A Farewell Message from the SUASI General Manager
by Richard Shortall
As many of you may know, I am retiring on Friday, February 29. First and foremost I must thank all of the people who supported me in performing my duties as the general manager of the Bay Area SUASI Program: the members of the Approval Authority and Advisory Group that guide this organization; the management team of Guy Bernardo, Rocky Medeiros, Susan Newton, Caryn Thornburg, Skip Shervington and William Bass, who do the heavy lifting necessary to make the program a success; all of the workgroup participants for their many hours of time dedicated to improving the preparedness and capability of our region to respond to a catastrophic event; and the leadership and staff at the California Office of Homeland Security and the United States Department of Homeland Security.
What a great experience it has been to help start this program in early 2006 and to see its evolution into what I believe is a Best Practice model for the entire country! Recently I was asked, “Are you counting down the days?” I can honestly say that I never had the time to count! Instead, the time that I did have was spent enjoying my collaboration with the wide array of stakeholders in the Bay Area SUASI – a group that is ever-expanding. Despite the challenges that this position presented, it offered the very rewarding opportunity to work in a stimulating environment and to achieve so many milestones.
Here are some of the highlights of the accomplishments of the Bay Area SUASI over the 2006 and 2007 grant cycles:
- Secured approximately $50M in grant funding
- Provided over $18M for Interoperable Communications strategic planning and infrastructure projects
- Created a dynamic Bay Area Fusion Center Program
- Conducted a comprehensive assessment, resource inventory and strategic planning effort to measure and improve our CBRNE capabilities
- Supported a variety of regional exercises such as Urban Shield and Golden Guardian, as well as a number of training programs
- Supported several major medical surge and mass prophylaxis planning projects
- Programmed $4M to support citizen preparedness activities
- Provided planning and material support to greatly improve our capability to provide mass care with emphasis on supporting special-needs populations
- Initiated a project with the Los Angeles/Long Beach SUASI, supported by FEMA and the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (OES), to expand and create an operational structure for the Emergency Management Mutual Aid program
- Provided direct planning support to the 10 counties and three major cities within the Bay Area SUASI region
- Regularly published this informative newsletter and maintained our website, www.bayareasuasi.org.
None of these accomplishments could have been done without the help of the extraordinary group of people that I have had the pleasure to work with. Each and every one of them has played a significant role in making our original vision materialize and has contributed greatly to the overall success of the program.
I am still a bit amazed that my tenure is coming to a close, and as I say farewell as your general manager I hope I have served you well and made a positive difference in this organization. I wish the best of success to Laura Phillips, the new General Manager. Also joining us is Caryn Thornburg, who is replacing Ann Potter as the Project Manager for Medical Surge and Mass Prophylaxis.
I would like to extend a special thanks to Ann for her exceptional work on behalf of the Bay Area SUASI. Please see articles in this month’s issue for an official “introduction” to the new members of our management team.
I know that I am leaving the Bay Area SUASI with the finest leadership and people an organization can have.
Thank you very much,
Rich Shortall
General Manager
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Building Resilience
An Introduction to Laura Phillips, New General Manager
Since the Bay Area SUASI was created in 2006, it has become a national model for good governance and regional collaboration. Through the efforts of General Manager Rich Shortall and numerous organizations and individuals, many of its initiatives are now completing major project milestones. To learn more about SUASI activities under Rich Shortall, please click here.
“Rich [Shortall] really laid the foundation for collaboration during his tenure at the Bay Area SUASI,” said Ms. Phillips. “He pulled together partners in a short time and has helped to mold the program into a national model. As we move forward, we are tasked with keeping these diverse partners on board and reaching out to new stakeholders. This can only work if everyone has a voice.” To read more about Laura Phillips' goals for SUASI, please click the "Full Story" link below.
[FULL STORY]
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Caryn Thornburg Joins SUASI Management
On February 18, the Bay Area SUASI Management Team welcomed Caryn Thornburg as the new Project Manager for Medical Surge and Mass Prophylaxis. Ms. Thornburg has been an active member of the SUASI work groups and RFP processes for these initiatives and others. An extensive background in emergency management planning, disaster response, healthcare, and military operations has well prepared her for this position with the SUASI Management Team. To read more about Caryn Thornburg, please click the "Full Story" link below.
[FULL STORY]
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SUASI Project Updates
Provided in this article are updates on many of the projects underway, highlighting major milestones or activities accomplished over the past month. We hope that these updates will help keep project participants and other interested parties informed of our progress on these important initiatives. Click the "Full Story" link to read updates about each of the Bay Area SUASI projects.
[FULL STORY]
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Bay Area SUASI Citizen Preparedness Projects
Cope Program: Making Preparedness Fun in Sonoma County
COPE (Citizens Organized to Prepare for Emergencies) recently released a DVD encouraging individuals to prepare themselves and their families for disasters such as earthquakes, flooding, terrorism or other emergencies. The program, distributed through a collaborative effort by the city of Santa Rosa and the Bay Area SUASI, encourages neighborhoods, mobile home parks and homeowners’ associations to conduct “Preparedness Parties.” To read more on COPE, click the "Full Story" link below.
[FULL STORY]
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This project is supported by Award No. 4123-06, awarded by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Office of Grants & Training (G&T). The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this program are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Homeland Security.