 2017, he was named one of the 50 national Game Changers of Public Relations by PR News.
He has bachelor’s degrees in journalism and criminal justice from Northeastern University and a master’s degree in journalism from Emerson College.
He has been a guest lecturer at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
AgriFutures On Air
The official podcast channel for AgriFutures Australia.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Chatter Box Radio
Untold Stories of Struggle, Meditations, Therapists, Resources, Miracles, Hope.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
Season: 3 - Episode: 14
Sarah talks about something we do not frequently talk about Line of Duty Deaths.
Sarah's BIO:
Sarah Campbell has over 10 years of experience working in the Fire Service as a Civilian, with 5 years at Frederick County Division of Fire and Rescue Services. Sarah began her journey in the Fire Service as an HR professional for Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue where she lead recruitment, retention, branding, promotional processes, CBA implementation, discipline, and HRIS systems. She joined Frederick County Fire and Rescue in 2018 as a Personnel Analyst, and when the Division asked her to step in and assist them with being their spokesperson she quickly found a passion for the Public Information field. She currently works in both capacities as the Manager, Communications, and Administration. In the past 5 years, she has assisted in the expansion of FCDFRS from 400 uniformed career personnel to over 600. She has served as the Lead PIO for 5 LODD’s that impacted her agency, numerous emergency incidents, and developing their mark on several social media platforms. She looks forward to expanding her section to include more Human Resources professionals so that she can continue her education and focus on the Public Information Officer role.
Sarah holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications with a minor in Public Relations from Hood College. She has also completed the Emergency Management Institute Advanced PIO course and is excited to pursue further certifications. Sarah resides in Frederick County with her husband and kids, and avid 4-H members.
Email: SCampbell@FrederickCountyMD.gov
AgriFutures On Air
The official podcast channel for AgriFutures Australia.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
Season: 3 - Episode: 13
Eric Holdeman is a professional emergency manager who is passionate about providing information that can help families, businesses and governments become better prepared for disasters of all types. His goal is to enhance everyone’s disaster resilience.
Eric is a prolific writer, expert facilitator, and a frequent commentator on news events of the day, where he advocates for investing in disaster resilience in all its forms. He delivers informative, humorous, and engaging presentations on a wide range of topics related to disasters to diverse audiences that include public and private sector associations and conferences.
Additionally, he and his team of associates are ready and available to provide consulting services to various public, private, and nonprofit clients. These services include all phases of disaster planning, training, and disaster exercises.
Two examples of his experience, knowledge, and impact on emergency management have been his opinion pieces written for local and national media outlets as exemplified in his Washington Post Op-ed “Destroying FEMA”, and his being selected as one of Government Technology’s Top 25 Doers and Dreamers List
Eric looks forward to serving your needs. Please take time to explore the many aspects of his expertise by exploring the different elements of this website.
Eric's Email Address - ericholdeman@ericholdeman.com
AgriFutures On Air
The official podcast channel for AgriFutures Australia.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
Mikayla Moskov is a FEMA and FBI-LEEDA certified Master Public information Officer with a background in broadcast journalism serving one of the fastest-growing places in the United States.
A strategic communicator focused on supporting and building internal audiences up to become external brand advocates and agents for good.
Between a Master's in Criminal Justice and Communications (gig 'em, Aggies), and years of experience managing incidents ranging from international spy balloons to floodwater cow rescues, MPIO Moskov offers insight into the civilian side of law enforcement communications, consolidated public information practices, and the partnerships that make it all possible.
AgriFutures On Air
The official podcast channel for AgriFutures Australia.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
Commander Matthew Kroll, U.S. Coast Guard
Matthew currently serves as the Chief of Media Relations and is the primary
spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard. He has more than 18 years of operational and public relations experience in the military. Originally from Southern California, Matthew received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications Studies from Sonoma State University and a Master of Arts in Communications from San Diego State University.
He began his professional career as a radio broadcaster before enlisting in the Coast Guard. Shortly after joining, Matthew was selected for Officer Candidate School, received his “wings of gold”, and flew the MH-65 “Dolphin” helicopter as aircraft commander and instructor pilot. He served as the unit public affairs officer at Air Station San Francisco and Air Station Atlantic city before being selected for the Coast Guard’s public affairs advanced education program. Upon completion of his graduate degree, Matthew managed all external communications for the Eleventh Coast Guard District, which includes the states of California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah, as well as all rescue and counter-narcotics operations in the international waters of the Pacific Ocean off Central and South America.
Specializing in crisis communications, he led public information teams for multiple national-level incidents including Hurricane Harvey in Texas, Hurricane Lane in Hawaii, and the Conception Dive Boat fire in California. An expert on Coast Guard public affairs history, Matthew researched and published multiple articles documenting the service’s notable communicators and overall public relations program.
Matthew holds a Public Information Officer (PIO) qualification for type-I incidents (highest level), is an adjunct communications professor, and has been recognized with multiple awards from the Coast Guard.
Commander Kroll's book - Public Relations in the Military
Commander Kroll's LinkedIn
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
Alexandra Farkas is the Public Information Officer for the Cheyenne Police Department. She is responsible for developing, coordinating, and implementing communication strategies between residents, businesses, the media, and the police department regarding a variety of projects and initiatives which align with the department’s strategic priorities.
Farkas’s professional experience includes areas of digital media, marketing strategy and communications, graphic design, cyber security, data analytics, and event planning.
Prior to the Cheyenne Police Department, Farkas served as the Director of Marketing and Communication for the Greater Cheyenne Chamber of Commerce. Farkas earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Marketing from the University of Wyoming.
Website: Cheyenne Police Department
Alexandra's Email: afarkas@cheyennepd.org
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
Jesica Lopez-Huskey is an experienced marketing and communication professional passionate about working within public safety. She leverages her creativity honed from working within Hollywood’s most iconic brands DreamWorks, DreamWorks Animation, and Marvel Studios, for storytelling on behalf of private security firms to police agencies.
Her career in law enforcement agencies began by accident in 2016. Chief of Police Joe Monroe of the University of Kentucky Police Department (UKPD) sought to fill one vacant position but found two qualified applicants. By sheer luck, a new role was created. Lopez-Huskey became the agency's first Senior Marketing/Promotions Specialist, which changed her career trajectory.
For more than four years, Lopez-Huskey successfully elevated the image, brand, reputation, and perception of the largest university police department in the state. She reorganized and re-branded departmental websites for greater transparency. Most notably, she built an informed and highly engaged audience on social media. Her engaging articles, humorous crime tips, and safety videos often became a source of local news stories, to the extent that a video of two officers rescuing a baby duckling from a storm drain reached 189,000 views on Facebook. Notwithstanding, the story was shared on Fox News and distributed across seven international news outlets from England to Scotland.
Through her involvement with UKPD, she was invited to chronicle the history of the departmental motor unit, published in the Harley-Davidson Motor magazine. A thought leader, Lopez-Huskey, spoke on law enforcement utilization of social media at the Southern Association of College & University Business Officers, College Business Management Institute (CBMI).
In addition to her efforts on behalf of policing, she volunteered on the Board of The Girl Project Arts Initiative. She was an advisor for Natalie’s Sisters, a Community outreach program in partnership with the Lexington, Kentucky Police Department. She also received awards for her contributions to public safety, including the Staff Senate Award and peer-recognized Support Employee of the Year award.
Most recently, as Safety Communications Manager at the University of Chicago, she led efforts to build public engagement and awareness on safety issues by refining and implementing the University’s safety communications strategy, re-organizing the Department of Public Safety website, and create safety-related content.
Originally from Los Angeles, California, Lopez-Huskey is a native Spanish speaker. She earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from Claremont McKenna College and resides in Chicagoland with her husband and two sons. In her spare time, she likes to meet new people, read fiction, and listen to NPR podcasts.
Millionaire University Podcast
ANYONE can grow a successful business and Millionaire University will help you get there!
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
Michelle Marcomb became the Media and Marketing Coordinator/Public Information Officer for the Rockford Police Department in February 2020. She’s responsible for media relations, crisis communication, and issues management, along with the agency’s videos, social media, and digital content.
Michelle got her start in media as the Sales Assistant for a cluster of radio stations in Rockford, Illinois. Very quickly, she moved into Promotions and then did a 3-year stint as a co-host on a morning radio program on B103-FM. Following that, she headed over to the TV side and produced and co-hosted “Good Day Stateline”, a weekly lifestyle show on WTVO, the local ABC affiliate.
She jumped to the “other side of the news” in 2020 when she became a public information officer for one of the busiest municipal police department’s in the State of Illinois.
Michelle is the mom of two amazing kids - Davin, a 2020 William Woods University graduate, and Avery, who lives her best life as a freshman at Loyola University Chicago. She’s also the mom of an 11-year-old Shih-Tzu named Scooby, who, truth be told, really runs the show.
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
Christopher Tarantino is an entrepreneur, investor, and international speaker on resilient innovation. Christopher has worked with thousands of high-performing leaders from startups, enterprises, and government organizations like Google, FEMA, and Cisco.
With past roles at every level of government, Christopher holds various professional certifications: Certified Crisis Management Communications Professional, Master Exercise Practitioner, Certified Hospital Emergency Coordinator - Level III, and Master Public Information Officer.
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
Officer Ryan J. Railsback has been a police officer with the Riverside Police Department for 25 years. He is currently the department’s Public Information Officer, a position he has held for the past several years. He liaisons with the media to release important information to the public and press regarding the activities of the department. He also manages the department’s social media platforms and mobile app.
In addition to his role as PIO, Officer Railsback also coordinates the police department’s juvenile intervention and prevention program called Opportunity with Education, a 12-week program ran twice each year. He also assists with various other programs and events conducted by the Community Services Bureau, and leads the planning for Riverside County’s annual Peace Officers’ Memorial Ceremony & Run. Ryan has been a member of the Riverside County Law Enforcement Appreciation Committee and the current vice-chair, along with participating in other organizations that benefit law enforcement and juvenile diversion.
Officer Railsback is married with three adult children and a soon-to-be grandson in the upcoming months.
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
Tamrin Olden Bio
Tamrin Olden has 20 years of experience in government public relations, with 12 years at the Chino Police Department. As a Community Relations Manager, Tamrin developed and managed media relations, social media, and community outreach programs. For the last seven years, she has done independent teaching, consulting, media relations, and digital marketing through her companies, Law Enforcement Social and TOC Public Relations. Tamrin and her team work with numerous public safety and government agencies, associations, non-profits, and businesses to help them with their communications, public relations, marketing, and branding strategies.
Twitter - @tamrinoldin
LinkedIn - @tamrinoldin
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
Jeff's Bio
33 years with CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department
• Currently the Department Reserve Program Manager responsible for all volunteer
positions within the department
• Public Information Officer I qualified through CAL FIRE
• Instructor FEMA L-952 All -Hazards Public Information Officer
• Instructor NWCG/CALFIRE S-203 Introduction to Incident Information
• Instructor NWCG/CALFIRE S-403 Advanced Public Information Officer
• Lead PIO on Woolsey Fire 2018 in Los Angeles and Ventura County
o Santa Ana wind driven
o 96, 949 acres
o Destroyed 1643 buildings
o Three civilian fatalities
o Over 50 PIO's assigned
CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department
• 93 fire stations
• Covering 7203 sq. miles
• Over 1400 career employees
• Ran 192,871 incidents in 2022
Phone: 951-722-6713
Email - Jeff.LaRusso@fire.ca.gov
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Jack's Bio
PREREQUISITES
PUBLIC AFFAIRS ADVISOR ON CYBER AND STRATEGIC COMPETITION
U.S. Army Reserve Active Duty 9/2020 to Current.
