Webinar: Innovative Ideas for Ensuring Your Emergency Operations Plans Are Inclusive for the Whole Community

Sent on behalf of the ADA National Network/FEMA Webinar Series

Announcing a new webinar –
“ADA National Network Learning Session: Innovative Ideas for Ensuring Your Emergency Operations Plans Are Inclusive for the Whole Community”

November 9th, 2017

Webinars begin at 2.30pm ET/1.30pm CT/12.30 pm MT/11.30am PT/8.30am Hawaii.
Registration: Free on-line at http://www.adapresentations.org/registration.php
Registration closes at midnight, November 8th, 2017.

Ensuring your Emergency Operations Plans are inclusive of the whole community can come with challenges. In this presentation, we will explore innovative, efficient, and effective tools that will guide an agency to meet ADA requirements for emergency preparedness, response, and recovery efforts. Resources will be shared that will assist plans with compliance, while building comprehensive and collaborative partnerships in communities to enhance emergency plans.

Learning objectives:

  • Raise awareness of what an agency needs to do to ensure that emergency operations are in compliance.

  • Raise confidence in bringing the appropriate agencies to the table to help build inclusive plans.

  • Learn the resource tools needed to comply with ADA regulations for emergency plans.

Presenter:

Kathy Gerk served as the Emergency Services Manager for the City of Richmond Fire Department Office of Emergency Services for 28 years. Ms. Gerk developed and implemented the REACT (Richmond Emergency Action Community Teams) in 1995. This program was developed from the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) program, and then customized to meet Richmond’s specialized needs and threats adding hazardous materials awareness, shelter-in-place instructions, as well as a communications component. The REACT program was groundbreaking, as training was implemented at Richmond High School. The program was awarded the Helen Putnam Award of Excellence for five consecutive years beginning in 1997.

Kathy has served on numerous committees across the city, county, state and nation including Chair of the IAEM (International Association of Emergency Managers) Access and Inclusion Caucus, Chair of the California Governors CERT Advisory Work Group, Chair of Contra Costa County Cities Citizens Corps/CERT Committee, Chair of City of Richmond PWD/E (People with Disabilities/Elderly) Work Group, among several others. She was instrumental in developing the C8 (Contra Costa County Cities Citizens Corps CERT Committee) promoting partnership efforts between emergency services agencies and the communities they serve. She has received numerous awards including FEMA’s 2009 Honorable Mention for National Citizens Corps Achievement Award Celebrating Resilient Communities – one of five in the nation.

These 90 minute webinars are delivered using the Blackboard Collaborate webinar platform. Collaborate downloads files to your device in order to run. We recommend that you prepare your technology prior to the start of the session. You may need the assistance of your IT Staff if firewalls prevent you from downloading files.

To view upcoming sessions, go to http://www.adapresentations.org/schedule.php
To see previous sessions, go to http://www.adapresentations.org/archive.php

The information presented in this webinar is intended solely as informal guidance, and is neither a determination of legal rights or responsibilities by NIDILRR or FEMA.