Advanced PIO Course at FEMA's Emergency Management Institute

Speakers: Kate Trangenstein. Jamie Cheveralls. Caty Luebbert. Jeff Bagwell . Nicole Shutts, FEMA EMI PIO Program Manager

Nicole Shutts: Hi, I'm Nicole Shutts, program manager for Fema's Public Information Officer Training program. In this video, you'll hear directly from past students of the advanced Public Information officer training course. As they share their firsthand experience and insights gained from completing this training. Get ready to discover the significant impacts that this course has had on their professional development, as well as how it continues to shape their careers in public information.

Kate Trangenstein: My name is Kate Trangenstein and I'm the communications manager for Washington Township.

Jamie Cheveralls: Hello. I'm Jamie Cheveralls, the Public Information Officer for the Raleigh Fire Department.

Caty Luebbert: Hello, my name is Caty Luebbert. I am the Deputy Communications Director for the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance.

Jeff Bagwell : Hello, this is Jeff Bagwell with Rural Metro Fire Department in Tennessee. I am the public Information officer

Kate Trangenstein: FEMAs Advanced PIO course is by far the most beneficial course that I have ever taken in my career. Because of the way the course is designed as a full scale simulation, you're able to get real world hands on experience in a safe learning environment and then you're able to take that experience back to your agency and it's immediately applicable and relevant. I could not recommend this course enough for PIO's that touched any aspect of emergency management.

Jamie Cheveralls: Having completed both the basic and the advanced Public Information Officer courses at EMI one of the most valuable things that I've taken away from both the experiences is the network. The opportunity to grow my professional network at EMI during these courses has been incredible. I had the opportunity to make some really close contacts during the basic course. And then during my Advanced PIO training, a number of us decided to take the course together. So it was great to have the opportunity to do two trainings with the same individuals and really grow that relationship and those bonds.

Caty Luebbert: One of the most valuable outcomes from Fema's advanced pio course. For me personally was the network of people I met in the class, establishing those connections and you know, sharing perspectives on previous situations. What's worked, what hasn't, how can we learn from our friends mistakes and make us all better communicators and just it truly reinforced the importance of establishing relationships prior to a, so that when you're in a situation, when you do need to activate a joint information center, you're prepared, you know, the people to fill what roles, their strengths and weaknesses and how to ultimately get the messaging out in a timely manner so that people can make those right decisions.

Jeff Bagwell : I would have to say the most valuable thing I took from the advanced pio class. And for that matter, any of the, the pio classes at EMI is a to build the trust with the media, of course. And as well as your fellow pio officers that are around you that you can rely on in a time of need. The second thing is to take care of yourself. You never think about a PIO role being stressful. Yet through some of the training, it has taught us that yes, it in fact, can be very stressful and take care of yourself is something that's very important, especially when it comes to some kind of a large incident that you're going to be tied up on for several hours or even days.

Kate Trangenstein: Another incredible benefit of EMI PIO courses are the top notch instructors that they bring in to teach these courses. These instructors have decades of pio experience and some incredible wisdom and insight and knowledge to share with the classmates. And additionally, you're going to create a network of pio colleagues that you meet in all of these classes. And that's amazing. You can tap into this network anytime that you need a little bit of help or to workshop through a problem.

Jamie Cheveralls: I'm a huge proponent of experiential learning and the opportunities at EMI are unlike any other, the advanced Public Information officer training was truly a unique experience. It was one of the most challenging, exhausting and fun trainings that I've ever been to. And I know that my professional skill set has been enhanced as a result of attending that training. I'm also incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work with and be mentored by instructors from around the nation who are truly invested in my professional growth and development.

Caty Luebbert: I would say to step out of your comfort zone, growth can be uncomfortable at times. But truly, that's how it makes us better communicators. And so, you know, take the time the breaks to meet new people and to network even just outside of the class too. because you never know when you may need to call upon someone. And this is truly a great group of instructors and classmates to learn from and be your biggest advocates in the future.

Jeff Bagwell : I think the one thing I'd like to add is that I never thought and most of our fire department personnel, the line personnel don't ever think about a PIO role being part of a, an operational level staff position. But it is, it's part of the incident command system. It's, it's an intricate role that can affect a lot of change and can affect people's lives and their ability to save their own life and maybe the potential life of lives of their family.