COMMUNICATION STRATEGY AND POLICY ADVISOR
Booze Allen Hamilton (BAH), Washington D.C., 8/2017- Optional return after military duty
Consultant to multiple U.S. Agencies on Public-Affairs and communication policy
COMMUNICATION STRATEGY AND POLICY
US Africa Command, Stuttgart, Germany, 7/2014 – 7/2017
Designed and managed military, cross-agency, and multinational communication strategy, and campaigns across Africa
PUBLIC DIPLOMACY OFFICER
US Department of State, Embassy Kabul, Afghanistan, 1/2013 – 10/2013, (limited-term position)
PUBLIC AFFAIRS, DEPUTY CHIEF OF PLANS AND OPERATIONS
U.S. European Command, Stuttgart, Germany, 3/2010- 1/2013
Designed and led multiple U.S. & NATO communication campaigns, operations, and exercises throughout Europe
DOD PUBLIC AFFAIRS & STATE DEPT. PUBLIC DIPLOMACY OFFICER
Kirkuk Provincial Reconstruction Team, Kirkuk, Iraq, 8/2006 – 1/2010
Military deployment to the Kirkuk Provincial Reconstruction Team to lead public affairs and deputy public diplomacy
SPOKESPERSON
State of California, Department of Transportation, San Francisco Bay Area, 01/2000 – 8/2006
Phone: 571-289-8937
Email: jack.h.gaines@gmail.com
LI: linkedin.com/in/Jack-H-Gaines
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
In this episode, we’ll let you hear part of a dynamic presentation from Judy Pal….a media trainer, strategist, former PIO, and another past president of NIOA.
That’s coming up on the PIO PODCAST.
Please take a moment to complete the survey on the last 5 episodes with our guest reporter Ed Buice. Click on the link below.
Link to the Survey
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
In this episode, we’ll continue the theme of “WHAT WOULD YOU DO?”
Louisiana PIO Brennan Mattherne—another former president of NIOA—shares some of the lessons he learned from Hurricane Ida.
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
In our next episode, we’ll hear North Port Florida PIO Josh Taylor discuss the case of Gabby Petito, a young van lifer whose disappearance in late summer 2021 captivated the international media. Josh will offer tips that might help…..if you ever find yourself in a situation like THAT case.
That’s coming up, on THE PIO PODCAST.
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
To find out more about the National Information Officers Association….visit NIOA.ORG
In this episode of the NIOA training conference recap, we’ll hear more great lessons learned and also talk with one of the vendors that help sponsor the conference…..and attend to discuss their products and services with attendees.
That’s coming up…….on the PIO PODCAST
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
You’ve heard me talk many times about NIOA—-the National Information Officers Association, the premiere organization for public information officers in public safety.
In the next five episodes of The PIO Podcast, we will hear some recaps from the most recent NIOA Annual Training Conference.
The first couple of shows features interviews with conference attendees talking about their takeaways and lessons learned from the conference.
The other three episodes are big segments of three of the featured case studies presented at the conference,
All will provide you with a lot of actionable intelligence or "news you can use" if you will...to help you be a better PIO.
Serving as our host for these episodes…..is NCIS Senior Public Affairs Officer Ed Buice, a former city police PIO, former radio and TV reporter, and former NIOA President.
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
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
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
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
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
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: cat5crisiscomms@gmail.com
Sponsored by the Social Media Strategies Summit. Check out their website to learn more about their upcoming social media conferences for Public Safety and Government professionals. https://bit.ly/3IrRdDL
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 - lauri@lawscomm.net
Twitter @lawscomm
Linkedin.com/in/lauristevens
www.lawscommunications.com
Managing Projects Doesn’t Have to Be a Mess
Basecamp helps teams organize projects in a way that makes sense for all. Try Basecamp.
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.
Managing Projects Doesn’t Have to Be a Mess
Basecamp helps teams organize projects in a way that makes sense for all. Try Basecamp.
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 - Melissa@crisisreadyinstitute.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/melissa_agnes
The Brave Marketer
Many of the most memorable brand campaigns have been driven by cutting edge marketers
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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
Intelligent Investing with Glenn Leest
This podcast covers all topics related to Investing with Glenn Leest
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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.
Late Night Mysteries
Horror, mystery and spine-chilling stories. Listener Discretion Is Advised.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
Smells Like Humans
Like spending time with funny friends talking about curious human behavior.
Listen on: Apple Podcasts Spotify
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.
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
Leslie (Suhr) Gervasio
Senior Public Engagement Specialist at Michael Baker International and President-Elect for the National Association of Government Communicators.
Leslies LinkedIn
To learn more about Nextdoor www.nextdoor.com/agency
Joe's Email - joseph@nextdoor.com
Twitter - @josephporcelli
Captain Sheila Kelliher made history by being appointed the first female PIO in the history of the Las Angeles County Fire Department.
Captain Kelliher earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in speech communications prior to graduating from the LACoFD’s Recruit Academy, Class 102, in 2000. She spent the next two decades promoting her way up the ranks from firefighter to paramedic and eventually to fire captain. Her most recent assignment was with Fire Station 125 in the City of Calabasas.
Committed to creating a welcoming and inclusive workforce, Captain Kelliher has been actively involved in several initiatives through the Department’s Community Outreach, Recruitment, Diversity, and Inclusion (CORDI) Section where she has volunteered her time and talent to assist with the Explorer Program, the Girls’ Fire Camp, and Women’s Fire Prep Academy to recruit and mentor youth from underserved communities as they pursue careers in the fire service. Captain Kelliher is also a founding member and board member of the Women’s Fire League.
“As the first woman to hold this office, I think representation is important,” emphasized Captain Kelliher. “It is important that young girls see themselves as strong leaders in their communities.”
When Captain Kelliher is not on the job, she is a devoted wife and mother to 11-year-old twins (daughter, Marley, and son, Maximus). With five gold medals won in previous World Police & Fire Games events, she is also a competitive athlete who enjoys playing golf, bodybuilding, and weight training.
In this episode, we talk about Dallas PD's use of TikTok for recruitment and connecting to the younger age groups.
Melinda's BIO: Melinda is an experienced Public Information Officer in the Office of the Dallas Police Department. Previously I was assigned to the Northeast Patrol Division as a patrol officer and also as a Neighborhood Police Officer from March 1999 to July 2008.
In August of 2008, I was transferred to the Jack Evans Police Headquarters to help facilitate the department's fleet. While working as a fleet coordinator, I was promoted to Senior Corporal. As a fleet coordinator, I was responsible for the operational readiness and maintenance of the department's entire fleet of police vehicles. I was part of the team that was instrumental with the color change of the department's future fleet vehicles, taking them from blue/white to black/white.
In February of 2011, I became the department's Social Media Manager and a Public Information Officer, tasked with managing and maintaining the department's social media accounts. As a PIO, I have served the department through numerous high-profile incidents and emergencies. I continue to serve as a PIO and Social Manager. I am an experienced Public Information Officer in the Office of the Dallas Police Department. Previously I was assigned to the Northeast Patrol Division as a patrol officer and also as a Neighborhood Police Officer from March 1999 to July 2008.
In August of 2008, I was transferred to the Jack Evans Police Headquarters to help facilitate the department's fleet. While working as a fleet coordinator, I was promoted to Senior Corporal. As a fleet coordinator, I was responsible for the operational readiness and maintenance of the department's entire fleet of police vehicles. I was part of the team that was instrumental in the color change of the department's future fleet vehicles, taking them from blue/white to black/white.
In February of 2011, I became the department's Social Media Manager and a Public Information Officer, tasked with managing and maintaining the department's social media accounts. As a PIO, I have served the department through numerous high-profile incidents and emergencies. I continue to serve as a PIO and Social Manager.
For more than 30 years, Lissa has established a powerful reputation– from Los Angeles to Chicago and New York – as a highly seasoned communications strategist, crisis management leader, nine-time Emmy award-winning television journalist, media consultant, guest lecturer, and tireless client advisor. In addition to leading the Strategia team, she is counseling clients on issues at the intersection of government affairs and lobbying, crisis communications, municipal relations, media relations/training, corporate communications, internal/external communications strategy, and social media.
During her eight years with Serafin & Associates, Lissa’s clients included
large and small corporations, celebrities, municipalities and law enforcement agencies across the United States and, in some cases, the world. She spent 13+ years with CBS Television both in Chicago and Los Angeles before capping her television career as the executive producer launching the Comcast SportsNet network in Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, and New York, winning the 2009 Chicago Journalism Award in Sports. She has written and produced for news, entertainment, and sports. During the 1990s, she covered headline stories including the Persian Gulf War, the Oklahoma City bombing, the O.J. Simpson murder trial, and the Chicago Bulls championships.
Lissa is the recipient of the National 2019 Professional Women in Advocacy Award and the 2016 Filipo Mazzei Award for Excellence in Public Affairs. In 2018, she received one of the highest honors from the Italian government: induction as a Cavaliere dell’ Ordine della Stella d’Italia, or Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy. Bestowed upon her by the President of the Italian Republic, His Excellency Sergio Mattarella, this honor is a direct result of her deep commitment to championing the Italian culture and supporting the Italian American community in the Chicagoland area.
She is currently the Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Jarrett Payton Foundation and serves on the board of Milan – Chicago Sister Cities International. Lissa is also Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Get Growing Foundation. She is on the engagement committee of The Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii Italian American church and is a member of the National Italian American Foundation.
Lissa's LinkedIn
Brians BIO: Naval Construction Battalion Center Public Affairs: Gulfport, MS 06/2016 - Present
Public Affairs Officer
Promoted from Assistant Public Affairs Officer. Charged with media/community outreach and managed internal information and media/communications programs. Served as ambassador and liaison for NCBC to the local community.
- Manned crisis communications testing in Emergency Operation Center; relayed real-time Hurricane Nate information to all audiences.
- Coordinated special events and ceremonies; collaborated with external stakeholders and secured venue; cultivated extraordinary working relationships to align with project goals.
- Won Senior Civilian of the Quarter and earned recognition by the installation director for improved media relations campaigns.
- Analyzed, gathered, and evaluated complex data; recommended specific courses of action to move forward on communication processes.
- Instituted new community outreach campaigns as well as supported local parades and festivals; disseminated information to appropriate agencies and highlighted local NCBC personnel and their mission.
Some background about today’s guest, Andrew D. Gilman is the President/CEO and founder of CommCore Consulting, a public relations and communications firm based in Washington DC. He is an award-winning journalist and lawyer. Mr. Gilman has handled some high-profile crisis issues, including counsel to Johnson & Johnson in the Tylenol crisis, the Government of Canada during the SARS Outbreak, and global training assignments for General Motors, PepsiCo, and several pharmaceutical companies. He is also the author of the best-seller, Get to the Point: How to Say What you Mean and Get What You Want.
During Andrew's interview, we covered the following:
What areas of crisis communications do you see that public sector PIO's need to improve upon?
Q – How can the Public Information Officers improve trust in the community of their police officers?
Q – The speed of social media has impacted the news cycle; we are reminded of it daily. You conduct training for executives and corporations. What type of training should public information officers do for their executives and staff?
Q – Public Information Officers have vast responsibilities, including being in the room with the decision-makers. Yet some public sector executives continue to keep them out of the decision-making process. How does the PIO get themselves into that room?
Q – Crises occur in all types, natural disasters, technological and manmade disasters. Planning and preparing for these types of incidents are crucial. Where should the PIO be looking for training to assist
In this episode, we interview Sgt. Stewart Smith from the Troup County Sheriff's Office in Georgia.
- Things that we discussed included his 20-year career with Troup County and how he became the PIO.
- Stewart describes the size of the Sheriff's Office and the county population.
- Besides being a PIO, Stewart has a variety of other responsibilities, and he details them for you.
- We asked what challenges he faced coming into the Sheriff's Office as the first dedicated PIO.
- Stewart is also a regional director for National Information Officers Association, and we discuss how he got involved in the NIOA and what his duties are.
- Last, we discussed what does he see as the greatest area needed for improvement for Public Information Officers today?
