Crisis Ready Institute

We raise the standards in issue management, crisis management, and crisis communication skills.

These skills are now being taught in higher education curricula around the world.
And now we’re bringing these capabilities to professionals in the workplace.

Latest Trends and Insights

Our Big Mission

The traditional approach to crisis preparedness—which is investing in a generic plan that sits stagnantly on a shelf—does little to truly serve an organization. If this was your approach to crisis preparedness pre-COVID then, like countless others, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

The Crisis Ready Institute is a public benefit corporation that is on a mission to elevate status quo and create a crisis resilient world. We do this by helping leaders hone the skillsets required to thrive in today’s world, and helping organizations achieve a culture of true crisis resilience whereby every negative incident is transformed into an opportunity to foster growth, strengthen trust and build brand equity.

We believe that if every organization were Crisis Ready®, we would live in a kinder, safer, more balanced world—and that’s precisely what we’re striving to achieve.

Melissa Agnes
Founder and CEO, Crisis Ready Institute

Crisis Ready® Coaching Program

Today's business challenges are complex

Do you feel that the success of your organization is at the mercy of the complexities of today’s world?

Are you and your team equipped to adapt to any sudden changes, not just in your market, but in the world at large?

Does your team have the required skills and capabilities in place to quickly respond to an impactful business challenge, whether it be internal or external?

What the Crisis Ready® Coaching Program is all about

We help teams learn the necessary skills required today to anticipate, mitigate and respond to business challenges in a way that increases the trust and credibility in your brand. 

Comprised of a community of global professionals across all relevant areas of expertise, this program enables you to benefit from a force that helps you build a stronger brand, strengthen relationships, and develop a clear and strategic path forward. In essence, the Crisis Ready® Coaching Program helps you and your business adapt, grow, become unstoppable.

Gain strategic
foresight

Strategic foresight into the coming months means you’re always ready to both anticipate and plan for a stronger future. It immediately positions you as a leader in your industry.

Effectively manage
any challenge

With the help and support of a diverse group of experts, you gain an edge with exactly what you need for effectively and efficiently managing through today’s challenges.

Build for a stronger
tomorrow

By strengthening your team’s skills in issue management, crisis management, and crisis communication, you build a solid foundation for your business to transform real-time challenges into real-time opportunities.

Learn more about the Coaching Program

Crisis Ready® Coaching Program

Do you feel that the success of your organization is at the mercy of the complexities of today’s world?

Are you and your team equipped to adapt to any sudden changes, not just in your market, but in the world at large?

Does your team have the required skills and a solid program in place to quickly respond to an impactful business challenge, whether it be internal or external?

What the Crisis Ready® Coaching Program is all about

We teach organizations – namely, your team members – how to elevate the status quo to create a crisis resilient world while building strong corporate cultures where thriving is the business acumen.

Comprised of a community of global professionals across all areas of expertise, you benefit from a force that helps you build a stronger brand, strengthen relationships, and develop a clear and strategic path forward. In essence, the Crisis Ready® Coaching Program helps you and your business adapt, grow, become unstoppable.

Gain strategic foresight

Strategic foresight into the coming months means you’re always ready to both anticipate and plan for a stronger future, and immediately positions you as a leader in your industry.

Effectively manage any challenge

With the help and support of a diverse group of experts, you have an edge with exactly what you need for effectively and efficiently managing through today’s challenges.

Build for a stronger tomorrow

By strengthening your team’s skills in issue management, crisis management, and crisis communication, you build a solid foundation for your business to adapt, grow, and truly become unstoppable.

Learn more about the Coaching Program

Our Big Mission

“The traditional approach to crisis preparedness—which is investing in a generic plan that sits stagnantly on a shelf—does little to truly serve an organization. If this was your approach to crisis preparedness pre-COVID then, like countless others, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

The Crisis Ready® Institute is a public benefit corporation that is on a mission to elevate status quo and create a crisis resilient world. We do this by helping leaders hone the skillsets required to thrive in today’s world, and helping organizations achieve a culture of true crisis resilience whereby every negative incident is transformed into an opportunity to foster growth, strengthen trust and build brand equity.

