Crisis Communications
Many government organizations are first responders in emergencies, and still others are tasked with reporting information to the public in a crisis. This workshop with three government crisis communication experts will cover how to use social media to communicate widely and quickly in an emergency situation.
Elodie Fichet (Associate Professor, UW)
Elodie Fichet is a doctoral candidate in Communication at the University of Washington, Seattle. In her work, she seeks to bridge the gap between academic scholarship and ‘real-world’ crisis communication. Her research focuses on crisis communicators and how new technologies as well as the use of creativity affect planning and response to crises; with the goal to design tools and methods to help professionals remain at the cutting edge of the field of crisis communication. She is also part of Dr. Kate Starbird’s lab (Human Centered Design Engineering, UW) looking at the spread of misinformation on social media during crises—specifically looking at self-corrective behaviors on Twitter (in response to rumors) and the impact of 'official accounts' on rumoring during crisis situations. Recently, she designed and implemented social media strategies from scratch for the City of Kirkland's Office of Emergency Management and trained city staff and volunteers on the use of social media during disasters. That training was also offered to Seattle’s Community Emergency Response Teams and adapted for high school students. |
Eric Frank (Emergency Management Coordinator CRESA)
@FyrechiefWith 25 years in public safety, starting as a firefighter in Montana, Eric currently is an Emergency Manager in Vancouver WA. Eric’s Focus is Public Information, Education and Outreach. Over his career, Eric has been involved in many large scale incidents including wildfires and flooding in Montana, and more recently the 530 Slide, the Okanogan Fires in Washington and the Umpqua Community College Shooting in Oregon. In recent years, Eric has focused on helping agencies understand the role Social Media plays in everyday operations and how it can be used during disasters. Eric is also involved in VOST (Virtual Operation Support Teams) monitoring social media during emergencies and is a Board Member of Virtual EMA (Emergency Management Association). |
Steven Friederich (Digital Media Coordinator, MIL)
@reportersteven (personal) @waEMD (agency) Steven Friederich is the first digital media coordinator for the Washington Military Department, which consists of the Washington Emergency Management Division, the Washington Youth Academy and the Washington National Guard. Prior to this job, he worked in print journalism for 15 years, working for newspapers in Seattle, Pierce County, Idaho and Grays Harbor County. |