Of course, there are always rapid-fire questions.
Stewart Smith's email
In this week's episode....
In this week's episode of the PIO Podcast, we meet PIO Marcedes Cashmer from the Beaumont (CA) Police Department. During our conversation, we discussed
How long has Marcedes been in the position as the PIO, how did she enter into the PIO field, and what is her background.
Marcedes provides some background information on the size of the community, population, and how many employees the Beaumont Police Department has.
We had a candid discussion on what challenges Marcedes experienced early in her career as a PIO, including all the other duties she has in her position. \
We discussed the pandemic and the impact the George Floyd protests had on the community and department messaging during those times.
How has the pandemic impacted your ability to connect with the community?
We also discussed any guidance Marcedes would give to someone who wants to get into the Public Information Officer Field?
Lastly, we always ask a few rapid-fire questions. We hope you enjoy this episode.
Marcedes LinkedIn Account
Topics we discuss in this week's episode
- Amanda, you were one of four scholars who published an article titled “When Official Systems Overload: A Framework for Finding Social Media Calls for Help during Evacuations” (Link) where it was stated “the challenge is that as citizens turn to social media to request evacuation help, official emergency response organizations have limited knowledge or experience of information processing in this new media environment” If possible could you elaborate on this?
- To follow up on our previous question, are we better prepared to handle social media requests for help?
- Amanda discusses the filtering of data by Criteria and why is this important.
- Next we discussed the article Amanda published with Yajie Li and Peter Howe, titled, “Communicating Crisis with Persuasion: Examining Official Twitter Messages on Heat Hazards.” It was stated that, ”However, little research attention has been paid to probing the content of crisis messages for its potential contribution to persuasion, especially when those messages are sent through social media.” Why is developing a message that is persuasive critical during these types of disasters? You use the term “Persuasive Message Factors”
- Amanda provides examples of PMF's.
- We discussed Amanda's development of an application for her thesis The article was titled, “Designing an Application for Social Media Needs in Emergency Public Information Work.” This article was about creating a software application that could meet the needs of Public Information Officers.
Amanda Hughes Email
Amanda's Website - http://amandaleehughes.com/
Chelsea Kretz is the Media Supervisor for Parkland Hospital and a former PIO for the Grande Prairie Police Department. In this week's interview, we talk about ....
- Chelsea details how she wanted to be a sports reporter, ultimately working at a news station in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
- The transition from the public sector to private sector public information.
- Staffing is always an issue, we discuss the differences between the public sector and private sector staffing.
- Chelsea is the chairperson of the North Texas PIO group. We discuss the group, membership, training, and how the group assists each other when needed.
- We round out the discussion with advice for someone interested in getting into the field of public information
As always we wrap it up with "rapid-fire" questions.
North Texas Public Information Officers Group
Chelsea's LinkedIn
Megan Terlecky is the Information and Communications Manager for the Mesa County Sheriff's Office in Grand Junction, Colorado. Megan joined the Mesa County Sheriff's Office in 2016 after an Emmy award-winning career as News Anchor and television journalist. She has extensive experience in crisis communication and currently serves as the Chair of the Mesa County Joint Information System coordination group and a board member of Emergency Services Public Information Officers of Colorado. Megan has led communications for Country Jam, the region's largest country music festival, the Pine Gulch Fire, and the West Salt Creek Landslide aftermath, to name a few. Megan also strives to connect communication professionals from around the region, stressing the importance of working together during a crisis.
Megan was most recently awarded 2021 Best Use of Social Media from the National Information Officers Association (NIOA) and 2020 Member of the Year, Mesa County Communication Officers Association (MCCOA). Megan earned her bachelor's degree in Television and Broadcast Journalism from Chapman University in Orange, California, and now enjoys Colorado life with her fiance and two dogs.
Megans Email - Megan.Terlecky@mesacounty.us
Megans Twitter - @MTerlecky
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Crystal McCoy currently serves as the spokesperson for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Denver Field Division. She is a retired police officer where she spent the final years of her sworn career as the Senior Public Information Officer for the Aurora Colorado Police Department.
Here career in law enforcement began as a dispatcher in Florida before she moved to Colorado in 2001. In Colorado, she worked as a contracted dispatcher with the General Services Administration, then Captain for the armed security force under the Department of Homeland Security.
In 2005, she became a police officer for the Glendale Colorado Police Department where she served as an officer, detective, and sergeant as well as being the Terrorism Liaison Officer for the Colorado Information Analysis Center. In 2013, she continued her law enforcement career with the Aurora Colorado Police Department where she served on patrol, in the Burglary Impact Group, on the Trauma Response Team, as a Task Force Officer on the Joint Terrorism Task Force with the FBI Denver Field Division, and spent her final years before retirement in 2021 as the Senior Public Information Officer under two different chief administrations.
In addition to service in law enforcement she was a founding board member for two non-profit organizations dedicated to fallen officers and their survivors: Colorado Fallen Hero Foundation and Brotherhood for the Fallen. She received several awards and commendations in her law enforcement career. She is most proud of awards she received from the Colorado Avalanche for being the top non-profit organization multiple years in a row, the Core 4 Spirit of Community Service from the City of Aurora, and a 2019 Heartland Regional Emmy Award winning producer.
Crystal earned her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice at Central Christian College of Kansas, was born in Indiana, and now raises two young daughters with her husband in the Denver metro area.
@crystalmccoyco
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Pete Piringer is currently the Chief Spokesperson and External Affairs/Public Information Officer for the Montgomery County (Maryland) Fire and Rescue Service, a position he returned to several years ago (2014) after a 5 year hiatus which included stints as the Director of Communications for the City of Laurel, Maryland and the Office of the Mayor in Washington, DC., as well as Chief Spokesperson and Director of Public Information for the District of Columbia Fire & Emergency Medical Services Department (DCFD) in Washington, DC.
Mr. Piringer has several decades of public safety experience and has served as the public information officer for several large departments in the Washington, DC metro area, including Montgomery County (MD) Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS), Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department (PGFD) and the Maryland State Police (MSP). He has represented local and/or state government during times of regional and national emergency incidents and other events, including the Washington, DC earthquake (2011); back-to-back major snowstorms (2010); New Orleans for Hurricane Katrina (2005); the Washington, DC metro area sniper attacks (2002) and the Pentagon attack on September 11, 2001, to name a few.
Mr. Piringer is president of the College Park (MD) Volunteer Fire Department where he has been a member for about 50 years. Additionally, he is a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs and is an Adjunct Instructor for the National Emergency Training Center, Emergency Management Institute. In 2007, while the Public Information Officer for Montgomery County Fire and Rescue, he served on the Post Incident Fire Review Task Force for about 1 year investigating the nine (9) firefighter 'line-of-duty' deaths in Charleston, SC., as the Task Force Public Information Officer (PIO) & consultant to the City of Charleston, SC.
To contact Pete you can email him at Peter.Piringer@montgomerycountymd.gov
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At 18 I joined the Israeli army as press liaison, and served on the ground from the Gaza strip to the Lebanon border and even in Haiti as a reservist following the 2010 earthquake. The lessons I learned from my military service about crisis, teamwork, and creativity are hard to put in words, but I take them with me to every project I work on.
I went on to complete a B.A., in Government studies with a major in Counterterrorism in Israel, and in 2007 came to the USA to begin my American adventure.
I’ve completed my Master’s in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, writing my graduate thesis on proposed social media use for the NYPD and interning at the NYPD office of Management, Analysis, and planning. During my time at the Kennedy School, I was fortunate to receive fellowships from the program in criminal justice policy and the Harvard Belfer Center for Science and International affairs.
In 2014 I joined the NYPD full-time to implement my academic research, and in 2016 was promoted to Director of Social Media and Digital Strategy.
During my time at the NYPD, I built the entire digital communications strategy from the ground up, transforming the voice of the largest police department in the country. It was quite a journey for a department that had a strict top-down communications strategy, but eventually, I moved the elephant’s feet and helped introduce to New Yorkers a personal, authentic, and localized voice that still speaks today. My team and I oversaw the launch of over 200 new social media accounts, amassed over 1 million followers, Wrote the NYPD crisis communications strategy, initiated a new “Digital Communication Officer” role in every command in the city, wrote a comprehensive training guide, and education curriculum, and produced viral videos with millions of views, generating hundreds of positive news articles.
I’m an annual guest lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School Communications Program, and frequently talk and write about social media, police, public safety, and communications.
Website for Skidrow Run ClubYael Bar Tur's Website Twitter @Yaelbt
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Mr. Probolsky is President of Probolsky Research, a full service opinion research firm specializing in market research and opinion research on elections and public policy, working on behalf of business, government, non-profit, special interest and media clients.
Mr. Probolsky has acted as pollster and strategic advisor on hundreds of successful crisis communications and public affairs projects, local, county and statewide initiatives and candidate campaigns as well as citizen outreach and education efforts. Additionally, Mr. Probolsky has been a key advisor to the firm’s clients on matters of public policy, legislation and business strategy.
Probolsky was both a planning and finance commissioner for the City of Irvine where he oversaw and approved billions of dollars in private development and public infrastructure projects. As a past chairman of the Irvine Valley College Foundation, he has overseen the fundraising and the award of hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships to students and funding for college police. He was also a member of the Orange County Waste & Recycling Commission where he oversaw landfills, recycling programs, waste hauling companies and power generating facilities. As a member of the Orange County Transportation Authority’s Environmental Mitigation and Oversight Committee, he oversaw the expenditure of over $175 million dollars in public transportation funds.
He previously served as a board member and development committee chairman for Jewish Family Service of Orange County, a non-profit organization that serves families in need, and volunteered for nearly eight years with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department as a spokesperson.
Probolsky formerly served as a member of the Policy Committee on Energy and the Environment of the United States Chamber of Commerce.
Mr. Probolsky’s research and commentary has been published in numerous media outlets including The New York Times, Riverside Press-Enterprise, The Chicago Sun-Times, the Orange County Register, and Politico, and the San Francisco Chronicle.
Website - Probolksy Research
Adam's Twitter - @AdamProbolsky
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In this episode, we talk to FEMA trainer and retired PIO Mark Brady.
- Mark was quoted as saying, “Social Media has been the biggest game-changer for public information professionals…”, what do you mean by that?
- What social media platform do you think is the most important for a PIO to capitalize on?
- Let’s talk about the social media emergency management guidance tool, I do not think many of our listeners are familiar with it?
- Tell the listeners about your experience as a trainer for FEMA and as an instructor at the National Emergency Training Center in Emmetsburg.
- What type of PIO training are you handling?
- Where do you see the PIO training field going in the next 10 years?
- What is the challenge facing PIO’s in getting information out to the media?
- What is one thing you see lacking from PIO’s coming into the field today?
- Why is relationship building so important to the success of a PIO?
Bio of Mark Brady
Mark Brady is well known in the field of Public Safety Public Information and crisis communications. He has 45 years of public safety experience, most notably with fire and emergency medical services. Brady started his career with the Branchville Volunteer Fire Company and Rescue Squad in College Park, MD, at 18 years of age and was soon employed by Prince George’s County in Maryland working with the 911 call center and police department before beginning a 40-year career with the fire/EMS department. The County Office of Emergency Management fell under the fire department and Brady worked closely with emergency managers on special projects and activations. He was also assigned to Public Safety Communications and Training Academy before being called upon to serve as the Department’s Public Information Officer. He started engaging on social media, primarily, Twitter and Facebook, soon after they became popular in 2008.
Brady’s work as a PIO began with the advent of flip cell phones and thermal paper fax machines and feels fortunate to have gained experience as a “traditional” PIO.