We believe that if every organization were Crisis Ready®, we would live in a kinder, safer, more balanced world—and that's precisely what we're striving to achieve.”

Melissa Agnes

Founder and CEO of the Crisis Ready Institute

Ranked amongst the leading crisis management books of all time and named as one of the top ten business books of 2018 by Forbes, Crisis Ready by Melissa Agnes, provides the precise roadmap for building a resilient brand.

Read now

Join a peer group that is dedicated to supporting one another through the many challenges of crisis readiness.

Learn more

Ranked amongst the leading crisis management books of all time and named as one of the top ten business books of 2018 by Forbes, Crisis Ready by Melissa Agnes, provides the precise roadmap for building a resilient brand.

Read now

Join a peer group that is dedicated to supporting one another through the many challenges of crisis readiness.

Learn more

Demo this Course

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Andrea Bonime-Blanc

Andrea Bonime-Blanc, JD/PhD, is CEO and Founder of GEC Risk Advisory and a global governance, risk, ESG, ethics, cyber and crisis strategist, serving a broad cross-section of business, nonprofits, and government agencies. Since 2017, she has served as the Independent Ethics Advisor to the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico.

Dr. Bonime-Blanc spent two decades as a c-suite global corporate executive at Bertelsmann, Verint, and PSEG overseeing legal, governance, risk, ethics, corporate responsibility, crisis management, compliance, audit, InfoSec and environmental health and safety, among other functions. She began her career as an international corporate lawyer at Cleary Gottlieb, was born and raised in Europe and is multi-lingual.

She serves on several Boards and Advisory Boards including Greenward Partners (a Spanish green energy firm), Ethical Intelligence (an EU-based AI ethics firm), ProtectedBy.AI (A US based AI cybersecurity firm), Epic Theatre Ensemble (a NYC nonprofit), the NACD New Jersey Chapter and NYU Stern-based think tank, Ethical Systems. She also serves as a Governance Mentor at Plug & Play Tech Centre, a global start-up eco-system. She is a NACD Board Leadership Fellow and Governance faculty and holds the Carnegie Mellon CERT Certification in Cyber-Risk Oversight.

Andrea is a global speaker, including at Davos, and appears regularly on Bloomberg TV, Yahoo Finance, Cheddar and other media. She is faculty at NYU’s Center for Global Affairs Masters program teaching “Cyber Leadership, Risk Oversight and Resilience”. She is an extensively published author of many articles and several books including The Reputation Risk Handbook, Emerging Practices in Cyber-Risk Governance and The Artificial Intelligence Imperative. Her latest book, Gloom to Boom: How Leaders Transform Risk into Resilience and Value (Routledge 2020) debuted as an Amazon #1 Hot Release in Business Ethics and Game Theory. She lives in New York City with her family and is an avid photographer and artist.

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Ashley Davis

Ashley is a Brand and Marketing Strategist who partners with CEOs, executives and solopreneurs to grow their personal and professional brands. After spending over a decade working in strategic communications for multimillion dollar brands and startups, Ashley knows what truly drives conversations, builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their stakeholder groups and attracts strong strategic partnerships.

Ashley has helped organizations and leaders increase employee awareness and overall understanding of the company vision. She has strong experience / knowledge of social media tools and techniques for driving awareness, reputation and brand—and is known for advancing a company’s messaging in the marketplace by growing the following of now multiple multimillion dollar brands and startups.. 

Ashley has served as the Editor of monthly all employee publications by managing the planning, writing and production. She is an integral part of new product launches and is frequently engaged to train entire sales teams along with channel / distribution partners on new product launches. In addition to her extensive experience, Ashley is a trained business coach.

Ashley holds a BA in Global Business Management from the University of Phoenix.

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Chris Hsiung

With extensive experience from over 29 years in law enforcement, Chris is part of the Mountain View Police Department executive team and currently serves as the Deputy Police Chief, managing day to day operations and spearheading efforts in leadership development, succession planning, and maintaining MVPD’s role as a progressive law enforcement organization in the 21st century. His tenure in the department has given him considerable experience in investigations, SWAT/tactical operations, technology and crisis management.

