Self-paced. Team-strengthening. Culture-ready.
Led by globally recognized and award-winning crisis communication expert, Melissa Agnes.
You know there’s more to do — more to strengthen, more to align. Because when the pressure hits, your organization’s ability to communicate can either build trust… or unravel it.
That’s not sustainable. And it’s not Crisis Ready.
Complete Crisis Communication Program Built
Walk away with your entire Crisis Communicattion Program structured, strengthened, and ready for cultural integration.
Advanced Crisis Communication Skills Mastered
Develop next-level skills that transform how you lead under pressure and connect with stakeholders when it matters most.
Organizational Buy-In and Support
Finally get the leadership backing and cross-departmental collaboration you need, along with that coveted seat at the table.
In today's world, you're not just managing crises—you're managing them in an environment that's more:
The cost of getting it wrong isn't just professional. It's personal, organizational, and societal. When crisis communication fails, trust erodes, relationships fracture, and opportunities for growth and connection are lost forever.
Welcome, Dear Leader!
If we haven't yet met, let me introduce myself. My name is Melissa Agnes and, amongst other things, I'm the founder of Crisis Ready Institute and I'm really glad you're here.
Since you're on this page, I imagine you're interested in learning more about our world-class Crisis Ready® Course on Mastering the Art of Crisis Communication and Leadership.
While you'll find all the information you need by scrolling through this page, I will take the opportunity (since I have you here) to tell you that this course is designed to take your crisis communication and crisis leadership skills to soaring new heights.
Over the span of 10 weeks and more than 15 hours of learning, exploration, and exercises, you will learn crisis communication best practices that stem from the Crisis Ready Team's deep pool of expertise — and that are not taught anywhere else, giving you a strategic competitive edge.
If you have a passion for crisis comms and/or leadership, and if you're interested in taking your skills to the next level, then you're in the right place. Plus, this is the first step in becoming Crisis Ready® Certified — so if that's an area of interest, then you're definitely where you're meant to be!
To your success,
— Melissa Agnes
Most crisis communication programs focus on basic frameworks and message dissemination. You get certificates, but not transformation. You learn theory, but not the emotional readiness that determines real success.
The Crisis Ready® Difference:
🧩 ️ Comprehensive Integration: Unlike programs that teach isolated tactics, Crisis Ready® integrates mindset, skillset, and capabilities into one cohesive system that actually works under pressure.
❤️ Emotional Intelligence Focus: The missing piece that traditional training doesn't address: how to lead through the emotional complexity that defines every real crisis.
🌱 Cultural Transformation: This isn't individual training that stops at certification. You'r
🤝 Cross-Functional Team Approach: Instead of siloed learning, you're creating shared language and integrated strategy across departments for true alignment when it matters most.
🛟 Ongoing Support: Monthly expert-led AMA sessions ensure you're not left alone after the course ends. Get feedback, guidance, and peer support as you implement.
🎯 Practical Application: Real-world exercises and implementation tools that move you from theory to practice. You're building your actual program, not just learning about programs.
This course is built for real people, real teams, and real organization navigating real risk, uncertainty, and pressure.
And it delivers real transformation.
This isn't passive content consumption. It's a hands-on buildout of your crisis communications program and skillset, guided by a global expert.
Core Components:
🎥 On-Demand Learning, Built for Real Life
Flexible, self-paced instruction designed to meet learners where they are and move them forward fast.
💬 Expert-Led AMA Sessions
Monthly live calls with the Crisis Ready® Team to go deeper, get feedback, and receive guidance as your team builds out your Crisis Comms Program.
📋 Implementation Tools That Drive Action
Fillable workbooks, scenario templates, message maps and frameworks, reflection prompts, and team-based exercises to embed learning in your organization.
🎯 Real-World Transformation
Learn to de-escalate emotion, build trust, and reduce Crisis Response Penalties through effective communication that resonates both internally and externally.
🌱 Team-wide Culture Shift
Move from reactive communication to proactive leadership, where emotion is met with resonance and strategy.
🛡️ Enhanced Brand Protection
Equip your people to communicate with clarity, courage, and trust when reputation is on the line.
