Today's Top Picks
Crisis Leadership – Doing More With Less
During a crisis, leaders must be able to adapt and operate in an uncertain environment. In doing so, leaders are required to make more consequential and challenging decisions with less information and less time to decide. They also have fewer options to consider and likely garner more scrutiny for their actions. This examination of key case studies provides current leaders with lessons learned from effective and ineffective leadership decisions in the past.
Trauma Lessons Learned From a School Shooting
At the end of the school day on 14 February 2018, a former student entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSDHS) in Parkland, Florida, and committed a mass murder on the campus that forever changed numerous lives and an entire community. During the attack, 17 students and staff were killed and another 17 were injured. Approximately 3,500 students and staff were not physically injured, but most definitely affected by the active shooter attack.
Gene Drives – An Emerging Terrorist Threat
Conventional acts of terrorism will likely never fade away, and advancements in technology will continually raise concerns for governments and global security practitioners. The increasing threat and possibility of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive (CBRNE) use is evolving. Terrorist groups are actively seeking materials and the expertise to manufacture and utilize those materials in future operations. One of the frontiers in terrorism today involves a developing technology known as “gene drives.”
Environmental Health – Profoundly Local & Profoundly Useful
Nutrition, community resilience, and poverty are just a few factors that are of great importance to public health professionals, which include representatives for maternal and child health, preparedness, nutrition, epidemiology, and land use planning, among others. However, the second largest segment of the public health workforce – the environmental health (EH) profession – bridges the gaps within the public health discipline as well as between public health and other disciplinary sectors.
Combating Pandemic Threats – Global Health Security Agenda
On 6-8 November 2018, global health leaders from around the globe met in Bali, Indonesia, for the 5th Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) Ministerial Meeting. At the meeting, the GHSA launched a five-year plan to address health security issues called GHSA 2024 and U.S. Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan reaffirmed U.S. support for the GHSA with a pledge of $150 million. This global efforts and this commitment of resources to strengthen the capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious diseases are clearly needed.
Food Safety Alert: Recurring E. Coli Outbreaks
Food is essential to life. Its production, distribution, and consumption present unique – and increasingly urgent – economic and public health challenges. Roughly 50% of the world’s assets, 50% of global employment, and 50% of consumer expenditures are related to the food system. Closer to home, the second and third largest employers in the United States are in the food industry. About one-third of Americans eat at least one meal away from home each day. Anticipation, evaluation, and control of food-related infections and contamination are essential functions provided by the governmental public health system.
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Emergency Management has Evolved: Why the… While initially useful, the term “all hazards” no longer accurately describes the functions or mission of the emergency management discipline.…
Imagining the U.S. Without Power: A Dual-World EMP Exercise A dual-world tabletop exercise simulating an electromagnetic pulse event in Chicopee, Massachusetts, revealed startling discrepancies in outcomes between the city’s…
Elevating Healthcare Emergency Preparedness… Overlooked until disaster strikes, many emergency management departments struggle with personnel and budgetary constraints, yet the demand placed on these…
The Forefront of Innovation in Training &… Disaster wargaming may significantly change the future of tabletop exercises in emergency management and homeland security. Long used effectively to…Trending
Elevating Healthcare Emergency Preparedness… Overlooked until disaster strikes, many emergency management departments struggle with personnel and budgetary constraints, yet the demand placed on these…The Forefront of Innovation in Training &… Disaster wargaming may significantly change the future of tabletop exercises in emergency management and homeland security. Long used effectively to…Emergency Management has Evolved: Why the… While initially useful, the term “all hazards” no longer accurately describes the functions or mission of the emergency management discipline.…Imagining the U.S. Without Power: A Dual-World EMP Exercise A dual-world tabletop exercise simulating an electromagnetic pulse event in Chicopee, Massachusetts, revealed startling discrepancies in outcomes between the city’s…Domestic Preparedness Journal
Featured in this issue: Editor’s Note: Emergency Communications—Tough Lessons From the Maui Wildfires, by Catherine L. Feinman; Emergency Alerts: The Missing Link, by Rodrigo (Roddy) Moscoso; Hidden Barriers to Public Safety Interoperability, by Gabe Elias; AI Software in 911 Dispatch Centers: An Innovative Solution, by Tanya M. Scherr; A Systems Thinking Approach to Improving Emergency Communications, by William Chapman; Connectivity: The Foundation of Disaster Response and Preparedness, by Cory Davis; Know the Audience: Five Keys to Effective Communication, by Marc Hill; Bridging Communication Gaps: Lessons From Hurricane Helene, by Greg Hauser; A Regional Approach to Public Safety Communications Planning, by Charles (Charley) Bryson
Articles Out Loud
Article Out Loud – Disaster Stress Management in an Emergency Operations Center
May 7, 2025
Disasters affect responders and community members, but they also bring trauma to those working inside emergency operations centers. Distance from
Article Out Loud – A Holistic Strategy for Responders’ Well-Being
May 7, 2025
This is an article by Camilo Olivieri, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, May 7, 2025. First responders and