Chris is passionate about helping government and communities connect and engage with each other. He is a digital media influencer, conference speaker, and innovator on the topic of social media, crisis communications and management, community engagement, and digital strategy. In April 2017 Government Technology Magazine honored him as a “Top 25 Doer, Dreamer and Driver” and Government Social Media awarded him the “2017 Top Social Media Advocate in Government.” In addition, ELGL voted Chris #5 on their annual Chris Traeger Top 100 list of government influencers.

Chris serves as president for the Government Social Media Organization (GSMO) leadership council and IACP PIO Section vice-chair for the southwest United States.

Chris also serves as a commissioner for the City of San Mateo Community Relations Commission and board member for the Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center.

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Aaron Marks

Aaron Marks is a Senior Principal with Dynamis, Inc. where he supports clients across the domestic National and Homeland Security communities and international public safety enterprise. He provides operational and subject matter expertise in intelligence analysis and targeting, disaster preparedness, crisis and incident management, and continuity of operations for healthcare related concerns. Aaron has provided in-depth review, assessment, and analysis for technology, policy, and operational programs impacting all levels of government. He is a recognized authority on the application of nontraditional techniques and methodologies to meet the unique requirements of training, evaluation, and analytic games and exercise for the National and Homeland Security communities.

Prior to joining Dynamis, Aaron was the Director of Operations for a commercial ambulance and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) provider in western New York State where he participated in the integration of commercial EMS and medical transportation resources into the local Trauma System. During his 30-year career Aaron has worked in almost every aspect of EMS except fleet services. This includes experience in Hazardous Materials and Tactical Medicine, provision of prehospital care in urban, suburban, rural, and frontier environments, and acting as a team leader for both ground and aeromedical Critical Care Transport Teams.

Aaron is a Master Exercise Practitioner and received a B.A. in Psychology from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas and a master’s degree in Public Administration with a focus in Emergency Management from Jacksonville State University in Jacksonville, Alabama. He is also a Nationally Registered Paramedic and currently practices as an Assistant Chief with the Amissville Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department, Amissville Virginia.

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Erick Anez

Erick Anez is the Global Head of Business Resilience at Finastra. Erick is a proven leader with well over a decade of experience leading change and transformation in the Operational Resilience field.

His hands-on approach focuses on operational learning, culture, and reputational management. Erick holds a Bachelor of Emergency & Homeland Security, Graduate studies in Security and Disaster Management, is a Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP), Certified Risk Management Professional (CRMP), graduate of the FEMA institute in Incident Management and Command, and is a respected member of Public-Private partnerships within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and  the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Some of his most notable achievements in the field include leading the private sector response to Hurricane Maria as well as working with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in Continuity of Operations (CCOP) projects for mission-critical facilities in the United States. Erick has also trained with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Infectious Disease Planning and community response, including Point of Dispensing initiatives.

From 2016 to 2019, Erick held several roles at Crowley and, most recently, was the company’s Managing Director of Safety & Resilience. During this time, he was responsible for resilience operations supporting all business segments as well as leading the organization’s safety culture improvement journey. At Crowley, he led the Occupational Health & Safety, Business Continuity, and Crisis Management teams.

Before joining Crowley, Erick held similar roles at Southwest Gas and Third Federal Savings & Loan.

