Crisis Ready Institute

Melissa Agnes

How To Prove To Your Stakeholders That Your Stance Against Racial Inequity is Not a PR Stunt

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We are collectively living through a very powerful and important moment in history. The recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery have led to a long-needed shift that is being felt across this country and around the world. For arguably the first time in history, the world has collectively opened its eyes […]

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Strategies for Strengthening your Brand’s Resilience Amidst Chaos (Free Webinar)

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Join 5 leading crisis experts as we explore and address some of the perplexing questions that surround your organization’s resilience amidst a world of complex chaos. Free 90-minute webinar that will provide you with answers and a strategic path forward.

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Internal Crisis Communication: An Example of True Leadership

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A couple days ago, Crisis Ready Institute blogger Patrice Cloutier, published a great article on A Formula For Helping You Craft Your COVID-19 Crisis Communications. Since then, we’ve seen an example of how two sentences can make all the difference in your crisis communications, when we looked at how Zoom has proven to not be […]

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Is Zoom Crisis Ready? All Indications Point to No.

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While the world slows down and businesses watch their short-term revenue dwindle, some other companies—those that provide a service or product fit for our current circumstances—find themselves in an opportunistic situation. While that opportunity is fortunate—especially the privilege of being in a position to serve the world in its hour of need—it can also come […]

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COVID-19 Crisis Ready Strategy: Think Long-Term and Focus on Emotional Connection

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This is an important—and potentially challenging—message for brands and professionals. If you are, or work for, a brand that does not provide goods or services that help and support the immediacy of the current phase of this COVID-19 pandemic crisis, we know your business is most certainly hurting. We know you are concerned for your […]

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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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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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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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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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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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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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