Mark Brady served as the Prince George’s County, Maryland, Fire/EMS Department’s Chief Spokesperson and Public Information Officer for 27 years before leaving in February of 2020 in order to expand his teaching and speaking availability on the subjects of social media, crisis communications, and public safety public information. He has spoken at many events across the country as a “subject matter expert” in the field of PIO and social media and has facilitated presentations at several FIREHOUSE EXPO’s, Fire Department Instructors Conference, and IAFC Officer Development and Command and General Staff courses.
Brady has served for 12 years as a contract instructor with FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute (EMI) in all PIO-related classes including All-Hazards Position Specific, Advanced, and Master PIO classes as well as Awareness, Public Information Basic and Joint Information System/ Joint Information Center courses.
Brady is currently part of a team revising the FEMA EMI’s Advanced PIO course and is also involved in ongoing curriculum review and development for FEMA’s Public Information Officer and Emergency Management Basic Academy training programs.
Mark is married with 3 adult children and resides in Annapolis, Maryland
Marks Twitter @PIOMarkBrady
Email PIOMarkBrady@gmail.com
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In this week's episode of the PIO Podcast, we talk to Julie Parker of Julie Parker Communications...
We discuss advocating for crisis communications training, a sense of urgency in the early stages of a crisis. Julie talks about trust in your Public Information Officers and having a seat at the decision-making table. We talk about being out in front in a crisis, what small agency PIO's can do to prepare, challenges facing PIO's in getting information out to the media. Julie also offers her insights into running a communications officer with a news bureau mentality. Why having an active and interacting presence on social media is so important and much more.
Julie's bio - Julie Parker’s unique media career encompasses many facets including her current role as the Senior Media Advisor for the International Association of Chiefs of Police, her previous roles as media director for two of our nation’s largest police departments, and as an Emmy and Edward R. Murrow award-winning television reporter in Washington, DC. Julie launched her own public relations firm in 2014 after the Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Homeland Defense and Security tapped her to be a subject matter expert on crisis communications, social media, and media relations. At ABC7 News, Julie served as a general assignment reporter covering such stories as the three-week-long ordeal known as the Beltway Sniper and the September 11th attacks just moments after the second plane hit the World Trade Center. Her journalism career began at C-SPAN, where she helped produce the 1996 Republican National Convention. She left the world of journalism in 2011 and joined the Prince George’s County (MD) Police Department as its chief spokesperson and Director of Media Relations for five years. Her work was instrumental in changing both the internal culture and public perception of the agency by developing and instituting nationally-recognized communications efforts that resulted in improved community and media engagement and marked enhancement of the department’s image. She was named “Best Police Flack” by the Washington City Paper. Julie later joined the Fairfax County (VA) Police Department in the same capacity she held at the PGPD. In her two years there, FCPD’s social media presence soared, to include increasing its Twitter following from 100,000 to nearly 250,000.
You can connect with her on Twitter at @JulieParkerComm and on LinkedIn.
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Todd Harmeson has been with the Chesterfield Police Department serving as the Public Information Officer since 2000. During this time, Todd has also served as the public information officer for the Madison County Emergency Management Agency for nearly 20 years before leaving and joining the East Madison Fire Territory as their lead Public Information Officer. Todd served as the Lead Public Information Officer during the Memorial Day 2019 tornado strike in Pendleton, IN. In addition, Todd has served as the PIO for numerous local, state, and presidential disaster declarations. Todd completed FEMA’s Advanced Public Information Officer training certification and is excited about pursuing the Master certification in 2023. In 2015 Todd was awarded the Major Gary Rudig award at Chesterfield Police Department for his dedication to the department and his community. In 2021, Todd received the Officer of the Year award, which is the highest award the department gives each year.
In 1993, Todd graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Indiana State University and immediately began working in his first full-time Emergency Management position. In 1995 Todd was married to his wife Shawn Harmeson who was working as a 911 Communications Operator. Todd and Shawn have three boys, two of which are currently following in his law enforcement footsteps. The family spent the first few years of their marriage in Terre Haute, IN before moving back to Madison County, which is where Todd was born and raised.
Todd has served as a mentor for several other public safety professionals across central Indiana helping guide and coaches them as they are learning their newly found positions as Public Information Officers.
Todd's Twitter @ToddHarmeson
Todds Email - Tharmeson@chesterfield.in.gov
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Warren Weeks sold his first newspaper to his grandmother at the age of five, he was Wayne Gretzky's PR handler for a day in 1998 and over the past two decades, has become one of Canada's most popular and trusted media trainers. Thousands of spokespeople from a wide range of industries have called upon Warren to learn how to take greater control over their media interviews and to improve their media relations outcomes.
Warren has established a reputation for providing executives with sound, strategic communications counsel - often under tight timelines and volatile circumstances, such as work disruptions, bankruptcies, mergers and acquisitions, plant closures, food/water contaminations and more. In the summer of 2000, he spent three-and-a-half months in the Town of Walkerton, Ontario during that community's notorious E. coli water contamination crisis.
He has worked with a long list of satisfied clients throughout Canada and the United States in both the private and public sectors, including banks, insurance companies, utilities, not-for-profits, health care organizations, social advocacy groups, retailers, municipalities, conservation organizations, global consulting firms, information technology companies, grocery retailers, educational institutions, authors and more.
Warren is the principal of Eleven Strategic Communications, Inc., a full-service corporate communications firm he founded in 2003.
He also offers his media training clients the perspectives and insights of a reporter, having written more than 1,000 articles for a variety of publications.
In the spring of 2010, Warren started an online campaign to get former NHL coach Pat Burns (who was dying of cancer) into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Within a matter of weeks, the campaign attracted 72,000 members and generated more than $2 million in earned media coverage from outlets including Hockey Night in Canada, the New York Times, Globe and Mail, National Post, Montreal Gazette, Fan 590, Team 990, Ottawa Citizen, ESPN, Sports Illustrated, CHCH TV, Toronto Star, Toronto Sun, AM 640, Yahoo Sports and more.
Warren holds a Masters of Arts degree in Journalism (1993) from the University of Western Ontario.
https://www.municipalworld.com/feature-story/avoiding-interview-landmines/
Making Great Presentations https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXpucOX9BB0&feature=emb_rel_pause
Warren Weeks - Crisis Communications
Contact Warren at 416-238-6361 or send him a confidential email at warren (at) weeksmedia.ca.
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This week's episode we interview Sgt. Wayne Delk from the Cobb County Police Department in Marietta Georgia. Some of the things discussed included staffing of the PIO unit and the duties of the staff in the unit. We also discussed the increase of violence as it has occurred across the country and how Cobb County is messaging to help reduce the risk to the community. We discussed the challenges faced in messaging and what social media platforms the Cobb County Police Department utilizes. s experienced an increase in violence. Many communities have seen unprecedented increases in violent crime. Lastly, we wrap it up with recommendations for someone who wanted to be a PIO.
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This week we interview Ty Wood, Social Media Specialist and PIO for the Clovis Police Department. We talk to ty about his background
- How many employees does the Clovis Police Department have?
- How are you staffed in Media Relations?
- How did you end up working with social media?
- How long has Clovis PD been using social media and what platforms do you utilize?
- You have hosted virtual ride alongs. How has that been received?
- How Ty turns a virtual ride-along into an engaging and bi-directional conversation?
- What factors have complicated his job in sharing information with the public and dealing with the media?
- Has the department's use of social media increased communication with the public?
Bio of Ty Wood
An experienced public servant with a demonstrated history of working in the government administration industry. Skilled in Public Relations, Social Media, Law Enforcement, Community Service, Crime Scene Investigations, and Recruiting. I have served in every division of our Department from Youth Services, to Investigations, Patrol, Jail, and Dispatch. When I began my law enforcement career 22 years ago, I never knew it would lead to public relations within the profession. I absolutely love getting to share how we do what we do with our community.
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In this episode, we speak to Lt. Baxter of SFFD we talk about his role as the only PIO, the impact of community outreach, and public-Ed? A campaigns effort to raise awareness about water fatalities around the coastline. A discussion over how agencies can connect with community-based groups.
Bio of Jonathan Baxter: started his career in Public Safety at the age of 14 working as an explorer scout with the City of Paso Robles Police Department. I attended EMT school at the age of 17, obtaining my EMT certificate just past my 18th birthday in 1989. He was hired with the San Luis County Ambulance service part-time as well as the San Luis Obispo County Fire Department.
At 18, he was asked to participate in a trial paramedic program put on by the Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula, in the Carmel Valley, obtaining his Paramedic license at the age of 19, becoming the youngest paramedic in the State of California.
From late 1990 to 1998 I was employed full time as a Firefighter Paramedic with the City of Sonoma Fire Department. During this time, I earned my A.S degree in Fire Science, multiple fire science certificates, and an A.A degree in Criminal Justice.
Let it be known that also from 1990 to 2000, in addition to my full-time career, I also worked part-time as a Paramedic for AMR SF, Guerneville Fire, Bodega Bay Fire, Sonoma County EMS, and Occidental Fire.
Additionally, I also worked part-time as a Firefighter/EMT and Fire Investigator for the Glen Ellen Fire Protection District from 1991-2010.
From 1998 to 2000, I worked full-time for the City of Hayward Fire Department as a Firefighter Paramedic.
In January of 2000, I started my career with the San Francisco Fire Department. From 2000 to 2006 I worked around the City as a Firefighter Paramedic, and Rescue Swimmer. From 2006 to 2016, I volunteered to be assigned to Engine 1, which was at the time the busiest fire engine in America, per
FireHouse Magazine. With over 500 public contacts per month, personal pride and integrity drove my fellow crewmembers and me to provide equal, and above standard service to every customer (citizen).
From 2008 to 2016, I worked as a temporary lieutenant on fire suppression apparatus (Mostly Engine 1). On January the 18th of 2016, I was hand-selected by Chief Joanne Hayes-White to become the SFFD’s Public Information Officer. While in that role, I was promoted to lieutenant in May of 2016 based on my rankings on a civil service test.
I remain employed as one of the highest decorated employees (47 Valor and Honors) with the City of San Francisco.
In 2006, I left the City of Pleasanton part-time employment and started a career with the City of Menlo Park Police Department (part-time). I have achieved Advanced Officer, Designated Rifle Officer, Critical Incident Officer, Bike Officer, K9 Officer, Drug Recognition Officer, and DUI officer certificates.
In 2014 I obtained a B.S degree in Criminal Justice, along with multiple Certificates in Homeland Security and public safety-related topics.
In 2017 I was hired part-time as an adjunct faculty instructor for Fire Science and Administration of Justice at City College of San Francisco and teach for the Mission High School Fire and MES program, among other topics.
I remain employed with CCSF College in a part-time capacity.
Jonathans email - jonathan.baxter@sfgov.org
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Dr. Trahan is a retired Lieutenant Colonel, United States Army Reserve (USAR), and a former Commander of the 314th Public Affairs Operations Center located in Birmingham, Alabama. While in the armed forces, Dr. Trahan successfully operated four Joint Information Bureaus and one Joint Information Center from 1991-94. Some of his assignments were: Joint Logistics Over the Shore -1992; the Presidential Task Force Andrew-1992; the National Boy Scout Jamboree -1993 and the 50th Anniversary of Operation Overlord (D-Day) - 1994.
Since 1998, Dr. Trahan has superbly trained more than 3,500 people yearly in media relations throughout almost all of the United States. England, Norway, France, Belgium, Paraguay, Mexico, and the Netherlands.
Dr. Trahan graduated from Tulane University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Military History. He holds a Master of Arts degree in Public Relations from Ball State University and a Ph.D. in Mass Communication with an emphasis in Public Relations and Advertising from The University of Southern Mississippi.
An accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America, Dr. Trahan is a former member of the National PRSA Board of Directors and National PRSSA Faculty Advisor. Dr. Trahan is also a Fellow in the Public Relations Society of America’s College of Fellows.
He’s also a long-term fan of The Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints!