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Melissa Agnes

  • Recognized globally as an expert, thought-leader and visionary in the field of crisis management.
  • Has worked with global players, including NATO, the Pentagon (DoD), Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense, financial firms, technology companies, healthcare organizations, cities and municipalities, law enforcement agencies, aviation organizations, global non-profits, etc.
  • Author of Crisis Ready: Building an Invincible Brand in an Uncertain World—ranked amongst the leading crisis management books of all time and named as one of the top ten business books of 2018 by Forbes.
  • Creator of the Crisis Ready Model–which is recognized and being taught as leading industry best practice in universities and higher education curriculums around the world, including at Harvard University.
  • Sits on the panel tasked with developing the International Standard for Crisis Management— ISO 22361, Guidelines for developing a strategic capability.
  • Visiting scholar at D’Youville University, where she co-created and co-teaches a Crisis Ready Program for young college students.
  • Sits on Police Professional Standards, Ethics and Image Committee for the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
  • Global Advisor for The Institute for Strategic Risk Management (ISRM), a global player established to help progress and promote the underlying understanding and capabilities associated with strategic risk and crisis management on a global scale.
  • Leading international keynote speaker on the subject and TEDx alumna.
  • Founder of the Crisis Ready™ Community.
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Licy M. Do Canto

As Executive Vice President and Managing Director in the BCW Public Affairs and Crisis practice, Licy drives healthcare and social impact policy and strategy, and helps shape strategic direction on diversity, inclusion and belonging for the firm and its clients across North America, in public and corporate affairs, government relations, communications, crisis and reputation management. Licy also leads the BCW Healthcare Team in Washington, D.C.

An expert in public affairs, policy and diversity and inclusion, with over twenty five years of experience at the international, national, state and local levels across the nonprofit, philanthropic, corporate and government sectors, Licy is an accomplished, values-driven leader with unparalleled experience in developing and leading integrated public affairs campaigns combining strategic communications, public relations, political/legislative initiatives, policy, coalition building, grassroots efforts and advocacy.

Before joining BCW, Licy built and lead a nationally recognized minority owned strategic public affairs and communications firm, served as Health Practice Chair and Principal at The Raben Group, was the Chief Executive Officer of The AIDS Alliance for Children, Youth and Families, and managed and helped set the leadership direction for strategic policy, communications, and advocacy investments in executive and senior government affairs roles for the American Cancer Society and the nation’s Community Health Centers.

Before joining the private sector, Licy was domestic policy advisor to U.S. Congressman Barney Frank and served in several capacities in the Office of Senator Edward M. Kennedy. During his extensive tenure in Washington, D.C., Licy has played a leading role in efforts to draft, shape and enact legislation and policy to improve the public health, health care safety net and the lives, livelihoods and well-being of the nation’s disadvantaged and underserved communities. 

Licy also has worked with Moet Hennessey to drive diversity and inclusion on Wall Street and corporate America. He has partnered with Vice President Al Gore, senior government officials, scientists, NGOs and activists, on global climate change impact and sustainability across Africa. And he was appointed by Republican and Democrat governors to oversee the conservation, preservation and management of a prominent U.S. national historic landmark.

Licy is a graduate of Duke University and holds a certificate in public health leadership in epidemic preparedness and management from the University of North Chapel Hill—School of Public Health and Kenan Flagler Business School, and is the recipient of multiple industry awards and citations for his leadership, policy and public affairs acumen, including being named to The Hill Newspaper list of most influential  leaders in Washington, D.C. consecutively over the last ten years. As a global citizen, Licy has lived in Turkey and Spain, and is fluent in Spanish and Cape Verdean Portuguese.

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Marylène Ayotte

Marylene is a Life Transformation Consultant, Trainer and Coach licensed with The Brave Thinking and HeartMath Institutes, premier training centers for transformational coaching in California. She also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business and Human Resources Administration and a Master’s Degree in Organizational Communications and Change Management.

Through her professional career and track record of over 20 years as a Coach, HR Executive Leader and Change Management expert in medium and large corporations, Marylène now shares her know-how & proficiencies through inspiring workshops and in-depth, proven and reliable transformational coaching tools and programs.

Marylene’s passion is to inspire in others self-reflection and greater awareness leading to growth mindsets and behavioural changes. As a result, individuals reach and sustain new heights in performance, success and vitality.

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Tom Compaijendion

Working on a future-proof crisis organization

✓ CRISIS MANAGEMENT IS CUSTOMIZATION A lot comes to your organization during a crisis. It is not always easy for employees to switch quickly from daily activities to the ‘crisis position’, with clearly defined roles, tasks, sharp processes and short consultations. Many employees are too little concerned with crisis on a daily basis to be really good at it. In short: crisis management is always tailor-made – and that is not always easy in a crisis situation, in which crisis consultations are often unstructured and go in all directions. I ensure that crisis organizations are better prepared for a crisis through advice, training, training and practice, so that they take the right actions more quickly, maintain confidence in the organization and thus prevent the crisis from becoming a ‘reputation crisis’.

