Subject Matter Expert: Emergency Preparedness
By Kat Wilkerson, Content Marketing Specialist at Alertus Technologies
Alertus is excited to launch our brand new Subject Matter Expert series!
This month, we would like to introduce Gil Zavlodaver. Gil is the Director of Professional Services at Alertus, and has over eleven years of experience working in the public and private sector. Before Alertus, Gil oversaw the alert and warning program at the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office of Emergency Services (OES) in Southern California and served as a duty officer for incidents ranging from wildfires to hazmat events and flooding.
Gil’s extensive expertise in emergency management and preparedness has allowed him to provide educational training in mitigation, response, recovery, plan development, and grant administration.
Emergency Preparedness Expert
Name: Gil Zavlodaver
Title: Director of Professional Services
Organization: Alertus Technologies
What are the biggest gaps between what people should be doing for Emergency Preparedness, and what they are actually doing?
The emergency preparedness phase involves emergency activities taken prior to a disaster. These activities are intended to develop an organization’s capabilities to effectively prepare for, respond to, and recover from natural, human-caused, or technological disasters. One of the biggest gaps is the lack of awareness and understanding of all potential hazards and threats that may disrupt an organization’s day-to-day operations.
For example, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted many vulnerabilities and ultimately the lack of emergency planning to deal with a threat that impacts an organization’s entire workforce. Many organizations were forced to improvise and pivot their business practices and operations in real-time to accommodate a workforce under stay-at-home orders. Therefore, adapting to this “new normal” proved challenging for many organizations.
How can they avoid these gaps and mistakes?
Many organizations tend to be reactive in their emergency preparedness activities, and the last few years have proven organizations should create contingency plans and Continuity of Operations Plans that can be used for all-hazard scenarios. By incorporating those types of activities into a formal plan, organizations ensure resiliency and sustainability to future disasters.
To continue the conversation and connect with Gil, reach out to proserv-em@alertus.com.
Learn more
Alertus Virtual Webinar
To gain further insight from Gil Zavlodaver, register for Alertus’ upcoming webinar, “Developing a robust, multimodal, and redundant Emergency Notification network,” here.
Preparing for Natural Disasters: 5 Resilience Communication Tools
Better prepare for natural disaster emergencies with these five examples of resilience communication tools using Mass Notification System (MNS) technology, here.
Additional Preparedness Resources
Alertus’ Preparedness Blogs: