Eric is an accomplished public speaker who uses humor and information to both engage and enlighten audiences, both large and small. He has presented in plenary sessions for both national and regional conferences of 500 or more people. The following are topic areas that he can speak to:
Social media is washing over our culture like a tsunami. It is revolutionizing how emergency managers use technology to respond and recover from disasters. Situational awareness, common operating picture, damage assessments, warnings are all aspects of emergency management that can be enhanced by using social media. Invite Eric to speak at your next conference on this topic of surviving the Social Media Tsunami and learn about the tools and techniques you can use for your emergency management and first responder programs. To read more about the use of social media check out Disaster Wiki an article by Eric Holdeman on the use of social media.
Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Design, Construction and Operation—EOCs are becoming extremely complex facilities that need to integrate people, systems and technology to make them effective for that mission. Design considerations concerning survivability, flexibility, redundancy and others are provided.
Future of Emergency Management is Regional—Emergency management is still an emerging profession. Eric sees the future of emergency management as being regional. This presentation provides a perspective on the past and a description for what the future of the profession should be. Specifically, it needs to be: joint, unified, national & international, coordinated, collaborative, inter-operable, synchronized, with standards, the media is a partner. The underlying framework for all of this is the need for it to be done on a regional basis and it cannot be accomplished internal to your agency, jurisdiction or organization.
Pandemic Flu—Perhaps the worst catastrophe that could strike the world. As the King County Emergency Management Director, Eric was a leader in building one of the nations best known pandemic flu preparedness programs. In this presentation learn about the challenges and risks, along with the strategies for continuity of operations and continuity of government. Experience in exercising these plans and strategies is another aspect of information that will be shared.
Media is My Friend—The media dominates our 21st Century lives. Many government and business people fear working with the media. Eric believes that there can be a partnership with local media. Learn his strategies for creating a new paradigm for you and your organization.
Public Education—If the public is not prepared, then you are not prepared. How many days of preparedness is enough? What can you be doing to motivate people to become prepared for the disasters that will strike in the future? Eric will share his experiences in building regional public education campaigns for all types of populations.
