Center’s Blog
Use this page to stay up-to-date on COVID-19, homeland security emergency management, campus safety, job resources, career pathways, upcoming webinars, scholarships, Washington State news and more.
Recovery in Advance
Recovery in Advance by Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed Emergency Management Once Removed periodically has cited the need for a systematic recovery process to enable appropriate and comprehensive restoration of the social equilibrium following a major or catastrophic disaster. No matter how much assistance pours in after the [...]
Climate Change: A Practical Guide
Climate Change: A Practical Guide By Linda Crerar & Nancy Aird How are more extreme weather, rising temperatures, and climate change affecting our health, homes, finances, safety, and day-to-day activities? What can we do about it? Every year, Washington faces floods, wildfires, landslides, tornadoes, and snow. Our Confluence staff [...]
Volunteers: Partners in Emergency Management Preparedness
Volunteers: Partners in Emergency Management Preparedness By Linda Crerar April is National Volunteer Month and we are recognizing the work and service of the many dedicated volunteers like those who have been so instrumental in establishing, supporting, and implementing the Partners in Emergency Preparedness Conference every year. Volunteers have [...]
Washington’s Workforce Development Boards: How They Connect Employers to Job Seekers
Washington’s Workforce Development Boards: How They Connect Employers to Job Seekers By Kellie Hale What are Workforce Development Boards (WDBs)? I kept hearing about them during my time at the CoE-HSEM. However, I never had the chance to interact with them personally or professionally. It wasn’t until I began [...]
Some Modest, Hopefully Post-Covid Suggestions
Some Modest, Hopefully Post- Covid Suggestions By Jim Mullen In the spirit of the theme for this month’s Confluence, I thought that I would “volunteer” some thoughts about the situation in which we find ourselves as COVID – hopefully, fingers crossed – has begun to ease into endemic status. [...]
Musings in the 21st Century USA – April 2022
Musings in the 21st Century USA by Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed The other day I was driving to the store on a narrow side street, headed downhill. A car headed up the hill toward me pulled between two other cars to let me pass. I simultaneously had [...]
Women in Leadership Profile: Frances Whalen
Women in Leadership Profile: Frances Whalen By Deb Moller Every emergency manager knows that FEMA expects a “whole community” approach to preparedness. This guiding principle is sometimes seen as less critical than other doctrine. But it’s impossible to develop strong situational awareness, the foundation for effective planning and response, [...]
Growing Our Own: How can we find the next wave of Emergency Managers?
Growing Our Own: How can we find the next wave of Emergency Managers? By Jim Mullen “ My goal for our discipline is that 20 years from now, my resume won’t qualify me to do the job I currently have” – a truly iconic (now retired) state director - [...]
International Women’s Day 2022
International Women’s Day 2022 By Linda Crerar The UN theme for International Women’s Day 2022 was “Gender equality today for a sustainable tomorrow. ” Many events recognized how women around the world are responding to climate change. The International Women’s Day website provides a platform to help forge positive [...]
A Bitter-sweet Message
A Bitter-sweet Message By Linda Crerar It is again that “bitter-sweet feeling” I share with Kellie about her wonderful new job at PACMTN Workforce Development COUNCIL, working with William Westmoreland, the Director and also a Center Advisory Board Member and his great team. Kellie has received a warm [...]
Thank you, coe-hsem, for an incredible 10 years!
Thank you, coe-hsem, for an incredible 10 years! By Kellie Hale Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d spend ten years at the Center of Excellence for Homeland Security Emergency Management. I never expected what was supposed to be an internship to transform my life. When [...]
TACTICS or STRATEGY? – March 2022
TACTICS or STRATEGY? by Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed Tactics are knowing what to do when there is something to do. Strategy is knowing what to do when there is nothing to do.” Savielly Tartakower (professional chess player). While I lacked the patience or even the inclination to play [...]
Breaking News – 322nd Year Anniversary of Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquake/Tsunami
Breaking News - 322nd Year Anniversary of Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquake/Tsunami By Nancy Aird January 26, 1700, at 9:00 pm, the last Cascadia Subduction Zone megathrust earthquake (CSZ) was estimated at magnitude 8 or 9, and the subsequent tsunami devastated the Pacific Northwest. How are we able to [...]
