A View from the Other Side: An Evacuated JIC Manager

  Allow us to introduce (and welcome) Sheri Benninghoven, APR, to The Crisis Communicator. Sheri is a Santa Barbara-based principal at SAE Communications and specializes in strategic and crisis communications planning, counsel and implementation for local governments and higher education institutions. In her past life she was a PIO for the city of Anaheim and the League of California […]

The Accidental PIO: 6 Things a Pipeline Crisis Communicator Learned about Initial Response

Note: Brandon and I are amped to introduce readers to another savvy contributor to The Crisis Communicator blog. Terri Larson is one of the only industry-side crisis comms ninjas I’ve met who’s actually logged time as an “Initial” Public Information Officer for a major spill response and did so as the Incident Command System gods […]

Vigilance Vital for Established Crisis Comm Plans, Reputation

“A rat doesn’t care who you are or how nice your house is – if he wants to get in, he’s gonna get in,” my new friend, Mike, said to me the other day. Mike was being literal, not figurative. Mike gets rats – and squirrels and raccoons and who knows what else – out […]

Steer Toward Right: After Action Reports and Lessons from the Field

Note: A brief introduction, since this is the first  guest post (of many, we hope) from our friend and colleague Thomas McKenzie. Mac isn’t just a PIO, who spends a LOT of time in the field, but is a member of the U.S. Coast Guard’s elite Public Information Assist Team, which is a component of […]