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In our final episode of season 1 we talk to Laurie McCann, Social Media Officer with the Toronto Police Service. We discuss her advocacy of social media eduction for young people. Mistakes that young people make when engaging online. Why listening and engaging on social media is imperative. Laurie provides examples and talks about Amanda Todd's story and its impact on her. Laurie is also a proponent of self-care, mental health, and suicide prevention with the police service.
Connect with Laurie on Twitter @TheCoffeeCop
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In this episode, we talk about Social Media Listening and the value of engaging your community. Michelle offers insights into engaging, responding thoughtfully, and what listening tools a PIO can use. Michelle will also expand upon what happens if agencies do not socially listen. This episode is packed with insights enjoy!
Michelle's Bio
Michelle Proffitt is a content creator and brand storyteller. She recently joined the University of South Carolina Division of Law Enforcement and Safety as the agency’s first Public Safety Information Director. Before this role, she served on the public information teams of the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department (SC) and Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (FL), and spent some time working in private sector marketing.
Michelle specializes in content curation and community management across all social channels. She provides graphic design direction, manages agency branding assets, and oversees photography and videography projects. She is passionate about implementing the right tools to meet the right audiences where they’re at.
Michelle holds a Master of Arts degree in Integrated Marketing Communication from Marist College (NY) and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication Arts from Franciscan University of Steubenville (OH).
Twitter: @callmemichellep and LinkedIn: /michelleproffitt
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Jeff Butera is a four-time Emmy Award-winning journalist. A summa cum laude graduate of the University of Florida, he has reported for stations across the country, including in Phoenix and Tampa. He is currently the primary news anchor at WZVN-TV (ABC) In Fort Myers, where his work earned him a coveted Murrow Award for Hard News Reporting.
Jeff's Twitter @WriteLikeUTalk
A link to his book "Write Like You Talk" Link.
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In this week's episode, we talk to Dr. Jeff Thompson, Ph.D., NYPD detective and the creator of the Warr;or21 Project. This week's focus is on self-care and so much more. We talk about the stresses that PIOs are faced with and how to manage themselves. Jeff explains how to normalize fear, stress, and anxiety. Jeff cover "reframing", which helps take control and gives perspective and the importance of it. Jeff explains what Warr;or21 Project is the Awe Project and the purpose of positivity for success. This episode is packed with great resources for anyone in a high-stress career.
A bit about Jeff
Jeff Thompson, Ph.D., is an Adjunct Associate Research Scientist at the Molecular Imaging and Neuropathology Research Area of the New York State Psychiatric Institute and also the Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Depression in the Psychiatry Department at Columbia University Medical Center.
His research includes developing resilience and positive mental health strategies, hostage negotiation in terrorist incidents, suicide prevention, psychological autopsies, and the use of effective communication during crisis incidents. His training material has been implemented in police agencies across the United States and beyond.
Additionally, he is an 18-year law enforcement veteran detective with the New York City Police Department (NYPD) and a former hostage negotiator. In his role at the NYPD, Detective Thompson is currently the Mental Health and Wellness Coordinator helping conduct research and outreach on the department’s suicide prevention and postvention efforts, reducing the stigma associated with mental illness and help-seeking, enhancing resilience through evidence-based practices, and raising awareness of resources available to both police officers and the public.
Dr. Thompson is the recipient of the Griffith University Arts, Education and Law's 2020 Outstanding International Alumnus Award and The New York City Police Foundation’s 2020 Hemmerdinger Award for Excellence for Distinguished Public Service.
Learn about Warr;or21 and the Awe Project by going to Resiliencesymposium.org
Jeff's Twitter handle @jeffphd
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Lynn Hightower has an interesting perspective brought about by years in the private sector and working with local communities. We discuss dealing with unwelcome communications, managing the message, and the importance of doing it properly. What-ifs can result in speculation, Lynn discusses the importance of phrasing responses the proper way to get your agency's message across.
Lynn Hightower is the Communications Director for the Idaho State Police. At ISP Lynn works with both commissioned and professional staff to build a robust public communications program centered on consistent, useful, and value-based messaging.
Prior to serving with ISP, Lynn spent nearly 13 years as the Public Information Officer for the Boise Police Department. She also served the City of Boise as the Executive Director for the Downtown Boise Association, leveraging communication and collaboration to re-energize the downtown business alliance.
Lynn began her career as a TV news journalist, working as a reporter, anchor, producer, and News Director for stations in Montana and Idaho.
Lynn's LinkedIn account linkedin.com/in/lynnhightower
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We talk to Jessie about a variety of topics including self-care as a PIO, owning your responsibility, and setting boundaries. Jessie talks about dealing with trolls, making mistakes, and the three-and-out rule.
Jessie Brown is the Social Media Specialist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. She believes in the power of social media to inspire, engage, educate and build quality relationships between government agencies and their audiences.
Social Media Club Des Moines' 2017 Social Media Professional of the Year, Jessie's led a charge to develop government social media that has resulted in national, state and local recognition. She currently serves as the Vice President of Government Social Media’s Member Council, has served on the board of Social Media Club Des Moines, and works to help other social media professionals stay emotionally and mentally resilient in an often taxing and stressful career.
Jessie's Twitter - jbrownsocial
Jessie's Email address jessie.brown@dnr.iowa.gov
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Kate talks about how Silence is not a winning strategy. The importance of police leaders speaking in times of crisis. The importance of frequent updates affirms the agency's voice in the discussion. Kate is a firm believer in transparency and we discuss transparency portals and these three questions that the public asks. Why do we keep seeing these headlines? How are you preventing a tragedy like this from happening here? How do we know if I can trust the police? Listen to Kate's response about showing up in real-time with real answers.
Kate Kimble is the public relations manager for Fort Collins Police Services in Fort Collins, Colorado. She has experience in strategic communication, journalism, small business marketing, and social media management. Kate leads the FCPS Media Response Team, manages the agency's digital presence, and facilitates meaningful interactions between law enforcement and the community.
Kate's recommended reading: The Revolt of The Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium - https://www.amazon.com/Revolt-Public-Crisis-Authority-Millennium/dp/B07K6Y6KGZ
Kate Kimble's Twitter https://twitter.com/FCkimble
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Ashley Morris is an emergency management planner for the Baltimore County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management in Maryland. Her primary role involves emergency plan management, exercise coordination, social media messaging, community outreach, and volunteer management. She is also involved in emergency operation center roles involving situational awareness, weather briefings, and other planning section duties. Previously, she held three other local emergency management positions in both Virginia and Texas that involved planning, training, exercise, community engagement, and public information. Ashley coordinated many weather-oriented programs and initiatives, such as receiving StormReady status for the City of Leander, creating an NWS Austin VOST for storm reports, and creating weekly weather impact forecasts specifically for partners and first responders.
Ashley's Twitter @missashes92
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Amanda is a crisis communication specialist and is the director and founder of crisis communication consultancy Amanda Coleman Communication Ltd. Based in the UK, she has more than 20 years of experience in emergency services communication and leading in a time of crisis.
She is the author of Crisis Communication Strategies published in May 2020 by Kogan Page. In 2017, Amanda led the law enforcement communication response to the Manchester Arena terrorist attack.
Amanda began her working life as a journalist. She is a Chartered PR practitioner as well as a Fellow of both the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and the Public Relations and Communication Association. She is an advisor for the Resilience Advisors Network and a senior associate of the Centre for Crisis and Risk Communication.
Amanda’s book Crisis Communications Strategies https://amzn.to/3z0gWuI
Twitter: @amandacomms
Blog: Amandacomms's Blog | Communicating about crisis, reputation and more (wordpress.com)
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Robert has over 27 years of law enforcement background, having worked as a Public Information Officer for over 10 years. Robert works tirelessly to further connections with Public Information Officers, Public Relations professionals in the public sector through the use of the PIO Podcast. Robert has worked in three law enforcement agencies over the last 28 years and continues to write, post, and articulate information pertinent to public information as well as community engagement.
Personal Twitter: @RobertTornabene
PIO Podcast Twitter: @PIOPodcast
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-tornabene/
Email: Roberttornabene@gmail.com
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Elisa Bubak is from Northern California born and raised. Upon graduating from St. Mary’s High School in Stockton, she followed her father’s footsteps to the University of the Pacific. She graduated in 2013 with a Bachelor’s in Political Science with minors in Pre-Law & English. Two weeks after graduation, she accepted the Social Media and Content Coordinator position at Jackson Rancheria Casino Resort. After five years with JRCR, she applied and began working for the Lodi District Chamber of Commerce as their Director of Communications. There, she advocated for small businesses, grew their social media presence, and helped run multiple events that brought recognition to the Lodi community. She started her career as the Public Information Officer in mid-2020 and has been dedicated to showcasing all the positive work that stems from the San Joaquin County District Attorney’s Office.
Elisa lives in Lodi with her husband, Lance, their son, and basset hound. In her spare time, she loves being outdoors and camping, reading a good book, and drinking copious amounts of iced coffee.
Email Address - Elisa.Bubak@sjcda.org
San Joaquin District Attorney's Office Website https://www.sjgov.org/da/
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Jeremy Warnick is the Director of Communications and Media Relations at the Cambridge, Mass. Police Department, where he develops, distributes, and manages information between the police department, the media, and the people who live, work, visit and study in Cambridge via the department’s website, social media channels, e-mail platforms, and marketing programs. He has more than 15 years of communications experience with the public sector and major corporate brands, including ESPN and LoJack Corporation. He proudly serves as a Regional Vice-Chair for the IACP (International Association of Chiefs of Police) PIO Section and as a Chair for the Middlesex County PIO Network in Massachusetts. He is married and has two daughters.
Twitter - @jaywarnick
LinkedIn - Jeremy Warnick
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Andrew Doyle, Sr. is a public safety professional with over 25 years of comprehensive emergency experience. Currently, Andrew is an Emergency Boat Operator assigned to the Special Operations Command of the Baltimore City Fire Department. In plain terms, he operates the fireboats. He previously worked with the Mayor’s Office of Emergency Management coordinating public information and social media. Andrew has served on the Baltimore City Incident Management Team and was deployed as part of a Maryland Incident Management Team, with other emergency management professionals from Maryland, to assist Monroe County, FL following Hurricane Irma in 2017. He was one of the first state-side instructors selected to deliver the newly created FEMA-approved Social Media for Disasters course in 2012. He continues to deliver not only the FEMA basic social media course but also the advanced ones all across America. Andrew is blending the rapidly expanding world of social media with emergency management. His knowledge and training in fire, emergency medical services, special operations, and public information training make him uniquely qualified to do so. Additionally, Andrew is an independent consultant of Social Media for Government Agencies & Private Industry and an active blogger. In his spare time, Andrew enjoys cheering for Maryland Terps, Washington Caps, Baltimore Orioles and Baltimore Ravens. For fun, he plays lacrosse. Last, but not least, he is the proud father of three children, Emily, Andrew, and Jeremy.
Andrew's Twitter Handle - @doyle0213
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Emily Allen Lucht is the Director of Communications at the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development.
Previously, she was the Communications and Media Specialist at the Maryland Center for School Safety (MCSS). She was responsible for creating and updating accessible social media content, graphic, audio, and visual designs, website content production and maintenance, the agency's branding initiatives, and developing outreach campaigns found on all their digital platforms. Ms. Allen Lucht also produced live and recorded video content for the MCSS and its many local and statewide partners.
Emily's email address - emily.lucht@maryland.gov
Emily's Twitter Account - @allen_emilym
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Emmy award-winning communications and public affairs practitioner specializing in strategic communications, media relations, legislative advocacy, and social media influence in the government, non-profit and corporate sectors. Significant expertise in crisis communications, organizational reputation management, internal & executive communications, and issue-campaign development and implementation.
