Leaders Helping Veterans to Successful Civilian Employment Transitions: An Interview with Center’s Advisory Board Member, Steve Vincent, PMP By Linda Crerar There is an increased demand in all sectors of the community for professionals, who understand the complex nature of Public Safety, Security and Emergency Management.
Safe Start Washington Governor Jay Inslee, in collaboration with the Washington State Department of Health, has established a data-driven approach to reopen Washington and modify physical distancing measures while minimizing the health impacts of COVID-19. This approach reduces the risk of COVID-19 to Washington’s most vulnerable populations and preserves capacity in our health care system, while safely opening up businesses and resuming gatherings, travel, shopping, and recreation. The plan involves assessing COVID-19 activity in the state along with health care system readiness, testing capacity and availability, case and contact investigations, and ability to protect high-risk populations. Governor Inslee announced in [...]
Jim Mullen has spent three decades in emergency management, including 12 years at the local level as director of the City of Seattle’s Office of Emergency Management and 8 and a half years as Washington State’s Emergency Management Division Director. Jim retired from state service in March 2013. Jim also served as President of the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) from January 2011 to October 2012. He is currently sole proprietor of “EM Northwest Consulting” based in Seattle.
When Disruption Becomes the New Normal: Resilience and Connection within the Education Community By Kellie Hale Community colleges and universities across the state of Washington have all been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. For instance, instructors were ordered to move their classes online so students could complete their course work. Switching from a face-to-face setting to online teaching has not been easy for some instructors and students, particularly those who have never taught online or taken online courses. The lack of experience with online can be both daunting and stressful for students and instructors. The instructors that I have been [...]
2-1-1 is a free confidential community service and your one-stop connection to the local services you need, from utility assistance, food, housing, health, childcare, after school programs, elder care, crisis intervention and much more. 2-1-1 is always ready to assist you in finding the help you need. Dial the three digit number 2-1-1 on your phone or Find Help here. If you are outside of Washington or have a problem dialing the number 2-1-1, please dial 1-877-211-9274. Tim Sullivan is the Statewide Director for Washington 211. Tim has over 25 years of management experience in health and human services for [...]
Interview with Ryann Leonard, Criminal Justice Faculty at Big Bend Community College and Highline College How has operations changed? Ryann Leonard: For me, very little has changed. I have been teaching fully online for several quarters. The difference for me is I have set up more check-ins with students and have extended a bit more grace. More globally, my colleagues are stressed. They have been rushed to change their teaching radically without the proper time to even contemplate how they would transition successfully. They care about students and miss the face to face and also are struggling on what to [...]
Interview with Darren Linker, Director of the Occupational Health & Safety Degree Program at Pierce College and Edmonds Community College How are your students coping with the change? How are you coping? Darren Linker: The biggest impact for me is the adjustment to working from home, and the challenge of trying to work with all the different college administrative departments to solve problems when they are all working from home as well, and trying to figure out how to carry out college procedures. In terms of the students in the OSH program, they are feeling the impact in different ways. [...]
Marty Grisham: Washington Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters and the Importance of Volunteers By Kellie Hale Did you know that April is National Volunteer Month in the United States? It is a month where the importance of volunteering is recognized and honored. To celebrate volunteers and their contributions (particularly during COVID-19), the Center’s monthly Confluence newsletter will be highlighting people and organizations who donate their time and talents to causes that help the betterment of communities. One of those people who is dedicated to volunteer work is Marty Grisham who is the Vice President of the Washington Voluntary Organizations Active [...]
Peter Rekers Interview: Public Information in the COVID-19 Era By Alexander Lee-Rekers Interviewer: To begin with, can you briefly outline your areas of expertise? Peter Rekers: I am an Australian-based crisis and disaster consultant with extensive real-world experience. My first experience in emergency was as a volunteer firefighter in the early 80’s while I was still at University doing a degree in Media Studies. My early career was spent in theatre where I was a sound engineer and stage manager, including being stage manager to the Pope. It was a great place to start learning about crisis management as the [...]
On Keeping A Grip May 22, 2020 By Jim Mullen This topic is challenging for an untrained layman (like me). Still, expressing oneself is said to be therapeutic. Here goes: In 2005, as the survivors of hurricanes Katrina and Rita found refuge in other states, Washington State began to search for locations to house potentially thousands of people with many critical needs. Among the sites that could have been quickly converted to temporarily house survivors was a wing of Western State Hospital. There was immediate pushback from some of our local colleagues. Apparently utilizing a hospital-like setting to temporarily house [...]
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