Ready, Set, CERT Con!

Save the date and join us for the National Capital Region’s 3rd Annual CERT Convention, hosted by Fairfax County CERT.  CERTCon is a two day seminar/functional exercise that offers training, networking and sharing of best practices to CERT members in the National Capital Region.

Saturday, June 29th will feature a lecture series from practicing professionals in the fields of emergency management, public health preparedness, search and rescue, disaster psychology, and more!  The speakers hail from a variety of organizations and agencies, including FEMA, NOAA, Virginia Task Force-1 (TF-1), Search & Rescue (NASAR) and more. This lecture series will take place at the Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale Campus, in Fairfax, Virginia.

Sunday, June 30th will feature a hands-on drill at Lorton, a disaster training site. This exercise will give our CERTs an opportunity to sharpen and advance their skills and work together as a multijurisdictional team. From moulage to triage, you’ll experience it all.

If you plan on attending, please visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/8MSMLB9 to take a brief survey and help make this a fun and successful event.  If you are not able to participate, please visit the above site to let us know why.

CERT CON 2013 is being hosted by Fairfax County Fire and Rescue CERT in partnership with Georgetown University CERT, Prince George’s County CERT, Montgomery County CERT, the Northern Virginia Community College Office of Emergency Management & Planning, Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) and Citizen Corps. 

Schedule of Events

Saturday, June 29

Saturday will feature a lecture series from practicing professionals in the fields of emergency management, public health preparedness, search and rescue, disaster psychology, and more!  The speakers hail from a variety of organizations and agencies, including FEMA, NOAA, Virginia Task Force-1 (TF-1), Search & Rescue (NASAR) and more.  The list of topics and presenters appears below:

Sunday, June 30

Sunday will feature a hands-on drill at Lorton, a disaster training site. This exercise will give our CERTs an opportunity to sharpen and advance their skills and work together as a multijurisdictional team. From moulage to triage, you’ll experience it all. 

Speaker Bios & Presentation Descriptions

“WMD and IED Threat Picture”

This session will highlight the need for preparedness as well as the various threats relating to Weapons of Mass Destruction and Improvised Explosive Devices.  The presentation will review past case history within the United States, the difference between WMD and IED’s, as well as how we can prepare for, and possibly mitigate these hazards.

Captain Jared Goff has been active in the fire service for 20 years and has spent time as a career firefighter in Fairfax County, a contract firefighter with the Federal government and volunteer firefighter/life member with his local Volunteer Fire Department.  Jared is also active with Virginia Task Force One where he serves as a Technical Information Specialist.

His current assignment is the regional intelligence officer assigned to the Northern Virginia Regional Intelligence Center.  As a career Captain, his position is responsible for all things intelligence, preparedness and terrorism from Loudoun County to the City of Alexandria, and Prince William to Arlington County. 

Jared currently holds a Master of Arts from Norwich University (Vermont) where he studied International Diplomacy with a specialization in domestic and international terrorist groups and activities.  He also studied at the University of Maryland where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Fire Science Administration. 

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"Deafness and Hearing Loss: The Communication Challenges for Emergency Responders"

Emergencies can pose many challenges for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing due to their unique communication needs, and they may not always self-identify as having impaired hearing.  This can also create challenges for public safety and emergency personnel and volunteers. This presentation will provide information about some ways to recognize individuals with hearing loss and some strategies for effective communication in emergency situations.  Also included in this presentation will be a true/false questionnaire, an audio simulation of high frequency hearing loss at the mild, moderate, severe and profound levels; a listening quiz, and a lipreading exercise.

Bonnie B. O’Leary, Certified Hearing Loss Support Specialist

Director of Community Outreach Programs

Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons (NVRC)

Bonnie has been working with the NVRC since January, 2002, focusing on outreach to individuals aging with hearing loss and education for hearing families, caregivers and supervisors.  She completed her two-year certification as a Hearing Loss Support Specialist and Peer Mentor from Gallaudet University and the Academy of hearing Loss Support Specialists in 2007.  A late-deafened adult, Bonnie led the development of NVRC’s 3-part outreach series and publication for seniors, “I Can’t Hear You!”, and applies her own personal experience with hearing loss to her outreach work.  She also co-created the “Miscommunication or Missed Communication?” workshop teaching hearing loss awareness and communication strategies to agency personnel, supervisors, activities directors, health care and emergency providers, caregivers, and families.  During her “hearing” years, Bonnie worked in advertising in New York and London, and owned a recording studio in Burke, VA.