Major Cities Website
PIO Email Address
Anthony Guglielmi's Twitter Account @AJGuglielmi
Anthony's Email Address - anthony.guglielmi@fairfaxcounty.gov
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Christine has over fifteen years of experience in crisis and emergency communication as well as shaping the digital policing narrative in the UK. As one of the founding teams to bring social to the public sector, Christine has trained emergency services and government agencies across the world in how to engage with the public through digital channels.
With previous experience as a journalist and as a decorated operational police officer, Christine has worked to bridge the gap between the public and police through better communication. Her experiences have included large-scale events such as the London 2012 Olympics, the funeral of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and financial scandals, riots, and the handling of historic sex abuse cases.
PIO Toolkit Twitter - https://twitter.com/piotoolkit
PIO Toolkit LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/piotoolkit/
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Kevin Maccioli is the Director of Media Relations and Public Information for the Middlesex (Mass.) Sheriff’s Office.
Kevin has served as the lead Public Information Officer (PIO) for the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office (MSO) since joining the office in June 2012. He previously worked for a decade as a newspaper reporter at the Malden Evening News and Medford Daily Mercury, where he covered a wide array of local and state issues.
As Director of Media Relations and Public Information, Kevin is responsible for overseeing the MSO’s media relations and social media efforts, supporting community affairs initiatives, and working closely with other PIOs and communications directors inside and outside Middlesex County. He has participated in the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) Jail PIO Network, helped establish the Massachusetts PIO Network, and is currently a member of the PIO Working Group for the Major County Sheriffs of America (MCSA).
Kevin is a 2002 graduate of Colby-Sawyer College (New London, N.H.), where he earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Communications Studies and was a member of the baseball team for two seasons as a player and two as a student assistant.
Kevin's email address; kevin.maccioli@state.ma.us
Kevin's LinkedIn
Kevin's Twitter Account @kmaccioli
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Connor Hagan entered on duty with the FBI in July 2015 as a member of the Milwaukee Field Office’s Special Surveillance Group. In this position, he covertly surveilled and documented the activities of foreign spies and suspected terrorists to further critical national security investigations. In May 2016, he moved into the Milwaukee Field Office as an
Operational Support Technician. In this role, Connor provided administrative assistance to Special Agents and Intelligence Analysts in support of the missions of the Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, HUMINT, and Violent Crime squads.
In January 2018, he transferred to the Houston Field Office as an FBI Public Affairs Officer. Then in December 2019, he transferred to the FBI Little Rock Office. In this position, he operates as the sole FBI PAO and media representative for the state. He frequently responds to FBI critical incidents, answers a variety of daily media requests, writes numerous press releases about federal investigations, and highlights compelling FBI cases for media and public attention. He also works to maintain an active FBI Little Rock social media presence and is building relationships with numerous media, law enforcement, and community leaders throughout Arkansas.
Connor Hagan's email address - cahagan@fbi.gov
Chasing the Dragon - Life of an Opioid Addict
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Maj. Kevin Sandell is an Army Public Affairs Officer serving with the Army's Office of the Chief of Public Affairs (OCPA) at the Pentagon. He has served in the military for 14 years, with 10 years as a military public affairs officer at Fort Campbell, Ky., Fort Drum, N.Y.; Fort Hood, Texas, and Shaw A.F.B., S.C. Maj. Sandell has served as the unit spokesman, communications advisor, and deputy PAO for units with over 25,000 soldiers and also served as the director of the media operations center for a large-scale, national media event at Fort Hood, Texas. He has deployed twice to Afghanistan and once to Kosovo. Maj. Sandell is a native of Cedarburg, Wisconsin, a graduate of the FEMA Advanced PIO Course, and holds degrees from Georgetown University, Regent University, and Olivet Nazarene University.
Kevin's LinkedIn Profile
The article referenced in the interview "Army PAOs hold an often-overlooked strategic seat ‘At the Table’"
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Captain Brennan Matherne has served as Public Information Officer of the Lafourche Parish Sheriff’s Office (Louisiana) for nearly 10 years. He has 16 total years of experience as a PIO and has been managing social media for public agencies since 2008. Most notably, he served as PIO for Lafourche Parish Government during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which directly impacted the parish’s coastline. He is a Past President of the National Information Officers Association, and he presented twice at the NIOA annual training conference on social media use for public agencies prior to serving as President. He has trained a number of PIOs, elected officials, and social media managers in the Southeast. He has assisted numerous agencies in launching social media and developing internal policies. Captain Matherne is a 2003 graduate of Nicholls State University (Thibodaux, Louisiana) with a degree in Mass Communication. In 2014, he was honored as one of the “Top 40 Under 40” in Lafourche Parish.
The DTB Podcast; DTB Podcast on Apple
Twitter: @BrennanMatherne
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brennanmatherne/
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Genevieve Judge joined the Sarasota Police Department in Florida in May 2013 to serve as the Public Information Officer after nearly 10 years working in TV News as a Multi-Media Journalist (MMJ) and Anchor.
As a Florida native, born and raised in Sarasota, Genevieve is responsible for developing, implementing, and evaluating partnerships, community policing communication strategies, and public information campaigns to inform and share with the citizens and visitors in the City of Sarasota as well as journalists working in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Sarasota media market. She serves in an on-call role for her agency 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and manages all social media for the Sarasota Police Department. She’s a one-woman-PIO for her agency and is honored and humbled to work alongside the men and women, both sworn and civilian, of the Sarasota Police Department.
Genevieve was honored as the Sarasota Police Department’s Civilian Employee of the Year in 2014 and received the 2015 ConnectedCOPS Civilian Award of Excellence for her work singularly demonstrating overall excellence in the use of social media to improve public safety.
Genevieve is currently serving as a Representative at Large for the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) PIO Section, is a member of the National Information Officers Association (NIOA), and is a Past President of the Florida Law Enforcement PIO Association (FLEPIOA). She holds a Bachelor of Science in Communication degree from Endicott College in Beverly, Massachusetts. Her husband, Jimmy, also serves in law enforcement as a Multi-Media Crime Technician at the Tampa Police Department.
Genevieve’s e-mail address: Genevieve.Judge@SarasotaFL.gov
Genevieve's Twitter: @GenevieveJudge
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In June 2019, Carin Morrell joined the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) as the first Public Information Officer (PIO) for the Police Department and Office of Emergency Management. As PIO, she’s a social media manager, photographer, videographer, graphic designer, speechwriter, website developer, and crisis communicator. She manages media inquiries, community complaints, and all public-facing messaging for a police department of 200+ men and women (plus one dog), as well as UMB’s newest department, the Office of Emergency Management.
Prior to joining UMB, Morrell spent three years as PIO for the Maryland Department of Health Office of Preparedness and Response, where she managed all public-facing communications related to public health emergencies for the State of Maryland. In 2019, she was selected to present a social media accessibility poster at the National Preparedness Summit. She was recognized by Governor Hogan’s Office of Communications for social media management and routinely ran the Maryland Emergency Management Agency Joint Information Center during graded statewide and national exercises.
Morrell has also served as communications coordinator for the Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University and spent years producing newscasts at WBAL-TV and WISC-TV. Morrell taught news reporting at Loyola University Maryland, led nationwide social media campaigns, spearheaded departmental website redesigns, and developed branding and marketing strategies for state political campaigns. She earned a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication in 2012 and is currently earning a second master’s degree in strategic communications from the University of Maryland Global Campus.
Carin's Linked in link
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Dionne Waugh has worked in the field of law enforcement public information for nearly 13 years. She joined the City of Boulder (Colorado) in November 2020 as the Public Safety PIO for Boulder Police and Fire.
Prior to that, she worked for the Jefferson County (Colorado) Sheriff’s Office for six years as its Digital Communications Manager. There she managed the agency’s social media and served as a backup public information officer. Before moving to Colorado, she spent more than six years as a public information officer and unofficial social media manager for the Richmond (Virginia) Police Department.
She has spoken about law enforcement and social media at numerous conferences and trainings across the country in addition to happily helping anyone in public safety/government who has social media/media questions.
Waugh is a former newspaper reporter who wrote about crime, government, and the court system for several years. That experience and a desire to make the world a better place fuel her drive to improve communication between individuals.
Dionne's e-mail address - waughd@bouldercolorado.gov
Dionne's Twitter - twitter.com/dionnew
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About Trent Faris - Trent Faris serves as Public Information Officer for the York County Sheriff’s Office, a full service, and nationally accredited law enforcement agency employing approximately 400 full and part-time, sworn, and civilian personnel. He has held this position for nine years.
Trent is responsible for the daily coordination, circulation, formulating, and disseminating of communications to the media and publicity pertaining to the York County Sheriff's Office.
Trent is trained in Crisis Communications achieving Advanced PIO training through FEMA, as well as the FBI-LEEDA Master PIO course.
He develops communication strategies and tactics to promote, enhance and protect the agency's brand of fostering a positive and mutually beneficial relationship with the citizens of York County and the Sheriff's Office. In addition to those duties, Trent oversees video production for the York County Sheriff's Office aimed at public service announcements, crime prevention and assists with criminal investigations through visual media.
Trent manages website content and social media sites for the York County Sheriff's Office, The Sheriff's Foundation of York County, Inc., and Crime Stoppers of York County.
A native of Rock Hill, SC, Trent graduated in 2002 from Winthrop University with a Bachelor's Degree in Mass Communication, one of only two accredited journalism schools in South Carolina. Trent was nominated for an Emmy for work on a series of stories about World War II veterans living in the greater Charlotte area. Also earning and winning several awards for stories from the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas.
Before joining the YCSO, he worked seven years as the South Carolina Bureau Reporter/Multi-Media Journalist for WBTV News in Charlotte NC. Prior to WBTV, he worked as a Sports Reporter and Photojournalist at CN2 News in Rock Hill SC. While attending Winthrop University, Trent worked and interned at WBT Radio, WLNK Radio in Charlotte, NC
Trent is a veteran of the US Navy, serving as an Aviation Ordnanceman as well as serving with the US Marine detachment for ship security from 1994 to 1997.
In his spare time, Trent is a volunteer soccer and basketball coach and is the Cooperative Weather Observer in Catawba, SC for the National Weather Service.
Trents Twitter handle @trentfaris
"The Many Heroes" - Part 1: The Call & Officer Down"The Many Heroes " - Part 2: The Boat & Ambush"The Many Heroes" - Part 3: The Aftermath & Never Forget 809
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Katie is the Social Media + Public Relations Coordinator for the Mountain View Police Department in northern California. Katie specializes in social media management, speaking across the country on social media best practices, crisis communications, and forming positive working relationships between law enforcement and the media.
Before joining MVPD, Katie worked as a public safety reporter for papers including the San Jose Mercury News, the East Bay Times, and the San Francisco Chronicle. Published nationally, Katie was an award-winning journalist for my breaking news coverage of the Asiana Airlines crash at San Francisco International Airport and my investigative work on the state Department of Social Services led to major legislative reform to protect elderly residents in California.
Find me on Twitter at @katienelson210 and at policepio@mountainview.gov.
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Nelly Miles has been employed with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) for 21 years. She currently serves as the GBI’s Public Affairs Director, acting as a liaison between the agency and the media/public, coordinating the release of information about GBI services. Additionally, she serves as the GBI legislative liaison to Georgia's legislature and the Governor's Office.
Mrs. Miles earned her Chemistry degree from Emory University in 1999. That same year, she began working as a Forensic Chemist. After six years, she was promoted to Assistant Manager and one year later promoted to Forensic Chemistry Manager. There, she oversaw the daily operations of the Forensic Chemistry Unit for the next nine years.
In 2015, Mrs. Miles made a leap from the sciences to communications, appointed as GBI’s Public Affairs Deputy Director. One year later, she was appointed as Public Affairs Director.
Mrs. Miles is the Southeast Regional Vice-Chair for the International Association of Chiefs of Police PIO Section. She is a current member of the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, Peace Officers Association of Georgia, National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, National Information Officer’s Association, and the Georgia Association of Women in Public Safety.
