Southern California
CERT Regional Workshop
Neighborhood Community Center
1845 Park Avenue
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Thursday, March 6th, 2014
8:30 am to 4:30 pm
(Registration is from 8:00 am to 8:30 am)
Workshop Agenda
http://www.californiavolunteers.org/index.php/CERT/socalworkshop2014/
Southern California
CERT Regional Workshop
Costa Mesa, CA
Thursday, March 6th, 2014
8:00 am to 8:30 am – Registration
8:30 am to 9:00 am – Plenary Session, Adams Room
Welcome and Opening Remarks
 Chief Dan Stefano, City of Costa Mesa Fire Department
 Captain William Cicchillo, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
 Frank Borden, Creator of CERT, Retired Assistant Fire Chief, LAFD
 Sharron Leaon, Director, Disaster Volunteering & Preparedness Department,
CaliforniaVolunteers
9:00 am to 9:15 am – Plenary Session, Adams Room
CERT Advisory Workgroup Introduction
Chad Fitzgerald, Chair, CERT Advisory Workgroup
Short overview of the CERT Advisory Workgroup including membership, purpose, and how to
join.
9:15 am to 10:00 am – Plenary Session, Adams Room
State and Federal Updates
Suu-Va Tai, CERT Program Administrator, CaliforniaVolunteers
Update from the State and FEMA on the new and exciting developments in the world of CERT.
9:30 am to 10:00 am – Plenary Session, Adams Room
Disaster Volunteer Network
Suu-Va Tai, DVN Administrator, CaliforniaVolunteers
The Disaster Volunteer Network (DVN) is an online volunteer management tool, free to
emergency managers and any volunteer program involved in disaster or emergency
management. Potential users include volunteer programs sponsored by local government,
community and faith-based organizations, and the private sector.
10:00 am to 10:10 am – Break
10:10 am to 11:30 am – Plenary Session, Adams room
Disaster Service Worker Volunteer Program
Anita Chant, Disaster Service Worker Volunteer Program Lead, Cal OES and Kathryn
Chin, Disaster Service Worker Volunteer Program Claims Analyst, Cal OES
An overview of the DSWV Program, its history, eligible activities, registration requirements,
worker’s compensation claim submissions and other Program elements. Regulatory changes
which became effective December 17, 2012, will also be identified.
11:30 am to 12:30 pm – Lunch, Adams room
Lunch is provided as part of your registration. Tables will be themed for networking.
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Southern California
CERT Regional Workshop
Costa Mesa, CA
Thursday, March 6th, 2014
12:30 pm to 1:20 pm – Breakout Session 1
Adams Room
Building an Advanced CERT Program
Chad Fitzgerald, Life Safety/Enforcement Manager Clovis Fire Department and Breanna
Medina Emergency Management Coordinator City of Rancho Cucamonga
CERT volunteers bring an array of backgrounds, experiences and talents to a program. This
session will explore how to: 1) Recruit volunteers based on program needs; 2) Retain volunteers
by engaging them in activities that match their skills; 3) Develop a structure where volunteers
assist in program development, management and delivery of services; and 4) Engage
volunteers in activities that fulfill department or community needs outside of emergency
response situations.
Fairview Room
Fundamentals of Crisis Communication, part 1 of 3
Kelly Huston, Deputy Director, Crisis Communications & Public Affairs, Cal OES
A three hour workshop on how to effectively craft and deliver a message during a
disaster. (Note - this is a three hour course, attending this workshop in its entirety will prohibit
you from attending any other workshops.)
Harper Room
Planning a CERT Train-the-Trainer course
Suu-Va Tai, CERT Program Administrator, CaliforniaVolunteers and Brenda Emrick,
Community Education, Costa Mesa Fire Department
Interested in holding a CERT Train-the-Trainer course locally? Learn about what is required to
host and conduct a CERT Train-the-Trainer course.
Capri Room
Bringing your CERT Program back to its roots
James Yoke, Emergency Services Coordinator, Santa Clara County Fire Department
CERT programs throughout the country have become involved in all aspects of emergency
preparedness and response. This session will look at how to reengage the original concept of
CERT, which is teaching community members, how to educate and respond within their
neighborhoods.
1:20 pm to 1:30 pm – Break
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Southern California
CERT Regional Workshop
Costa Mesa, CA
Thursday, March 6th, 2014
1:30 pm to 2:20 pm – Breakout Session 2
Adams Room
Incorporating Firefighter Rehab into your CERT program
Dore Bietz, Assistant Planner/Emergency Manager/CERT Program Manager, Tuolumne
Band of Me-Wuk Indians and Jarvis Wills, Firefighter, Los Angeles City Fire Department
Learn how to effectively teach and implement firefighter rehab into your CERT program.
