Whether a pandemic, fire, flood, mass shooting or crisis of confidence, ongoing communication with your community and stakeholders is essential. There is a great deal of planning that needs to happen before you face a crisis, but continuing communications responsibilities – especially moving into the recovery phase – are often overlooked. Once the initial crisis communication efforts have taken place, there is still a lot of outreach to do following an incident – which can go on for weeks or even months.

Join Scott Summerfield and Sheri Benninghoven, APR, of SAE Communications for an overview of real-life case studies, elements of an Emergency Public Information Plan and tips for navigating your crisis. You will also have an opportunity to share experiences with your peers and learn from those who have experienced crises of all types.

Key take-a-ways during this webinar:

• Overview of phases of a crisis
• Emergency Public Information Plan contents
• Tips and tools for navigating the crisis
• Trends in crisis communications outreach
• Examples from real-life case studies
• Recovery after a crisis: How to manage ongoing communication
• Q&A

Speakers:

Recorded: Wednesday, June 24

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Thank you to our webinar co-host:

Speaker Bios:

Scott Summerfield is a principal of SAE Communications. SAE has provided communications counsel, media relations, and Joint Information Center management for many of California’s most challenging recent crises, including the 2018 Montecito mudslide, 2017 Thomas fire, 2016 Sherpa fire, 2015 Refugio Beach oil spill, 2014 Isla Vista shootings, 2011 Seal Beach massacre, and numerous crises of confidence challenges. Scott and SAE were recently part of a team examining the 2015 San Bernardino County terrorist attack response and recovery.

Scott is past president and lifetime member of the California Association of Public Information Officials (CAPIO), a recipient of the CAPIO Paul Clark Award in recognition of lifetime achievement, grants chair of the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame, past executive board member of the City-County Communications and Marketing Association (3CMA), past board member of the Bay Area Cable Excellence Awards, and guest lecturer at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Communication.

Sheri Benninghoven, APR, (SAE principal) is the former Communications Director of the League of California Cities, and one of California’s most experienced public relations professionals in helping state and local governments develop strategic communications programs. As a principal of SAE, Sheri regularly advises public agencies in their response to disasters and crises, including serving in Santa Barbara County’s Emergency Operations Center as JIC Manager in the aftermath of the 2018 Montecito Debris Flow, the 2017 Thomas Fire, the 2015 Refugio oil spill and numerous wildfires. She also coordinated the City of Seal Beach’s response to the 2011 mass shooting, the worst incident of this nature in Orange County history. She regularly provides strategic counsel to local government agencies facing “crisis of confidence” issues.

She is a past president of the California Capital Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, from which she’s accredited; a member and past board member of the California Association of Public Information Officials (CAPIO) and a recipient of their Paul Clark Award for lifetime achievement; is a founder/past board member of the City-County Communications and Marketing Association (3CMA); and received California State University, Fullerton’s prestigious alumni award.