Twitter - @nmilesgbipio
Email nelly.miles@gbi.ga.gov
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A proud and dedicated member of the Albany Police Department in upstate New York. With over 17-years of law enforcement experience, I am honored to serve as the department's public information officer.
In addition to my duties at the police department, I am a proud member of the Public Relations Society of America’s Capital Region Chapter's board of directors, Chairman of the board of directors for the Northeastern Association of the Blind at Albany, and coordinator for the Capital Region Crime Stoppers program, a nonprofit that allows residents to provide anonymous information to law enforcement in an effort to keep communities safe.
My passion continues to be strategic and crisis communication, as well as social media engagement.
Email - ssmith@albanyny.gov
Telephone - (518) 469-2862
Twitter - APDsmith
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25 year veteran of the fire service and experienced public information officer.
Firefighter supervisor with a municipal fire agency. Supervise a crew of firefighters with emergency response and day to day business. Make command decisions as needed during emergency incidents to protect life and property and to stabilize the situation.
Public information experience includes working with internal and external partners to promote fire department programs. During significant public safety incidents, provide information to members of the community and media locally and throughout the state. This is done with traditional media interview, news release, website, and social media.
As a member of a federal incident management team, respond as a co-lead PIO when the team gets activated for large scale incidents. Work with hosting agency(ies) to identify information needs, manage them for the duration of the incident, and prepare for an effective transition back to the host agency at conclusion of the assignment.
Experienced project initiation and management. Recent experience involved establishing a team to archive fire department records and migrating them to a new records management system that was customized to the organization’s needs. Established, built up, and maintained the Garden Grove Fire Department’s social media presence. This included working with other city departments to establish and formalize an official social media committee.
21 years of in-class adult education experience, including 10 years of Emergency Medical Technician program coordination. Curriculum development & clinical coordination.
Twitter @piothanhn
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With more than 30 years of experience, Judy Pal has served in management and public relations positions for public safety, government, and the professional sports and entertainment industry in both Canada and the United States. She has been teaching media and public relations skills and serving in executive staff positions with law enforcement for more than a decade. She has extensive experience dealing with sensitive, image-threatening issues including criminal conduct of police officers, international scandal, and acts of terrorism.
A former broadcast journalist and news anchor; she has a unique understanding of the critical objectives on both sides of the camera. She is passionate about image development, media relations, crisis communications, and the use of social media; and has hosted workshops and training for public safety agencies, government services, non-profit and professional associations, and retail and business executives.
Before joining NYPD as an Assistant Commissioner serving as Advisor to the Police Commissioner, Pal was Director of Operations and an instructor for the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Association (FBI-LEEDA). Prior to that, she served as Chief of Staff with the Baltimore Police Department. Previously, she served as Operations Director with Kroll Security Group where she worked with international clients, including the Government of Chile and the Trinidad & Tobago Police Service. Before joining Kroll, she was Chief of Staff with the Milwaukee Police Department in Wisconsin and served on the command staffs of the Atlanta Police Department, Savannah Chatham Metro Police and Halifax Regional Police in Canada.
Pal is credited with re-tooling the image of the largest police department in Atlantic Canada and developing innovative and award-winning marketing and communications programs. While with the Atlanta Police Department, she created and carried out a plan to regain public trust after officers shot and killed an 87-year old woman during an illegal search. She has overseen communications in many instances of crisis – including the tornado that ripped through downtown Atlanta in 2008; and while with the Savannah-Chatham Metro Police spearheaded a communications campaign for precinct realignment.
Pal is a past president of the National Information Officers Association and is a former columnist with The Insighter magazine of FBI-LEEDA and Blue Line Magazine, the national law enforcement publication in Canada. She has served as an adjunct professor with Mount Saint Vincent University in Nova Scotia, Canada; as well as being an instructor with the Institute for Law Enforcement Administration in Texas.
Pal began her career in professional sports, working with the Stanley Cup-winning Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League before joining the Edmonton-based Canadian affiliate of Ogilvy-Mather as a consultant. She moved to the east coast to pursue broadcast journalism with Global Television, serving as a program host, anchor, producer, and reporter before moving to law enforcement.
Upon moving to the U.S., Ms. Pal worked with Madison Square Garden as the Public Relations Director for the Hartford Civic Center, Rentschler Field, and the minor league affiliate of the New York Rangers.
Pal holds a Masters of Public Relations from Mount Saint Vincent University in Canada, and earned her Certificate in Police Leadership from Dalhousie University in Canada, along with various certifications in management, ICS, NIMS, death notification, suicide intervention, and domestic violence.
Email - jpal.usa@gmail.com
Twitter - @10_8_Comms
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Amanda Hunter was promoted to Public Information Manager at the Pasco Sheriff’s Office in Sept. 2020. In this role, she oversees the media relations and social media arms for the agency, with a daily focus on strategic communication, branding, and marketing. She began her career with PSO in Dec. 2018 as a Community Engagement Specialist, focusing on promoting the agency through entertainment television programs and other media formats.
Hunter previously worked in the intercollegiate sports industry in marketing, promotions, and communications roles for nearly eight years. Additionally, she held marketing and communications positions in the theme park industry for nearly four years.
Hunter holds a Bachelors in Mass Communication/Public Relations with a minor in Criminology from the University of South Florida and a Masters in Sports Management/Marketing, New Media & Communications from Georgetown University. She was selected to travel with Georgetown to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games as part of their Global Immersion program, designed to add an international perspective to the business of sports. She also holds a graduate-level certificate in Post-Crisis Leadership from USF’s Muma College of Business and is in the process of completing FEMA’s Professional Development Series.
Amanda's email address
Amanda's Twitter
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Sarah Boyd - Public Relations Specialist
E-Mail
Sarah Boyd has been employed by the Kansas City Police Department for the past 12 years. At the beginning of her career, social media use in policing was uncommon; therefore, she was tasked with developing and building the social media presence of the agency. She has worked with platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Nextdoor, Chief’s Blog, and Instagram. Within 10 years, she built a Twitter following of 233,000 in a city of about 475,000 residents. Public Relations Specialist Boyd built this following through years of continued responsiveness and innovative engagement methods. Her development of the “tweet-along” program became a model for departments everywhere to use Twitter to engage with the community.
Recognized as a vice-chair on the Public Information Committee for the Major Cities Chiefs Association, she has been invited to share her knowledge and experience at conferences around the United States and to serve in a consulting role for other police departments. She also instructs weekly internal social media training in order to teach social media use and community engagement enhancement to nearly 1,400 sworn officers.
Originally a crime and education newspaper reporter, Public Relations Specialist Boyd was drawn to the law enforcement profession due to the observations and stories she received from the community’s officers while reporting. She believes that the foundation of trust the agency has built through efforts such as promoting events or posting on social media has prevented the dissension, violence, and rioting experienced in other cities, creating a safer environment for everyone to work, live, and play in.
Sgt. Jake Becchina - Public Information Officer
E-Mail
Sgt Jake Becchina is a 17+ year veteran of the Kansas City Missouri Police Department. He is currently assigned to the Media Relations Unit, responsible for supervising public information regarding department activities to local, regional, and national media partners. Jake has been assigned to Patrol, Tactical Response, Training Academy, and Violent Crimes Enforcement as an officer, and Patrol, Real-Time Crime Center, and Media as a Sergeant. Jake is passionate about police/community relations and focuses his efforts to build trust through transparency. During his 2.5+ years in the Media Relations Unit he has managed public information for high profile events such as multiple officers involved in a shooting and being wounded, a critical incident during the Chief’s Superbowl parade, record numbers of homicides two consecutive years, and many others.
Police Chief Magazine Article - No More Rocks and Bottles: Lessons Learned in Crisis Communications
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Christopher Cook serves as a lieutenant overseeing the media relations and strategic communications for the Arlington, Texas Police Department. He leads a team focused on internal and external communication initiatives, proactive citizen engagement through digital social media, and strategic public relations. Lt. Cook oversees both sworn and civilian staff which manage all media inquiries, respond to major incidents, and produce digital media and publications to reach the population who live, work and visit the 48th largest city in the United States.
Lt. Cook was elected in 2019 and serves as the current Vice President of the National Information Officers Association (NIOA), the largest group of communication professionals in the world. He is scheduled to be sworn in as President of the NIOA in August 2021. He also chairs the Major Cities Chiefs Association (MCCA) – Public Information Officers Committee representing 78 of the largest police departments in the United States and Canada, since 2018. Lt. Cook is a Regional Vice Chair representing the Central United States consisting of Arkansas, Louisiana, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas for the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) – Public Information Officers Section and previously served as the Chair for that Section from 2015-2018. He also is an active member of the North Texas PIO Group which provides regular assistance and training to law enforcement agencies in the greater Dallas/Fort Worth region. Lt. Cook testified before the President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Justice-Community Trust and Respect for Law Enforcement panel in 2020. He also provided testimony to the IACP Police Professional Standards Ethics and Image Committee on the state of policing related to the value that public information officers provide to communities in the midst of calls for police reform and defunding media teams. Lt. Cook provides regular instructional courses in the public information profession to a variety of agencies and organizations. Speaking and executive training engagements include the IACP, NIOA, MCCA, FBI, Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas, Texas Crime Prevention Association, Institute for Law Enforcement Administration, Caruth Police Institute, Government Social Media Conference, the Social Media Internet Law Enforcement Conference, and numerous other law enforcement centric organizations.
Lt. Cook began his career in law enforcement in 1995 and graduated at the top of his class. He has worked in jail operations, patrol, traffic enforcement, commercial vehicle enforcement, high-intensity drug trafficking operations, and fatality crash investigations. Lt. Cook has a decade of experience in media relations, strategic communication, and public outreach efforts based upon his appointment to lead the Media Office in 2011. He has served as a lead public information planner and PIO for several large-scale events including the MLB World Series in 2011 and 2020, NFL Super Bowl in 2011, College Football Playoff National Championship in 2015, and the National Finals Rodeo in 2020. Lt. Cook holds a Master of Arts in Criminology & Criminal Justice from the University of Texas at Arlington and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice at Tarleton State University.
Christopher Cook – Lieutenant –Arlington Police Department Work - 817.459.5333
Work E-Mail - Personal E-Mail
Twitter
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Trooper Bush is a graduate of Kansas State University. Tiffany joined the Kansas Highway Patrol in July 2007, where she was stationed in Troop A, the Kansas City Metro. Tiffany has been an FTO to 5 new troopers. Tiffany coached at the training academy for her 10-year anniversary class. Tiffany has been an instructor on our Traffic Stop Team where they teach the recruits how to safely conduct traffic stops and perform felony traffic stops. Tiffany has been a CPST (Child Passenger Safety Technician) since 2007. Tiffany teaches parents almost daily how to install their child’s seat or provide seats to those unable to afford one. Tiffany is a certified Level II (2008) and HazMat (2016) for CVSA inspections. Tiffany will be certified this year on cargo tankers. Tiffany was the agency recruiter from 2018 to 2020 before she was selected for the PIO position (again) in October 2020. Tiffany is also on our Mobile Field Force team, as an arrest team member, which is utilized for riots or protests. She was able to attend the 2021 Presidential Inauguration as part of this team.
You can follow Trooper Bush on Twitter @KHPTrooperTiff
She can be contacted via her agency email address at tiffany.bush@ks.gov
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Since 2012, Katie Carlson has served as the Public Information Officer for the Marion County Sheriff's Office. Her responsibilities include serving as the primary media contact and managing media relations and social media across all Divisions of the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. In addition to her responsibilities as PIO, Carlson is the project manager in the implementation of a Department of Justice grant to establish a peer support program and mindfulness training at the MCSO.
Carlson is a certified yoga instructor and instructs all incoming Deputies and Detention Deputies in yoga and mindful breathing techniques at the MCSO Training Academy. She regularly partners with government agencies and non-profit organizations to provide free yoga classes to the public.