✓ ANALYSIS AND YOUR ENVIRONMENT IN IMAGES A crisis places high demands on communication: the public and stakeholders expect a quick response (within an hour); the reaction must be visible among the thousands of messages on social media and one must take into account that the emotion wins over the ratio. I help organizations to set priorities and, in the midst of the complex playing field, to maintain good coordination with all stakeholders and to take on the role for which the organization is responsible.

✓ IMPACT ON YOUR ORGANIZATION In times of terrorism, (a growing number of) cyber attacks, coronavirus and other crises, knowledge of crisis management and crisis communication is crucial. After all, a crisis poses a risk of (image) damage. Most companies are therefore working on it, but despite the training, it turns out that it does not work well during an exercise. I guide and advise organizations in the transition to a more organized and partly automated information management system.

✓ROADMAP TO PERFECTION Compaijen Crisis Management and Communication has knowledge and experience at all levels: both national (Ministries), local (municipality of Amsterdam, security region) but also international (United Nations, EU consultation). As a trainer, I am one of the few with exceptional crisis experience. This allows me and we are able to convey a clear story with interesting cases and keep things simple. We always aim to make the organization truly better – and not just to complete training.

*Translated from Dutch

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Benjamin Grant

Chief Student Affairs Officer & Title IX Coordinator, D’Youville

BG Grant is an innovative Student Affairs thought-leader, currently based in Buffalo, New York, with over seventeen years of experience across the spectrum of higher education. Specializing in engaging, supporting, and challenging students and the implementation of “what if we…?” Having obtained his undergraduate degrees from Paul Smith’s College and his master’s degree in College Student Personnel Administration from the State University of New York College at Buffalo, BG is currently working on his Doctor of Educational Leadership degree at D’Youville. Outside of work, BG enjoys spending time with his partner Jason and their three furry housemates; Juneaux Bear, Chester B. Arthur, and Saint D’Youville.

Dr. Rafik Chaabouni

Specialities: Cryptography, Security, public key cryptography, range proof, set membership, certificate revocation.

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Peter Willis

My gift is to help individuals and groups of people think wider and deeper together than they might otherwise, especially about matters of critical importance. My current work is to help decision-makers reflect on, and learn from, their response to crisis.

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Detective Frank Rivas

High Tech Professional with diverse,domestic and international background: Business Development, Operations Management, Program/Project Management, Partner Management, Process Improvement. Additional experience includes: asset and brand protection, threat/risk analysis.

Always interested in new challenges, dynamic work environment which provides intellectual stimulation and professional growth.

Specialties: Partner management, supply chain management, Operations Management, Latin American region, Public Safety, Risk/Threat Analysis, Leader / Talent Development

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Shireen Fabing

With almost twenty years of marketing experience, thirteen of which was spent in the telecom industry, Shireen brings with her an experience toolkit which includes marketing, public relations, communications, training & development, fundraising and project management.

She started her career in a PR agency and her portfolio included retail promotions and events as well as various high-profile projects for the City of Cape Town. This position came only a few short years after apartheid was lifted in South Africa and it is what she claims toughened her up for the real world. She built tenacity, resilience and grit in those early years and more importantly, learnt the importance of building contingencies around all events and programs.

When she made the move to Canada in 2002 to join her mom and siblings, she was mentally ready for the challenge of starting a new life. Circumstances found her back at school studying part time, working full time in the PR division of an ad agency, and volunteering for a not-for-profit benefitting at-risk youth. It was in this latter portion of her journey that she found a passion for Sponsorship Marketing & Special Events.

