HSEMA Off the Record" is a new podcast series focused on the innovative ways the District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA) is working to build a safer, stronger, and more resilient DC.
Each episode, we'll go behind the scenes to hear directly from the men and women responsible for preparing the District. We'll look at the history of the field and profession, discuss the integration of emergency management and intelligence, and how the District's emergency managers use innovation and creativity to meet any and all challenges head on.
HSEMA Off the Record is brought to you by Muriel Bowser, Mayor of Washington, DC, and the District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency.
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Publisher
DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency
HSEMA Partner Spotlight - Mayor's Office of Community Relations and Services
In this episode, you'll hear from one of HSEMA's important response partners - the Mayor's Office of Community Relations and Services (MOCRS). MOCRS Director Julia Irving discusses her team's role in the city's incident response and HSEMA's emergency specialist Wes Leary discusses his experience as a former Ward 7 MOCRS Liaison.
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24 Jun 2021
Preparing for and Mitigating the Impact of Flooding in Your Community
In the midst of hurricane season, it is almost inevitable that massive rainfall will cause flooding that will affect the District. Preparing yourself and your household is of utmost importance this time of year and we’re happy to have someone that will provide you some insight.
Our guest is Vermecia Alsop, Hazard Mitigation Officer with the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency. Through her experience and partnerships within this field, she is well-equipped to share best practices on how we can lessen the impact of flooding in our homes and businesses. We’re grateful for her timely contribution to spreading awareness on this topic.
Tune in and take note of this vital information that will increase your knowledge of flooding in DC and how to prepare for it.
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3 May 2021
Building Resilience in the District’s Business Community
According to FEMA, 40% of businesses never recover after a disaster and 62% of business owners do not have an emergency plan in place.
In this week’s episode, Tony Goodman, the District’s Business Emergency Management Operations Center (BEMOC) Manager, joins the HSEMA Off the Record podcast to discuss the tools, resources and people who work to help the District’s business community better prepared and resilient against disasters.
For more information on the BEMOC, visit: hsema.dc.gov/dcbemoc. To join the BEMOC membership, email Tony Goodman at: dc.bemoc@dc.gov (mailto:dc.bemoc@dc.gov)
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14 Apr 2021
Battling Disasters, Crisis Leadership, and Mass Care
Leadership doesn’t come naturally, and those who rise to the occasion often have a story to tell. In this week’s episode, Brad Belzak – Chairman of the DC Government Homeland Security Commission (HSC), is joined by Dr. Denis Onieal, Former US Deputy Fire Administrator.
Dr. Onieal recently served as a subject matter expert for the Homeland Security Commission’s 2020 Annual Report, which focused on mass care. In this episode, Dr. Onieal shares lessons learned on crisis leadership, battling disasters, and mass care.
To learn more about the HSC, visit hsema.dc.gov/homelandsecuritycommission (https://hsema.dc.gov/homelandsecuritycommission)
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31 Mar 2021
2020: A Year of Response
In March of 2020, Mayor Muriel Bowser declared the COVID-19 pandemic a public health emergency and activated the District's Emergency Operations Center. For the last year, DC Government employees have worked behind the scenes to keep our communities informed, prepared, and safe.
In this week’s episode, HSEMA Director Dr. Christopher Rodriguez will be discussing the impacts COVID-19 has had on the District of Columbia with DC Health Director Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt and Assistant City Administrator Jay Melder.
For more information on the District of Columbia's COVID-19 response and recovery efforts, visit coronavirus.dc.gov (https://open.acast.com/shows/5dd2c46a23f08b0e581d4c05/episodes/coronavirus.dc.gov).
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10 Dec 2020
Be A Good Neighbor This Winter Season
Cold weather is on its way and this week, we're discussing the District's outreach to vulnerable populations in our community.
Director Rodriguez is joined by Laura Zeilinger, Director of the DC Department of Human Services (DHS), and Melvyn Smith, the Homeless Services Outreach Coordinator about services and resources in place to support our neighbors in need.
Tune in to learn how you can help protect residents experiencing homelessness from cold weather injury and death.
For more information on resources provided by DHS, visit dhs.dc.gov. (dhs.dc.gov.)
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25 Nov 2020
Behind the Scenes: DC's COVID-19 Response and Recovery
COVID-19 has forced us to adjust almost all aspects of our daily lived. We know that COVID fatigue is real, but we must remember that our efforts are saving lives. Under the leadership of Mayor Bowser, the District of Columbia Government has been work on the City’s pandemic response since late February. In today's episode, HSEMA Director Chris Rodriguez is joined by DC Health Director Dr. LaQuandra Nesbitt to discuss the District's response and recovery efforts thus far.
