Friday, January 12, 2018

PrepTalks Symposium to be held from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm in Washington, D.C. on January 29, 2018

For those that can attend.  See you there.   CDS

BTW:  
I just love the diversity and inclusion
Regrettably BEMA International is not a partner in the emergency management community, but we survive.

INVITATION


PrepTalks are given by subject matter experts and thought leaders to spread new ideas, spark conversation, and promote innovative leadership for the issues confronting emergency managers now and over the next 20 years.
PrepTalks are a partnership of the emergency management community:
·        The Federal Emergency Management Agency
·        The International Association of Emergency Managers 
·        The Naval Postgraduate School Center for Homeland Defense and Security
·        The National Emergency Management Association
·        The National Homeland Security Consortium

The registration page for the January 29, 2018 Symposium is now live at: https://www.onvcp.org/private/training/events/preptalks2018/

It is important for attendees to know:
· The PrepTalk presentations will be filmed, so attendees will not be able to enter or leave the auditorium during the program.  Attendees are expected to stay for the duration of the program, from 12:00pm to 5:00 pm. 
· There will be a short Q&A after each presentation and audience members will be able to ask questions.
Speakers: 


Speaker/Time Slot
Title/Position
Topic
Publication
Dr. Daniel Aldrich
Professor of Political Science, Public Policy and Urban Affairs; Director, Masters Program in Security and Resilience, Northwestern University
The Importance of Social Capital and How to Build It
Building Resilience: Social Capital in Post-Disaster Recovery
Amanda Ripley
Journalist and author
Understanding Personal Response to Disaster
The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes – and Why
Dr. Dennis Mileti
Director Emeritus, Natural Hazards Center
Effective Messaging to the Public
A Guide to Public Alerts and Warnings for Dam and Levee Emergencies; extensive social science research
John Hope Bryant
Founder and CEO, Operation HOPE
Financial Literacy and Overcoming Liquid Asset Poverty
The Memo: Five Rules for Your Economic Liberation
STRETCH BREAK
Dr. Robert Chen
Director, Center for International Earth Science Information Network
(CIESIN), The Earth Institute, Columbia University
Manager, NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC)
Using Data to Understand your Community
NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center
Dr. Phil Berke
Professor, Land Use and Environmental Planning. Director, Institute of Sustainable Coastal Communities at College Station, Texas A&M
Land Use and Environmental Planning
Academic publications

Francis Ghesquiere

Head of the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, World Bank
The Making of A Riskier Future: How our Decisions are Shaping Future Disaster Risk
The Making of A Riskier Future: How our Decisions are Shaping Future Disaster Risk
John Barry
Author
Non-pharmaceutical Interventions for Pandemics
The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History




Black Emergency Managers Association 
          International
1231  Good Hope Road  S.E.
Washington, D.C.  20020
Office:   202-618-9097 
bEMA International 
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Black History Month:    “Agitate!  Agitate!  Agitate!”   Frederick Douglas.  1895


Cooperation, Collaboration, Communication, Coordination, Community engagement, and  Partnering (C5&P)             A 501 (c) 3 organization.

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

SITREP. Water Security. Starkist, U.S. EPA, American Samoa Settlement.

 

For Immediate Release: December 26, 2017
Media Contact: Dean Higuchi, 808-541-2711
higuchi.dean@epa.gov      
                                            U.S. EPA, American Samoa reach revised settlement with Starkist


WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have reached a revised $6.5 million settlement with StarKist Co. and its subsidiary, Starkist Samoa Co., to resolve federal environmental violations at their tuna processing facility in American Samoa.

In addition to the $6.3 million penalty announced in September, Starkist will pay $200,000 to address alleged Clean Water Act (CWA) violations found before the original consent decree was finalized by the court. The American Samoa government has also been added as a co-plaintiff in the revised action, formalizing its role as a partner in the implementation of the settlement. Under the agreement, Starkist will pay $2.6 million to American Samoa and $3.9 million to the United States.

As specified in the original consent decree, the company will also provide $88,000 in emergency equipment to American Samoa for responses to chemical releases.