📜 Optional Certificate of Participation
Demonstrate your commitment to preparedness and team capability.
📆 12-Month Access to the Program
Return to the content any time, at any pace, and continue building your team’s Crisis Ready® capability as your organization evolves.
🚀 Pathway to Advanced Certification
Graduates can apply to join the 6-month Crisis Ready® Certification program for even deeper mastery.
Modular Overview:
Shift your mindset. Anchor in your values. Set your foundation.
You’ll explore how your mindset shapes actions — and how actions shape outcomes in a crisis. You’ll learn to assess and align your team’s current mindset, and integrate your organization’s core values into every aspect of your crisis communication approach.
Get clear on what can go wrong — and what it means for you.
You’ll define what qualifies as an issue versus a crisis in your unique context, identify high-risk scenarios, and begin mapping the real disruptions your team needs to prepare for.
Structure your response — before the pressure hits.
You’ll define escalation pathways, clarify internal processes, and design a tailored crisis communication program that integrates across departments and functions — so everyone knows what to do, when, and how.
Master the human side of crisis communication.
You’ll learn how to recognize and respond to the emotions that crises trigger — in yourself, your team, and your stakeholders. From stress to overwhelm to despair, you’ll know how to connect through emotion, not just logic — and prevent the Crisis Response Penalty (CRP).
Shape your narrative and own the crisis.
You’ll learn how to layer messaging over time, communicate through complexity, and take a long-term view of narrative ownership. From strategy to scripting, you’ll craft communications that resonate, de-escalate, and build trust.
Make crisis communication a shared, sustained capability.
You’ll gain the tools to embed your program into your organizational culture, secure executive and cross-functional buy-in, and ensure crisis communication isn’t a silo — it’s a shared commitment across your ecosystem.
✅ You’re responsible for crisis communication in your organization. This includes: Comms, PR, HR, Legal, and/or Leadership
✅ You know your team or org isn’t as prepared as it should be
✅ You want more than a templated “plan,” you want to develop a true skillset
✅ You’re ready to lead with confidence and connection — even under pressure
✅ You value integrity, clarity, and culture as crisis assets
✅ You’re done carrying this burden without support or direction
✅ You’re ready to do the work required to meet these goals
If you resonate with this list, you’re going to love and gain so much value from this course!
❌ You’re looking for a quick-fix template to check a box
❌ You don’t believe communication is strategic or essential in times of crisis
❌ You’re unwilling to engage in mindset, emotional intelligence, or cultural integration
❌ You want to “control the narrative” rather than build trust
Globally recognized crisis expert, thought-leader, and visionary in the field of crisis management, Melissa Agnes has guided organizations through their most pivotal moments—from Fortune 500 companies to government agencies including NATO, the Pentagon (DoD), and Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense.
Her expertise spans every sector: financial firms, technology companies, healthcare organizations, cities and municipalities, law enforcement agencies, aviation organizations, global non-profits, and more.
Author of the best selling book: Crisis Ready: Building an Invincible Brand in an Uncertain World. Her book is ranked among the leading crisis management books of all time by Book Authority and named one of the top ten business books of 2018 by Forbes.
Creator of the Crisis Ready® Model: Now recognized as leading industry best practice and taught in universities worldwide, including Harvard University, this methodology transforms how organizations prepare for and respond to crisis.
Melissa's mission is unwavering: In a world addicted to fear and control, true leadership demands coherence, compassion, and courageous connection. Her work prepares leaders not just to withstand challenges, but to rise through them, creating cultures of trust, connection, and transformational impact.
Founder and CEO, Crisis Ready® Institute
Choose the option that fits your team!
Whether you’re enrolling solo, registering your department, or ready to embed this across your organization, we have pricing options to meet you where you are.
Perfect for solo practitioners, consultants, and in-house leaders looking to uplevel their skills.
$1,450 USD (for 1 seat)
Ideal for small teams looking to build shared language, alignment, and trust.
$1,150 USD per seat (2+ seats)
For larger organizations seeking custom onboarding and wide-scale integration.
Starting at $10,000 USD
* Note: Each registration is valid for a single user/license.