To learn more about the District's COVID-19 response, visit coronavirus.dc.gov (coronavirus.dc.gov).
For details on the DC COVID Alert Notice, visit coronavirus.dc.gov/dccan (coronavirus.dc.gov/dccan).
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18 Nov 2020
Women in Emergency Management
It's no secret that emergency management is a traditionally male-dominated field. But at HSEMA, there are so many dedicated women that are committed to helping District residents, businesses and visitors. Our team believes in breaking stereotypes, and we're not just talking about gender. HSEMA is a diverse workforce in every sense of the word - age, gender, ethnicity, race, and religion.
HSEMA’s Jerica Shackelford, Deputy Chief of Staff, and Carrie Speranza, Deputy Director, join us this week to discuss the importance of having a diverse workforce and how women can make their mark in the emergency management field.
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21 Oct 2020
2020 Snow Ready Week
It's time to start thinking about cold weather and that dreaded "S" word...snow! In fact, this week is Snow Ready Week. To help us better understand what that means, we're joined this week by the District Department of Public Works. Tune in as Tim Spriggs explains the role DPW plays in the District's preparations for snow and winter weather.
To learn more about the District Snow Team, visit snow.dc.gov.
To learn how to safely prepare yourself, your loved ones and your home for winter, visit ready.dc.gov/winterwx.
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30 Sept 2020
2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season
Over the past few months, HSEMA’s focus has been on the District’s response to COVID-19. While the pandemic has certainly changed the way we go about our daily lives, it’s going to take a lot more than a pandemic to stop Mother Nature!
The 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season has begun, and DC, the time to prepare is now. In today’s episode, HSEMA's Chief of Operations Clint Osborn speaks with Chris Strong of the National Weather Service's Baltimore/Washington Forecast Office. Tune in as we focus on getting your households and businesses prepared for the potential hazards hurricane season can bring.
For more information about NWS' Baltimore/Washington Forecast Office, visit https://www.weather.gov/lwx/
For more hurricane preparedness tips, visit ready.dc.gov/hurricane.
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26 Feb 2020
Leaders in the Field: Jim Schwartz
This week, we're kicking off a new segment called "Leaders in the Field." During these episodes, we'll meet with leaders in the emergency management, homeland security, and intelligence fields to discuss their careers and experiences, and advice they'd give to new professionals in the field.
To start us off, HSEMA Director Chris Rodriguez is joined by Jim Schwartz, Deputy County Manager for the city of Arlington, Virginia. With more than 36 years of experience, Mr. Schwartz is a regional leader in the field of emergency management and response. Tune in as Director Rodriguez speaks with Jim about his experience leading the Unified Command effort for the Pentagon during the September 11, 2001 attack, serving as Chief of the Arlington County Fire Department, and the advice he'd give to emerging leaders in the field.
If you have a topic you'd like covered in a future episode, visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/hsemapodcast (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/hsemapodcast)
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19 Feb 2020
Emergency Management: Collaboration Across State Lines
On this week's episode of HSEMA Off the Record, we're breaking down the jurisdictional boundaries of the National Capital Region (NCR) and highlighting the collaboration between emergency management leaders in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia.
HSEMA Director Dr. Christopher Rodriguez speaks with Dr. Jeff Stern (State Coordinator of Virginia Department of Emergency Management), Russel Strickland (Executive Director of the Maryland Emergency Management Agency) and Dr. Earl Stoddard (Director of Montgomery County, Maryland's Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security) about:
Changes to the field of emergency management change within the past 5-10 years
Challenges and lessons learned they've experienced in their careers
Advice they'd give to emergency management professionals just getting into the field
Traits or characteristics that would make an individual successful in the field of emergency management
If you have a topic you'd like covered in a future episode, visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/hsemapodcast (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/hsemapodcast)
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3 Feb 2020
The EOC Is Activated. Now What?
It's a busy and exciting week for us here in the nation's capital. HSEMA will activate the District's Emergency Operations Center (EOC) on February 4, 2020 to support the State of the Union Address (SOTUA). But what does that activation really entail?
HSEMA Director Christopher Rodriguez sits down Kim Kadesch, Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Office of the National Capital Region Coordination (ONCRC), to give a behind the scenes peak into what an EOC activation means and how our teams work together to prepare for it.
For more information on the Office of the National Capital Region Coordination, visit https://www.fema.gov/office-national-capital-region-coordination (https://www.fema.gov/office-national-capital-region-coordination)
To sign up for AlertDC, visit alertdc.dc.gov (https://alertdc.dc.gov).