“This revised agreement commits Starkist to addressing stormwater pollution, which will provide important protection for Pago Pago Harbor,” said Acting Regional Administrator Alexis Strauss with the EPA’s Pacific Southwest Region.  “Working with our valued partners at American Samoa EPA, we will monitor the company’s progress toward full compliance with this very significant settlement.”

“Pago Pago Harbor is our greatest natural resource,” said American Samoa EPA Director Ameko Pato.  “We are firmly committed to working with EPA and Starkist to ensure that this local treasure is protected for generations to come.”


The additional violations included unauthorized stormwater discharges to Pago Pago Harbor from Starkist’s stormwater system. The revised consent decree requires Starkist to obtain authorization for its stormwater discharges and take steps to reduce and eliminate discharges to the harbor.


After full implementation of the wastewater treatment system upgrades, the facility’s annual discharge of pollutants into Pago Pago Harbor, including total nitrogen, phosphorus, oil and grease, and total suspended solids, will be reduced by at least 85 percent – more than 13 million pounds.


Starkist Samoa Co. owns and operates the tuna processing facility, located on Route 1 on the Island of Tutuila in American Samoa. Starkist Samoa Co. is a subsidiary of StarKist Co. which is owned by Korean company Dongwon Industries. StarKist Co. is the world’s largest supplier of canned tuna. Its American Samoa facility processes and cans tuna for human consumption and processes fish byproducts into fishmeal and fish oil.


The proposed consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is subject to a 30-day comment period and final court approval. A copy of the proposed consent decree is available on the Justice Department Web site at 
https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees. A summary of the settlement will be available in Samoan on that website.


For information on the original settlement, please visit:

         https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/starkist-enhance-environmental-and-safety-measures-facility-american-samoa
For more information on the agreement and on the statutes it covers, please visit:  

        CLICK HERE

# # #

 

Friday, December 1, 2017

NASA 2018 Internship Opportunities.

NASA is currently accepting applications for Summer 2018 internships.  See information below.


Important Dates:

*           Application Submission: Oct 18, 2017 - March 1, 2018
*           Internship Period: 10 weeks in Summer 2018

Important Resources:



NASA's live-streamed Virtual Career Summit held Wednesday, September 27th is still available online for students interested in internships, fellowships and scholarships at the space agency. The NASA Internships, Fellowships and Scholarship program (NIFS)  showcases some of its missions, programs, interns and mentors. Students can learn about the current available internship, fellowship and scholarship opportunities in the STEM (Sciences, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields and others, and eligibility requirements, tips for the application process and hear from previous NIFS awardees. The virtual event engaged students and NASA professionals in a question and answer session recorded during the event and also available online where you can continue to ask questions.



WHIHBCU Staff 

Monday, November 20, 2017

EMR-ISAC InfoGram for November 16, 2017

DHS Banner
Emergency Management and Response
Information Sharing and Analysis Center
(EMR-ISAC)


DHS Banner
Emergency Management and Response
Information Sharing and Analysis Center
(EMR-ISAC)

The EMR-ISAC InfoGram for November 16, 2017 contains the following articles:

1. New National Terrorism Advisory System bulletin released
2. Preparing for and responding to chemical threats
3. NIMS tools for mutual aid, credentialing, inventory and resource typing
4. USFA webinarcontains the following articles:
1. New National Terrorism Advisory System bulletin released
2. Preparing for and responding to chemical threats
3. NIMS tools for mutual aid, credentialing, inventory and resource typing
4. USFA webinar

Thursday, November 16, 2017

Listen in Thursday, November 16, 2017 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., to ‘Art of Femininity’

Listen in Thursday, November 16, 2017 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., to ‘Art of Femininity’ and interview with Charles D. Sharp, CEO Black Emergency Managers Association International.

Art of Femininity Radio Show discusses current issues women face in today's society ranging from home, health, hunger, business, dating, marriage, divorce, living single and walking out our God-given purpose.

Listen in!