All provided materials are the intellectual property of Crisis Ready Institute, protected by copyright law, trademark law, and other U.S. intellectual property laws. Registrants are granted permission to use materials for internal use only within their organization. They are not permitted to resell any elements of the course, worksheets, intellectual property, or program, nor are consultants granted the license to use the resources and IP with their clients, without obtaining a consultant's license to use by joining Crisis Ready® IMPACT.
By submitting your enrolment and payment, you are consenting to these terms, along with the other terms of use defined within our Terms of Service.
This Crisis Ready® Course is designed to meet you where you are — and move you forward, fast.
This course is self-paced, built for real-world professionals with full schedules and high-stakes responsibilities — but you won’t be doing it alone.
Every month, you’ll have the opportunity to join a live AMA session with Crisis Ready® experts, where you can get hands-on support, feedback, and strategic guidance tailored to wherever you are in your course journey and your program development.
Enroll today and begin leveling up one of the most saught after skills in today's world!
We asked our students what their biggest takeaways from this course were. Here’s just some of their replies…
In times of unprecedented change and disruption, ordinary crisis management isn't enough. Build the mindset, skillset, and capabilities that turn your biggest challenges into your greatest opportunities for growth.
Whether you’re an in-house professional, a crisis communication consultant, or an educator who teaches on the subject, the Crisis Ready Newsletter provides tailored content specifically for you.
Paul Damaren is the Global Director of Strategic Accounts for LRQA, a global Assurance Provider. Paul also holds the position of Chief Commercial Officer and Partner at StepUp Solution Services. Paul has worked as a Senior Executive in the Certification space for 10 years and has over 39 years’ experience in the Hospitality, Certification, Service, Retail agri-food and Technology sectors. Damaren is skilled in sales, marketing, certification, operations and software applications and he possesses an MBA from McGill University.
Mr. Damaren has worked with many companies across multiple sectors in supporting their food safety, supply chain, health & wellness, front & back of house operations, brand protection, quality, environmental, health & safety, GMP/GDP compliance, automotive, aerospace, medical, information security and technology requirements.
Paul was formerly a board member and Treasurer for the Ontario Food Protection Association (OFPA) and is a currently an Advisor & Council Member with The GW University School of Business and the Crisis Ready Institute.
Before working in the Certification industry, Damaren was a professional Chef/consultant for 20+ years working in major hotel chains, restaurants, private golf courses and food service organizations. Further, Damaren was a member of the National Canadian Federation of Chefs and Cooks (C.F.C.C.) for 14 years, member of the Region of Waterloo Culinary Association (R.W.C.A.) for 14 years, President of R.W.C.A. (Region of Waterloo Culinary Association) for 3 years, special Events chairman - R.W.C.A. – 1998 – 2000 and National Culinary Ambassador to Russia for 5 years.
Paul’s wealth of knowledge and experience across the span of our services supports his commitment to the ongoing success of our customers.
As we get this membership off the ground, we’re looking to our 2022 inaugural members to be a part of helping us strengthen and tailor this program to meet your needs.
This will involve regular communication with the Crisis Ready Team to provide feedback, share requests for additional ways to support you and your business, etc.
Each Crisis Ready Course is designed to help you strengthen your Crisis Ready® Expertise. Course subjects will include crisis communication, establishing governance, crisis leadership, storytelling for crisis comms, DEI integration, and more.
Each course is complete with:
If you:
... then you will benefit from Crisis Ready Institute's 1:1 coaching and support. This opportunity is retainer-based and is offered exclusively to our consultant and small agency members.
This offering provides personalized coaching and support in:
Monthly retainer*
Hours of support per month
$2,500 USD
Up to 5
$5,000 USD
Up to 10
* This is in addition to the annual membership fee.
Click below...
Have experts review your crisis comms program prior to the course
1:1 Consultation time with a member of the Crisis Ready Team, post the course (per hour)
We're excited to be sharing Sustained Resilience: Building Tomorrow's Leaders with you. Fill in the form below to gain access to demo this course. Once you fill in this form, we'll send you an email with further instructions.
Thank you for the honor of considering this important course for your curriculum. We look forward to sharing in the experience with you!
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.
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.
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.