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29 Jan 2020
What Is Public Health? Well, It's Going Up Stream.
This week, we're talking all things public health. Join us as Rebekah speaks with DC Health's very own Dr. Ankoor Shah about public health. In this episode, we'll cover what public health means, how it can be measured, what the public can do to make our communities more resilient, and how you can get in contact with DC Health for more information.
DC Health Website: https://dchealth.dc.gov
CDC Website: https://www.cdc.gov
Flu Website: https://www.cdc.gov/flu/
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22 Jan 2020
January is National Human Trafficking Awareness Month
January is National Human Trafficking Awareness Month. Last week, Margaret, an intelligence analyst with the NTIC, spoke with subject matter experts about human trafficking issues in the District and in the nation. In this week's bonus episode, Margaret continues her conversation with Martina and Eliza on the issues of child sex trafficking and labor trafficking, how to spot indicators, and about how we can support survivors.
Moderator: Margaret - National Capital Region Threat Intelligence Consortium; www.ncrintel.org (https://www.ncrintel.org/)
SME: Eliza Reock - National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; www.missingkids.org (https://www.missingkids.org/)
SME: Martina Vandenberg - The Human Trafficking Legal Center; https://www.htlegalcenter.org/ (https://www.htlegalcenter.org/)
To receive the NTIC's intelligence bulletins, visit https://www.ncrintel.org/subscribe (https://www.ncrintel.org/subscribe).
A special thank you to our subject matter experts Eliza and Martina for joining us for this week's bonus episode and for helping raise awareness around human trafficking issues in the District and in the nation.
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15 Jan 2020
Exploited: Human Trafficking Awareness
January is National Human Trafficking Awareness Month. In this episode, Margaret G., an intelligence analyst with the National Capital Region Threat Intelligence Consortium (NTIC), brings more awareness to human trafficking and speaks with two subject matter experts on the issues of child sex trafficking and labor trafficking, how to spot indicators, and about how we can support survivors. Additional information on our guest speakers and their organizations can be found below.
Moderator: Margaret - National Capital Region Threat Intelligence Consortium; www.ncrintel.org (https://www.ncrintel.org)
SME: Eliza Reock - National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; www.missingkids.org (https://www.missingkids.org)
SME: Martina Vandenberg - The Human Trafficking Legal Center; https://www.htlegalcenter.org/ (https://www.htlegalcenter.org/)
A special thank you to our subject matter experts Eliza and Martina for joining us for this week's episode and for helping raise awareness around human trafficking issues in the District and in the nation.
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18 Dec 2019
Winter is Coming, Are you Prepared?
It's getting darker faster and the colder weather is creeping up on us, which means winter is practically here. Join us for our third episode of HSEMA Off the Record as we speak with Kim McCall, an HSEMA Community Outreach Specialist, about the importance of emergency preparedness kits and the steps you can take to tweak your kit for the winter season.
As noted in the episode, please check out the following links for additional information.
District Resources
ReadyDC, your one-stop shop for preparedness materials from the District: ready.dc.gov
AlertDC, the District's emergency communications system: alertdc.dc.gov
Tips on Preparing for Winter: ready.dc.gov/winterwx
If you see a neighbor experiencing homelessness this winter, dial 311 to request shelter transportation for them
Federal and Outside Partner Resources
ReadyGov, the Federal Emergency Management Agency's preparedness campaign: ready.gov
More information on weather warnings and alerts: weather.gov
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4 Dec 2019
Staying Cyber Safe This Holiday Season
On this episode, we're talking all things cyber...with a holiday focus, of course! Tune in as we hear from Jesse, a cyber analyst in the National Capital Region Threat Intelligence Consortium (NTIC), on the various scams and cyber threats we may see this holiday season. We'll also chat with one of our co-hosts, Natalie, about the weather outlook for this winter and steps you can take to better protect yourself this holiday season.
Resources mentioned in this week's episode:
To learn more about the NTIC's Cyber Center and view their "Securing Our Communities" products, visit ncrintel.org/cyber (ncrintel.org/cyber)
To learn more about winter preparedness tips from ReadyDC, the District's personal preparedness campaign, visit ready.dc.gov (ready.dc.gov).
To request shelter transportation for a neighbor in need this winter, dial 202-399-7093 or 311.
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27 Nov 2019
HSEMA Off the Record Is Born
HSEMA Director, Dr. Christopher Rodriguez, discusses his vision for the agency and the importance of having a podcast. Tune in to hear more about his background and how a podcast goes from ideation to creation.
Whether you're an EM nerd like us or learning about emergency management for the first time, come along for the ride.
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