Education Journey – Brick and Mortar or Online or…?
Education Journey - Brick and Mortar or Online or...? By Nancy Aird Human Rights Watch, hrw.org, report “Years Don’t Wait for Them – Increased Inequalities in Children’s Right to Education Due to the Covid-19 Pandemic”. Bede Shepard, Hye Jung Han, and Elin Martinez, May 17, 2021. By April, 190 [...]
Interview with Jason Petrait
Interview with Jason Petrait - CoE Aerospace and Advanced Manufacturing Director By Kellie Hale Kellie: Tell us about yourself? What is your educational and professional background? Jason: I’m a Northwest native and I found my passion for getting people good jobs when I lucked into work at South Seattle [...]
History Should Matter to Emergency Managers – Feb 2022
History Should Matter to Emergency Managers By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed My recent blog entries, based mainly on my own "history" in emergency management and public safety roles, have warned that failure to acknowledge and prepare in advance for disruptions to foundational elements of our society could [...]
1/6 – A Year Later – January 2022
1/6 – A Year Later By Jim Mullen Emergency Management, Once Removed January 6, 2022 Twenty years from now, historians will no doubt exhaustively parse the meaning of January 6, 2021’s insurrection, attempted coup, rebellion, the act of sedition (pick your descriptive term). In 2021, I offered my recollections/reactions [...]
Pierce College’s HSEM Degree Program Named One of the Ten Best
Pierce College’s HSEM Degree Program Named One of the Ten Best The World Health Organization estimates that 160 million people are impacted by natural disasters each year. These disasters are compounded by thousands of terrorist attacks, accidents, and other incidents around the world. From first responders to agency administrators, [...]
Rising Star Award Video Interviews
Rising Star Award Interviews The Center of Excellence – Homeland Security Emergency Management has always been focused on student success and helping people to positively change the trajectory of their lives and who have demonstrated excellence in their professional endeavors working for the advancement of people in education and [...]
Digital Equity: What Is It and Why Is It Important?
Digital Equity: What Is It and Why Is It Important? By Kellie Hale You may have been hearing the term “Digital Equity” in the news a lot more lately. What is digital equity? Well, it is a vital necessity for “civic and cultural participation, employment, lifelong learning, and access [...]
DHS Climate Change Professionals Program
DHS CLIMATE CHANGE PROFESSIONALS PROGRAM WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the creation of a new Climate Change Professionals Program to recruit recent graduates and current federal employees to support DHS growing focus on adapting to climate change and improving resilience. This two-year program will be run by the DHS Office of the Chief Readiness Support [...]
Breaking News – Natural Disaster Flooding
BREAKING NEWS – NATURAL DISASTER FLOODING By Nancy Aird 1860 news from Missouri to California took ten days by Pony Express. Western Union transcontinental telegraph line rendered it obsolete by 1861. Today natural disaster breaking news only needs cell phone cameras and internet coverage. 2022 started with the atmospheric [...]
It’s Time We Have a Talk: Difficult Conversations and Keeping Good Relationships
It's Time We Have a Talk: Difficult Conversations and Keeping Good Relationships "People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other." - Martin Luther King, [...]
Acknowledging the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Acknowledging the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (A message from Pierce College) As Martin Luther King, Jr. Day approaches, Pierce College has the opportunity to acknowledge the profound impact of Dr. King’s civil rights legacy, which is embodied in their mission, vision and values, and their commitment [...]
Resources for Students During Temporary Remote Instruction
Need help with Canvas? 253-964-6310 (Fort Steilacoom) 253-840-8437 (Puyallup) STAT@pierce.ctc.edu Computer lab OLY 301 (Fort Steilacoom) Computer lab CTR (Puyallup) Need a wifi hotspot for internet? 253-964-6547 (Fort Steilacoom) 253-840-8300 (Puyallup) Library@pierce.ctc.edu Library CAS 4th floor (Fort Steilacoom) Library LSC 2nd floor (Puyallup) Need technology support? 253-964-6310 (Fort Steilacoom) 253-840-8437 (Puyallup) STAT@pierce.ctc.edu Computer lab OLY 301 (Fort Steilacoom) Computer [...]