Dimensions - Fall 2011 - 4
Knowledge
Sharing Ideas
As communities prepare for disasters, the need to connect and communicate—across agencies, organizations, and sectors—is paramount. Ellis Stanley, Dewberry vice president and specialist in emergency management and homeland security, discusses his new role as chairman of the Disasters Roundtable of the National Academy of Sciences, and his quest for a more resilient nation. What is the role of the Disasters Roundtable?
The Disasters Roundtable helps to exchange ideas and guide policies in the emergency management arena. We convene workshops involving scientists, community leaders, policymakers, and the private sector. We explore what information communities have for disaster planning, how they receive it, and what they need. We also reach out internationally—we sent a group to Haiti to offer assistance, including response follow-up, education, and project management.
As chairman, what is your vision for the year ahead?
The Disasters Roundtable is in a position to address the challenges leaders face when working through a crisis, and to help communities move beyond the “silo mentality” to build connectivity across organizations and sectors. Building a resilient nation must begin at the local level. Resiliency must be about growing through challenges and not simply about bouncing back. What have we learned from our disaster experience? How can we better prepare? How can communities share information?
What experience has helped you prepare for your work on the Disasters Roundtable?
I’ve had an interesting career in emergency management, including planning for special events such as the Olympics and major conventions involving national security. What stands out is the critical need to communicate and work together. We look carefully at logistics and how situations will play out in an emergency. Good information, cooperation, feedback—it’s all vital to the process, and the Disasters Roundtable is a vehicle to help share those best practices.
You also serve on the board of the Earthquake Country Alliance. Has that experience proven valuable?
The Earthquake Country Alliance organizes the ShakeOut, California’s annual earthquake drill. I was in Mexico City for the Earthquakes and Megacities Initiative in 2007, and the city conducted an earthquake drill while we were there. Three million people took part. We thought it was a fantastic idea. We conducted the first ShakeOut in California in 2008, with 5.4 million people. Our goal this year is 10 million. FEMA is now involved in the process. The ShakeOut is a perfect example of how communities—in this case across national borders—can share information and experiences to help one another better prepare for disasters.
2011 Dimensions® | Fall | 4
http://www.dewberry.com/news/blogs/consultants/11-10-11/The_Great_California_ShakeOut
Dimensions - Fall 2011
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Dimensions - Fall 2011
Dimensions - Fall 2011
Contents
Spotlight on the Staff
Looking to the Future
Q&A: Working Through a Crisis
Lining an Aging Sewer
Dewberry Performance Briefs
New Wireless Facility Blends into Woods
Dimensions - Fall 2011 - Contents
Dimensions - Fall 2011 - 1
Dimensions - Fall 2011 - Spotlight on the Staff
Dimensions - Fall 2011 - Looking to the Future
Dimensions - Fall 2011 - Q&A: Working Through a Crisis
Dimensions - Fall 2011 - 5
Dimensions - Fall 2011 - 6
Dimensions - Fall 2011 - 7
Dimensions - Fall 2011 - 8
Dimensions - Fall 2011 - Lining an Aging Sewer
Dimensions - Fall 2011 - Dewberry Performance Briefs
Dimensions - Fall 2011 - New Wireless Facility Blends into Woods
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