Carlson received a Bachelor of Science from Ball State University in 2005, studying Political Science, Communications Studies, and Psychology. She is active in her community on the southside of Indianapolis and has served as a Board member on several area not-for-profit organizations.
Twitter @katiehc
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Capt. Adam Myrick has more than 17 years of media and public relations experience, preceded by nearly a decade in print, radio, and television newsrooms.
He became the public information officer, primary spokesperson, and media liaison for the 500 person Lexington County (South Carolina) Sheriff’s Department in 2015. As a member of Sheriff Jay Koon’s executive staff, Adam helms the department’s public information unit. He is responsible for media relations, crisis communication, and issues management, along with the agency’s video productions, social media, and digital content.
Adam got his start in the media in 1995 as a freelance correspondent at his hometown newspaper. He went on to cover news and sports as an anchor, reporter, and producer at radio and television stations, and broadcast networks in South Carolina and Dallas, Texas.
Adam jumped to the “other side of the news” in 2004 when he became a public information officer and spokesperson for one of South Carolina’s largest and most high-profile state government agencies.
Adam also serves as an instructor with FBI-LEEDA. He is a frequent speaker and panelist focused on law enforcement’s relationship with the news media and the profession’s use of social media and digital content. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mass communication from Lander University.
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Jordan is the Public Information Officer and a Lieutenant with the Jefferson County Fire Department in Lexington Kentucky
Cellular (502) 341-7390
Twitter @PIOYoudis37
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An 18 year veteran of the Indiana State Police and currently the Public Information Officer for the Indianapolis District. A member of the ISP Honor Guard, a firearms and tactics instructor, and an Indiana Safe School Specialist.
Twitter: @ISPIndianapolis
Facebook: Sgt. John Perrine – Indiana State Police Indianapolis District
Email: JPerrine@isp.in.gov
Phone: 317-899-8577
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Stephanie Slater became the Boynton Beach Police Department’s Public Information Officer in April 2007, following seven years as a newspaper reporter.
Slater serves as a strategic communications advisor and community engagement liaison, overseeing the agency’s branding and messaging. She is the agency spokeswoman, working closely with media partners to keep the community informed. She also manages the agency’s social media and website, video production, podcasts, and recruitment campaigns.
Slater is an instructor for FBI-LEEDA, teaching media and public relations to law enforcement executives across the country. She is the Immediate Past President of the National Information Officers Association and a member of the Florida Law Enforcement Public Information Officers Association.
Slater is a frequent guest speaker about law enforcement’s use of Social Media and has contributed to several textbooks about the topic. She also contributed to a Boston University journalism textbook on public affairs reporting and served on a panel that helped develop a model social media policy for the IACP.
She was honored as the Boynton Beach Police Department’s Civilian Employee of the Year in 2008; Civilian of the Quarter in July 2017 and received the International Association of Chiefs of Police 40 Under 40 award, which recognizes law enforcement professionals from around the world who demonstrate leadership and exemplify a commitment to their profession, in October 2017.
A New York native, Slater is a graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, where she majored in print journalism. She previously worked as a breaking news and crime reporter for The Boca News and The Palm Beach Post.
She is the proud wife of a police officer and mother of a kindergartner!
You can contact Stephanie via Twitter @StrategicPIO or via email at StephanieHSlater@gmail.com.
If you are interested in listening to the Boynton Beach Police Department Podcast about Rosebud you can listen to it here.
Stephanie also talked about the training classes offered by FBI-LEETA, you can find out if a class is coming nearby by going to the training page for the Media and Public Relations Course. You can also find information about the Master PIO Course as well.
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Sarah Gamblin-Luig joined the CEMA in 2010 as a Specialist responsible for public information, community outreach, training, exercise, and general topics emergency management. In 2012, Sarah was promoted to Communications Center Coordinator taking responsibility for all notification and communication equipment and processes for the agency. In addition to those tasks, Sarah has served on a number of committees and advisory councils responsible for developing policy at the local, state, and federal levels. They have also served as the lead on several high-profile events, including Major League Baseball Playoffs, National Hockey League Playoffs, Fair St. Louis, and the city’s responses to civil unrest.
An authority on social media, Sarah has been a member of the executive board of Social Media Club St. Louis, has been a speaker at the Government Social Media Social for Safety Conference, Missouri Emergency Management Conference, Northeast Illinois Public Information Officers Association Conference, the Red Cross Preparedness Academy, and has also presented to groups from the Federal Commission on School Safety, the St. Louis Federal Executive Board, the New Leaders Council, and the World Affairs Council of St. Louis. They have also been a consultant for several departments and organizations as they look to engage in using social media for local government or emergency response purposes. In 2015, Sarah was appointed to the Department of Homeland Security’s Science & Technology Directorate’s Social Media Working Group for Emergency Services and Disaster Management which establishes and collects best practices and solutions to be utilized by public safety officials throughout the nation.
Sarah is a member of the Government Social Media Organization, National Information Officers Association, and the Engaging Local Government Leaders Organization. They also work with Team Rubicon and serve as the Incident Management Team (IMT) Public Information Officer (PIO). They also volunteer as a bugler, performing Taps at military ceremonies and memorial services in the St. Louis area.
Sarah has responded to several tornadoes, floods, and hurricanes across the country filling roles from incident commander to chainsaw operator.
Here Twitter handled @commsdom
Her Linked In Account https://www.linkedin.com/in/gamblinluig/
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Award-winning Public Information Officer. Corey Dobridnia is currently employed at the Walton County Sheriff's Office. In a past life, Dobridnia worked as the weekend anchor for WMBB, an ABC Affiliate out of Panama City covering Tyndall Air Force Base, Naval Support Activity Panama City and more.
Dobridnia graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with a bachelor's degree in communication and earned a master's degree from Florida State University, Panama City in corporate and public communication. ERAU was also where she lettered in women's volleyball.
In 2017, Dobridnia was dually named Public Information Officer of the Year by the Florida Law Enforcement Public Information Officer's Association and the Florida Association of Public Information Officers. In 2018, Dobridnia received the PIO Deployment Team Mobilization Award after deploying to help public agencies following Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Michael. In 2020, Walton County Sheriff's Office was a finalist for Government Social Media's Golden Post Awards for Best Instagram Presence.
Connect with Corey on her LinkedIn or Twitter accounts
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cdobridnia/
https://twitter.com/cdobridnia
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Kristie has been with the Elgin Police Department since 1998, serving as the Public Information and Community Outreach Manager since 2018. Prior to this role, she served as the department’s senior analyst where she undertook several initiatives, such as analyzing crimes and trends, writing and securing grants, including the first round of body-worn camera funding released by the Bureau of Justice Administration in 2015 and most recently funding for social worker positions through 2023. She began the department’s social media presence in 2012, since amassing more than 81,000 Facebook followers. She also manages the department’s records, mobile, and corrections software projects and recently released a comprehensive transparency website she constructed to help her department build trust with the Elgin community. She has a Master’s of Science degree in Adult & Higher Education and a Bachelor of Arts in Behavioral Sciences. In her spare time, she enjoys refinishing antiques and spending time with her family and her dog.
Kristie is retiring from the Elgin Police Department in the next month but she can be reached through her LinkedIn account, or via her personal cakristie@msn.com.
The Elgin Police Department Transparency Dashboard can be found here
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Michael Pruitt is a 36 year veteran of the fire service, having served 28 of those as a career firefighter. He started his fire service career full time with the City of Franklin, Indiana Fire Department. After seven years, he was hired as a Firefighter / Paramedic with the Wayne Township Fire Department in Indianapolis, Indiana, where we rose to Captain's rank. During his tenure with Wayne Township Fire, he served as a Suppression Captain, Deputy Chief of Special Operations, and the department's Public Information Officer. He retired from the Wayne Township Fire Department in February 2020. He was hired as the Deputy Chief of the Bargersville Indiana Fire Department, where he oversees the daily operations and serves as the PIO. The Bargersville Fire Department Facebook Page.
Michael also serves as a FEMA Urban Search & Rescue Team member, Indiana Task Force 1 as a Safety Officer and PIO. He has responded with the team to multiple natural disasters around the country. He has also served as a Wildland Fire PIO with deployments to several western states. In 2017 he was appointed as a PIO to the FEMA Urban Search & Rescue Incident Support Team and the FEMA US&R Public Affairs workgroup. Altogether, Michael has served as a PIO for over 20 years.
Outside of serving as a PIO, Michael serves as a Special Deputy / SWAT Medic with Johnson County Sheriffs Office and was recently elected to serve as the Johnson County Coroner. He is a US Navy Veteran of Desert Shield/ Desert Storm. Michael is currently working on his Bachelor's Degree in Emergency Management from Purdue Global. He is married to his wife Angela, and they have one son Morgan who just started his fire service career with the Wayne Township Fire Department.
Mike's Twitter account can be accessed here.
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Ashley McDonald is the Public Information Officer/Programs Coordinator for Rutherford County Government.
She was previously with Murfreesboro Fire Rescue Department for over 12 years and served as Public Information Officer since 2012.
A graduate of Middle Tennessee State University with a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations, McDonald also serves as PIO for the Tennessee Firemen’s Association and the Tennessee Fire Chiefs Association’s Mutual Aid System as a deployable asset for the statewide Incident Management Team (IMT). McDonald is the current President of the National Information Officer’s Association and co-presented in Clearwater at the 2018 conference. She is a member of the Heart of TN Chapter American Red Cross Community Outreach Committee.
She is also a member of the Public Relations Society of America. Additionally, McDonald serves as a Firehouse Expo Murfreesboro HOT Site IMT member.
In 2019, McDonald was presented the prestigious President’s Award from the Southeastern Association of Fire Chiefs at their joint conference with the Tennessee Fire Chiefs Association.
She can be found on Twitter
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In today's episode, we interview Rebekah Mena, Deputy Chief of Public Affairs for the District of Columbia's - Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency we will be covering her experiences working in Public Affairs in the nation's capital.
Rebekah's Bio:
A passionate and highly motivated communications professional, Rebekah Mena serves as the Deputy Chief, Public Affairs for the District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA). As a member of HSEMA’s Office of Public Affairs, Rebekah oversees the agency’s internal and external communications efforts. Through her role, Rebekah utilizes the power of social media and public-facing websites to communicate emergency alerts and emergency preparedness tips and resources to ensure District residents and visitors get the right information at the right time so they can make informed decisions.
Additionally, Ms. Mena serves as the agency’s Internship Coordinator and is responsible for onboarding and coaching undergraduate and graduate interns entering the fields of homeland security and emergency management. Prior to joining the HSEMA team, Rebekah spent time working for the State of Florida and in the private sector at a digital marketing firm. Ms. Mena holds a bachelor’s degree in forensic psychology from the Florida Institute of Technology and has recently completed her master’s degree (MA) in communication management and public relations from the University of Denver.
Rebekah can be found on twitter @rebekah_mena or on LindIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebekahmena/
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Today Robert interviews Deputy Chief Chris Hsiung of the Mountain View Police Department.
Chris Hsiung, Deputy Chief soon to be sworn in as Police Chief, of the Mountain View Police Department. Chris manages the day to day operations and spearheading efforts in leadership development, succession planning, and maintaining the Mountain View Police Department’s role as a progressive law enforcement organization in the 21st century.
Chris is passionate about helping government and communities connect and engage with each other. He is a digital media influencer, conference speaker, and innovator on the topic of social media, crisis communications, management, community engagement, and digital strategy.
Chris leads the City of Mountain View Strategic Communications Team, serves as president for the Government Social Media leadership council, committee member on the IACP Police Professional Standards, Ethics, & Image Committee, and commissioner on the City of San Mateo Community Relations Commission.
Chris can be found on Twitter @Chief_Hsiung or on linked in at https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrishsiung/
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