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"Pet First Aid During Disasters: The Very Basics"

The supplemental training on animals is meant to support the disaster response training CERT members received in the CERT Basic Training course. In terms of disaster response, the focus of this summary session will be to cover a few aspects of pet first aid in preparation for situations involving animals CERT members may encounter in performing their broader CERT response functions. This 50 minute session will cover the very basic skills needed to perform CERT functions involving animals such as general animal handling, cleaning and disinfection as well as dog and cat transportation: restrains & carry techniques.

Ines de Pablo holds a Masters Degree in Risk, Crisis & Emergency Management and has acquired an extensive  background in the field of emergency management, law enforcement training, EMS, risk mitigation and continuity of operations for businesses. Additionally, Ines is a certified dog trainer, Fairfax County Community Emergency Response Team member and the founder and president of the first and only dedicated Pet Emergency Management organization in the world, namely Wag'N Enterprises. As a leader in the pet safety industry, Ines serves her community by leading workshops and seminar on pet life saving procedures for civilians, rescue organizations and members of the fire service.

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Keith Robertory, CEM, MS is a disaster technologist and communicator familiar with all stages of the disaster life-cycle. Described as a “high tech person in a soft touch humanitarian organization,” his focus is finding innovative and repeatable ways to establish communication systems in disasters.

His present position with the American Red Cross manages the disaster services technology program to deploy trained volunteers and equipment to major disasters in the United States. His prior position with the Red Cross was being the subject matter expert in disaster preparedness content and messaging. Through his 15-year career with the Red Cross, Robertory has been involved in the response to numerous disasters.

Robertory can be found often on social media generating and curating content in the areas of emergency management, social media and cyber security. He regularly speaks at a variety of national and international conferences, and is an active voice on social media to leverage emerging technology in disaster preparedness, response and recovery.

Robertory earned his MS in Engineering Management at The George Washington University and BA in Communications at George Mason University. He is recognized by the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) as a Certified Emergency Manager.

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"Traffic and Crowd Management – CERT Skills"

Has your CERT training equipped you to deal with large numbers of people and vehicle traffic in an emergency situation? What skills do you need to manage large numbers of victims that are not injured, pedestrians and vehicles that are creating a safety hazard, or the curious bystanders that are impeding rescue efforts?

This session provides an introduction to how CERTs can be utilized to manage vehicle movement and large crowds in both planned events and at emergency incidents. The presentation is part of the CERT Continuing Education series training developed by the presenter to prepare Fairfax County CERT for roles as Course Marshals at two recent large 5k race events, and future support for the World Police and Fire Games to be held in Fairfax County in 2015. The presentation addresses the use of hand signals and traffic control devices, ICS for planned events, team radio communications procedures, and understanding crowd psychology. The session will also discuss the recent use of Mobile Course  Marshals (aka bike teams) to extend CERT response capabilities and provide visual impact for increased safety and security.

Managing large numbers of people in various situations is a difficult task. As a CERT you may be the only responder able to exercise some authority and manage the incident. Do you have the knowledge and skills necessary to assess the situation, give direction, and maintain scene safety?

James Sobecke has been a member of Fairfax County CERT since 2008. His background began in Chicago as an instructor and squad leader with the Civil Defense Fire and Rescue – volunteer affiliate of the Chicago Fire Department – while in college. While serving over 20 years as a US Army Signal Officer his additional duties included emergency preparedness responsibilities. He also supported his community as an Emergency Medical Technician.

Mr. Sobecke is currently employed as a government contractor providing telecommunications engineering support to a federal government continuity communications program.

James has a BS and MS in Physics from DePaul University, and completed course work at the George Washington University in Crisis and Emergency Management.

James has been presenting the CERT Basic course and Continuing Education training classes at community and government locations across Fairfax County, and provides CERT outreach and emergency preparedness presentations to local community and business groups.

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