Licy Do Canto, is a veteran of public policy, corporate strategy, health care communications and diversity and inclusion, is managing director of APCO Worldwide’s Washington D.C. office headquarters and mid-Atlantic region lead. Licy is also a Global Advisory Council (GAC) member here at the Crisis Ready Institute and a highly recognized African-American public affairs, lobbyist and communications strategist— recognized by TheHill newspaper for the 11th consecutive year as one of the most influential leaders in Washington, DC.
Recognized globally as an expert, thought leader and visionary in the field of crisis communication, Melissa Agnes 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, and many others.
In 2020, Melissa founded Crisis Ready Institute, a public benefit corporation dedicated to teaching advanced crisis communication skills.
She's currently passionate about providing dedicated support to crisis communication consultants. Through her programs, she’s focused on helping them strengthen their crisis communication skills and credibility in the market, and supporting them in growing and scaling their business. The work they do is important and she's passionate about helping them amplify the positive impact they have in the world.
Her book, Crisis Ready: Building an Invincible Brand in an Uncertain World, is taught in dozens of universities around the world, including at Harvard University; is ranked amongst the leading crisis management books of all time, by Book Authority; and was named one of the top ten business books of 2018 by Forbes.
Melissa is the creator of the Crisis Ready® Model, which is recognized and being taught as leading industry best practice in the fields of crisis management and crisis communication.
As an in-demand international keynote speaker and a TEDx alumna, Melissa has traveled the world helping organizations and leaders further strengthen their crisis ready mindset, skills and capabilities.
In 2019, Melissa founded the Crisis Ready® Community, a space for professionals to come together to support one another, collaborate and strengthen their crisis ready skills.
Melissa sits on the Board of Directors for ZeroNow, a non-profit committed to ending harmful events in schools.
She also sat on the Board of Trustees for D'Youville University for four years until the end of her term, where she also serves as a visiting scholar for the course she co-created and co-teaches on Crisis Leadership.
Passionate about serving law enforcement and bridging the trust divide between agencies and the communities they serve, Melissa is a former member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). In 2021 she co-chaired a committee tasked with developing a strategy and plan of action to begin resolving the trust crisis in the U.S.
In 2019 and 2020, Melissa sat on the panel tasked with developing the International Standard for Crisis Management— ISO 22361, Guidelines for developing a strategic capability.
Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Melissa currently lives in New York City and enjoys weight-lifting, sailing, and exploring new cities, countries, and cultures.
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.
Founder and Principal, One Thirty Nine Consulting
Global Advisory Council Member, Crisis Ready® Institute
Aaron Marks is the founder and principal of One Thirty Nine Consulting, providing services for small and large businesses in Risk, Crisis, and Consequence Management.
Supporting both domestic and international clients, he provides operational and subject matter expertise in readiness and preparedness, crisis and incident management, and business and operational continuity for complex systems and organizations.
Aaron has provided in-depth review, assessment, and analysis for technology, policy, and operational programs for clients in healthcare, critical manufacturing, and entertainment and hospitality, as well as for state, local, tribal, territorial, and federal governments in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East. 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.
Prior to entering the readiness and preparedness field, 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 FEMA 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.
Chris is the 11th Police Chief of the Mountain View Police Department, located in the heart of Silicon Valley. For more than 25 years, he has served the Mountain View community, and as the department’s leader, is passionate about maintaining MVPD’s role as a progressive law enforcement organization in the 21st century.
Chris is an internationally recognized speaker and columnist on the areas of crisis communications, critical incident management, leadership, and engagement with stakeholder groups. In his time with Mountain View PD, Chris has held a variety of investigative, tactical, and leadership roles, serving in every division in the organization. He is a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government Senior Executives in State and Local Government program and has a master’s degree in eBusiness Management from Notre Dame de Namur in Belmont, CA.
Chris also serves in several leadership positions on multiple boards, including as president on the Government Social Media Leadership Council and committee member on the IACP's Professional Standards, Ethics, and Image Committee. Previously, Chris served as a board member for the Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center and two terms as a commissioner on the City of San Mateo Community Relations Commission.
You can connect with him on Twitter @Chief_Hsiung or LinkedIn.
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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