In April of 2025, SummitET hosted a delegation of disaster management experts from Japan to exchange ideas and strengthen international collaboration in disaster preparedness. The delegation included experts from the Center for Integrated Disaster Information Research (CIDIR) at the University of Tokyo, the Disaster Prevention Research Institute (DPRI) at Kyoto University, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism (MLIT). Ichiro Matsuo, Tomoo Inoue, Himeno Kazuki, Jiro Kak...
Apr 24, 2025•13 min•Season 1Ep. 15
In this special IAEM Conference Series episode of Bridging the Gap, SummitET podcast host and former emergency manager Ron Crane meets with Massachusetts Maritime Academy students about their experiences studying and interning in Emergency Management and their perceptions regarding challenges in the field. Episode Host: Ron Crane, Associate VP, SummitET; Former Emergency Manager; Firefighter and HAZMAT Technician Massachusetts Maritime Academy Students and Special Guests: Kinsley Trout, Logan Sm...
Feb 24, 2025•22 min•Season 1Ep. 14
In this special IAEM Conference Series episode of Bridging the Gap, SummitET host Adam Montella is joined by Kenn Honig, a seasoned emergency management consultant with a long career in law enforcement and emergency management at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Join this insightful discussion as they navigate the evolution of emergency management practices, the technological advancements over the decades, and the undeniable importance of personal contacts in the field. Episode Hos...
Feb 18, 2025•35 min•Season 1Ep. 13
Shannon McCrone, TT&E Program Manager with the U.S. House Seargent at Arms and Ron Benedict, Readiness, Response and Resiliency Program Manager with DC Department of Health, share their experiences, challenges, and ideas for improvement in emergency management in the DC metro area. Episode Host: Ron Crane, Associate VP, SummitET; Former Emergency Manager; Firefighter & HAZMAT Technician Guests: Shannon McCrone, TT&E (Testing, Training, and Exercise) Program Manager with U.S. House Se...
Feb 11, 2025•19 min•Season 1Ep. 12
In this special IAEM Conference Series episode of Bridging the Gap, host Ron Crane with SummitET is joined by Preston Wilson, CEO of Resilience Solutions Consulting. Prior to this role, Preston was the training manager for FEMA’s National Dam Safety Program , where he was responsible for developing and delivering training on emergency management and dam safety nationwide. Episode Host: Ron Crane, Associate VP, SummitET; Former Emergency Manager; Firefighter & HAZMAT Technician Special Guest:...
Jan 31, 2025•21 min•Season 1Ep. 11
In this special IAEM Conference episode of SummitET’s podcast Bridging the Gap, host and former emergency manager Ron Crane sits down with Claire Canaan and Morgan Hunter, emergency managers from the Kansas City metropolitan area. They discuss challenges in the EM field including staffing shortages and communication barriers, as well as the importance of embracing change and innovation. Episode Host: Ron Crane, Associate VP, SummitET; Former Emergency Manager; Firefighter & HAZMAT Technician...
Jan 27, 2025•24 min•Season 1Ep. 10
In this special IAEM series of Bridging the Gap, SummitET host and former emergency manager Ron Crane discusses current challenges and opportunities in Emergency Management education with Elizabeth City State University Professor Kevin Kupietz, PhD. Join us as we learn how students are gaining experience in real time disaster response and how their education may shape the future of the field. Episode Host: Ron Crane, Associate VP, SummitET; Firefighter; HAZMAT Technician; Emergency Management SM...
Jan 21, 2025•25 min•Season 1Ep. 9
In this special IAEM Conference Series episode of Bridging the Gap, SummitET former emergency manager and host, Ron Crane, meets with Jeremy Urekew of Garner Environmental, a disaster response company specializing in flood control and incident management. Jeremy, with over 25 years in the public sector, highlights the importance of public-private collaboration for disaster response and advises new emergency managers on solutions to gaining practical experience and qualifications in the field. Ep...
Jan 10, 2025•22 min•Season 1Ep. 8
In this special IAEM Conference Series episode of Bridging the Gap, SummitET experts discuss the Community Lifeline Status System Project with Hal Grieb of G&H International Services. This software reporting tool is developed for the DHS to operationalize FEMA’s Community Lifelines construct and provides a data-driven framework to help emergency managers assess and report on critical services during disasters, ensuring effective resource allocation. It has been developed with input from over...
Jan 06, 2025•27 min•Season 1Ep. 7
In this episode of “Bridging the Gap,” disaster preparedness experts discuss business continuity planning for natural disasters, emphasizing the importance of including all stakeholders, from employees to the CEO, as well as local and federal government. Business continuity helps businesses maintain operations during disruptions like natural disasters, cyber attacks, or power outages. It ensures minimal downtime and continued service delivery. Business continuity planning (BCP) is crucial and sh...
Jun 18, 2024•29 min•Season 1Ep. 6
This is the second part of a series focused on strategic communication for higher education: sensitive and controversial issues. In this episode, special guests and internationally recognized scholars of risk and crisis communication Deanna Sellnow, Ph.D. and Tim Sellnow, Ph.D. discuss how effective and simple strategic communication is central to reducing harm and saving lives in the face of a crisis. They also address how communicators and decision-makers at higher education institutions can a...
May 17, 2024•30 min•Season 1Ep. 5
In Episode 4 of Bridging the Gap, Host Adam Montella speaks with SummitET's team of Strategic Communications experts about crisis communications fundamentals that higher education institutions can incorporate when addressing controversial and sensitive issues with their stakeholders. This episode features the following SummitET subject matter experts: Mark Basnight, Vice President of Strategic Communications and Incident Response Mark is Former Co-Director and Communications Analyst for the Publ...
Mar 06, 2024•20 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Is your organization better prepared today after completing a tabletop exercise or training? How did the experience better position you to face a threat or hazard? If it is difficult to answer these questions, how do you know the exercise was an effective use of time and resources? In Part 1 of Episode 3 of Bridging the Gap, preparedness experts introduce you to the XF Score TM; a rubric for analyzing the effectiveness of tabletop exercises and trainings for crises. The creators of the XF ScoreT...
Jan 25, 2024•24 min•Season 1Ep. 3