Accepting an entry level marketing position at a large Canadian telco to get her foot in the door, Shireen quickly gained not only the North American experience she was lacking, but also credibility with internal and external stakeholders, with her strongest suite being that she was always prepared for whatever would prove to come. She enjoyed getting to see some of Canada while showcasing some of the biggest concerts, festivals, theme park & sports activations, along with a multitude of innovative product launches.

The personal pride of her career was finding non-traditional sales venues where she successfully “married” marketing tactics and sales with a profitable outcome for the organization.

Shireen’s bio is not complete without talking about her boxing life. Initially she started the sport to help her create a work-life balance, however in 2013, when she was asked to compete in her first sanctioned charity bout, she humbly obliged.

The Fight to End Cancer was founded in 2011 and has donated over $1.5M to date in support of cancer research with proceeds going directly to support the Princess Margaret Cancer Foundation. This didn’t come as a shock to her family, friends or colleagues as they knew she’d be all in for training and fundraising! Training like a fighter was no different from the day-to-day boardroom she was used to – only with gloves, her self-motivation and a will to win! She was the first female corporate fighter to enter the ring for this annual event and with her opponent, they set the stage for future female bouts in coming years as they claimed bragging rights for “fight of the night”.

Today she continues to support the initiative, pursuing the sport as an amateur boxer and boxing coach allowing her to share her passion for the sport that found her.

Shireen spreads the word that she is living proof that you can do whatever you set your mind to, no matter what stage you’re at in life. Her personal mantra – strong is my beautiful – has turned into the driving force that is behind the self- proclaimed “Machine”.

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Gain strategic foresight into the coming months, giving you the tools you need to better anticipate and plan for a stronger future.

COVID-19 continues to affect a great majority of professionals and businesses, leaving them blindsided by its impact and all the uncertainty that came with it. The Crisis Ready® Coaching Program provides you with access to a diverse group of experts, each with unique areas of insight, to help provide you and your team with strengthened foresight to better anticipate and plan for both the risks and opportunities that lay ahead of us all.

Effectively manage through today’s challenges with the help of a diverse group of experts.

From best practices around re-opening, to diversity and inclusion, to managing through the impacts that 2020 has left on your business, the Crisis Ready® Coaching Program is designed to support you through the challenges of today, in order to recover faster and stronger for an even better tomorrow.

Build for a stronger tomorrow by strengthening your team’s skills in issue management, crisis management, and crisis communication.

Between the demands of our social impact economy, the divisiveness of society and the many other challenges in front of us, embedding a crisis ready culture is more important than ever before. Having a team that is trained, poised, and empowered to effectively respond to risk, controversy and other threats, will strengthen stakeholder relationships and increase the brand equity of your organization. This is a powerful opportunity. The Crisis Ready® Coaching Program is specifically designed to equip your team with the tools needed today for launching into a stronger tomorrow.

Melissa Agnes

FOUNDER AND CEO, CRISIS READY INSTITUTE

  • Recognized globally as an expert, thought-leader and visionary in the field of crisis management.
  • Has worked with global players, including NATO, the Pentagon (DoD), Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense, financial firms, technology companies, healthcare organizations, cities and municipalities, law enforcement agencies, aviation organizations, global non-profits, etc.
  • Author of Crisis Ready: Building an Invincible Brand in an Uncertain World—ranked amongst the leading crisis management books of all time and named as one of the top ten business books of 2018 by Forbes.
  • Creator of the Crisis Ready® Model–which is recognized and being taught as leading industry best practice in universities and higher education curriculums around the world, including at Harvard University.
  • Sits on the panel tasked with developing the International Standard for Crisis Management— ISO 22361, Guidelines for developing a strategic capability.
  • Visiting scholar at D’Youville University, where she co-created and co-teaches a Crisis Ready Program for young college students.
  • Sits on Police Professional Standards, Ethics and Image Committee for the International Association of Chiefs of Police.
  • Global Advisor for The Institute for Strategic Risk Management (ISRM), a global player established to help progress and promote the underlying understanding and capabilities associated with strategic risk and crisis management on a global scale.
  • Leading international keynote speaker on the subject and TEDx alumna.
  • Founder of the Crisis Ready® Community.

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