Fairview Room
Fundamentals of Crisis Communication, part 2 of 3
Kelly Huston, Deputy Director, Crisis Communications & Public Affairs, Cal OES
A three hour workshop on how to effectively craft and deliver a message during a
disaster. (Note - this is a three hour course, attending this workshop in its entirety will prohibit
you from attending any other workshops.)
Harper Room
How to start and maintain a successful Spanish CERT program
Liliana Encinas, Aware & Prepare Latino Initiatives & Outreach Coordinator and
Listos Program Manager and Zuzzette Bricker, Emergency Services Coordinator,
Riverside County Fire Department OES
Learn how to advertise CERT training to the Hispanic community; get participants to attend the
course; modify the curriculum/teaching materials; recruit Spanish speaking instructors, and
more.
Capris Room
CERT Train-the-Trainer Instructor Development
Brenda Emrick, Community Education, Costa Mesa Fire Department and Wilson Lee,
Deputy, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Chad Fitzgerald, Life
Safety/Enforcement Manager Clovis Fire Department and Michael Ramirez, Emergency
Services Officer, San Bernardino County Fire Department
Tips and best practices on how to be an instructor for the CERT Train-the-Trainer course.
Delivered by California State Approved CERT Train-the-Trainer Course Managers (including 2
FEMA EMI CERT Train-the-Trainer Instructors).
2:20 pm to 2:30 pm – Break
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Southern California
CERT Regional Workshop
Costa Mesa, CA
Thursday, March 6th, 2014
2:30 pm to 3:20 pm – Breakout Session 3
Adams Room
Planning and executing a CERT refresher/exercise
Breanna Medina Emergency Management Coordinator City of Rancho Cucamonga and
Raquel Vernola, Emergency Services Manager, City of Norwalk
A CERT refresher/exercise is a great way to hone CERT skills such as cribbing, fire
suppression, search and rescue, and medical triage. This workshop will go over how to plan
and execute a successful CERT refresher/exercise.
Fairview Room
Fundamentals of Crisis Communication, part 3 of 3
Kelly Huston, Deputy Director, Crisis Communications & Public Affairs, Cal OES
A three hour workshop on how to effectively craft and deliver a message during a
disaster. (Note - this is a three hour course, attending this workshop in its entirety will prohibit
you from attending any other workshops.)
Harper Room
CERT Basic Instructor Development
Michael Ramirez, Emergency Services Officer, San Bernardino County Fire Department,
Brenda Emrick, Community Education, Costa Mesa Fire Department, Wilson Lee, Deputy,
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and Chad Fitzgerald, Life Safety/Enforcement
Manager Clovis Fire Department
This workshop will cover best practices and introduce additional tools for teaching CERT Basic.
Capris Room
CERT for people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs
Kathy Gerk Emergency Services Manager Richmond Fire Department and Yolanda
McGlinchey, Emergency Services Manager, Santa Barbara City Fire OES
People with disabilities and the elderly are great resources in the community and they need
CERT training as well. FEMA mandates full inclusion in emergency management programs. In
CERT there is a “job” for everyone and this workshop will help answer some of the questions or
concerns that you may have to help improve the effectiveness and resilience of your CERT
program. This workshop will share tips, tools and best practices, and resources.
3:20 pm to 3:30 pm – Break
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Southern California
CERT Regional Workshop
Costa Mesa, CA
Thursday, March 6th, 2014
3:30 pm to 4:15 pm – Plenary Session, Adams Room
Questions and Answers Panel
Panel TBD
We will answer questions that were not addressed during the earlier plenary and breakout
sessions. Questions will be derived from the registration survey and from participants during
this session.
4:15 pm to 4:30 pm – Plenary Session, Adams Room
Closing Remarks
Suu-Va Tai, CERT Program Administrator, CaliforniaVolunteers
4:30 pm End
For more information about this event, visit the event page at
www.californiavolunteers.org/CERT/socalworkshop2014
You can download the PowerPoint presentations for this workshop online here:
http://www.californiavolunteers.org/index.php/CERT/socalworkshop2014_ppts/
Please help us make this workshop better! Be sure to complete the workshop and breakout
evaluation forms.
If you have any questions about this workshop please contact Suu-Va Tai at [email protected] or call at 916-650-6959.
CaliforniaVolunteers is the state administrator for the Citizen Corps and CERT program in
California. For more information about CaliforniaVolunteers:
 Visit our website at www.californiavolunteers.org
 Like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/CaliforniaVolunteers
 Follow us on twitter @CalVolunteers
 Follow the California CERT conversation on twitter using hashtag #CalCERT
For more information about CERT in California, visit
http://www.californiavolunteers.org/index.php/CERT/
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