CDS


Host:  Ivonne Cameron
Guest:  Charles D. Sharp
            CEO
            BEMA International
Date\Time:
            Thursday, November 16, 2017
            10:00 AM ET to 11:00 AM ET



Art of Femininity, Hosted By Ivonne Cameron
Art of Femininity Radio Show discusses current issues women face in today's society ranging from home, health, hunger, business, dating, marriage, divorce, living single and walking out our God-given purpose.  
 Art of Femininity takes your questions and comments live as you sound off on what matters to you.

Monday, November 13, 2017

Invitation to MEMA's Whole Community Summit, Nov. 16, 2017, Clarksville, MD



Subject: Invitation to MEMA's Whole Community Summit, Nov. 16, 2017, Clarksville, MD
MEMA (Maryland Emergency Management Agency) is hosting a whole community summit, Piecing it Together:  Building Partnerships through Resilience, on Thursday, November 16th, 2017, at the:

Ten Oaks Ballroom and Conference Center 
located at 5000 Signal Bell Lane
Clarksville, MD 21029. 

Registration runs from 800am - 900am.  The conference runs from 900am to 400pm. 

An exciting program has been prepared for you. You can view the schedule, at: http://mema.maryland.gov/Pages/wholecommunitysummit.aspx 

There will be speaker/presenters from the public sector, the private sector and the volunteer communities... something for everyone!!

If you have not registered, and plan to attend please register at mema.maryland.gov/summit.

Or, on

Eventbrite, at

This will help us keep an accurate count of attendees. Light breakfast, and lunch, will be provided.




Thursday, November 9, 2017

Water Insecurity. You have access to: HOW AN EXISTENTIAL CRISIS LEAD KIMBERLY FOGG DIRECTLY TO HER PURPOSE. November 2017

To our members within the U.S, Caribbean, Africa, and throughout the diaspora assistance thru GSP.



·      NOVEMBER 9, 2017   BY MASHAUN SIMON


When Kimberly Fogg was a kid, her mother used to tell her that she had special powers. “I always had this unexplainable way,” she told MsXFactor. “I always had this, I don’t know…I did not grow up in a church and I did not grow up knowing the Bible – but I had this connection.” While she finds it difficult to describe the connection and its source, what she does know is that while on safari in Tanzania more than seven years ago, the connection became recognizable once again. “God began saying, ‘I want you to help – no, I need you to help.” What was God asking her to do? Who was God instructing her to help?

Following the death of her father, Fogg embarked upon the voyage as a means of soul-searching. She recalls a defining moment during dinner in Kenya. The waiter was focused on her – so much so that everyone at the table took notice. “When he brought my food there was a strange light shinning from behind him and when I looked, I saw his name tag.” The waiter’s name was the same as her father’s, Alphonse – she knew in that moment that her life would forever change. How would it change? She was not totally sure until she came across a group of young children traveling to gather water.

She would quickly learn that the young people did not have access to clean water, in their local area so they had to travel. The problem, however, is that the trek was dangerous, which meant that some never made it back home. If they did, the water they collected could be contaminated which eventually made them ill – resulting in death as well. She felt that she had to do something but at first she resisted.

“Initially I felt sorry as I saw these beautiful little children traveling to collect water, but I was missing my beautiful house,” she said.

She did not know the first thing about the process of providing clean water in a foreign land.  “As I pushed back, purpose kept being placed in my face,” she remembers. “God kept saying, ‘I want you to do this.’

Photo: Kimberly Fogg

Fogg was obedient to that call and today she heads Global Sustainable Partnerships, a non-profit organization that provides access to clean and safe drinking water to schools, households, health centers and hospitals in Tanzania. She came across the technology, HydrAid BioSand Filters, after returning to the states from her safari. “The filters that I decided to use are manufactured in my hometown (Grand Rapids, MI) just 10 minutes from my parents house,” she said. “I was talking to someone who was doing work on my parents roof, telling him about what I had experienced while on my safari, and he started telling me about these filters.” And one of the two trainings each year just happened to be coming up. “I never said okay,” Fogg reports matter-of-factly.

“I just started following the bread crumbs.


Become a partner in Global Sustainable Partnership for Water Security:
                             http://gspartnerships.org/





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