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| Quick Links |
For information regarding the All Hazards Consortium, please visit www.ahcusa.org
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| Greetings! |
Welcome to the All Hazards Consortium winter newsletter. We look forward to providing regular updates to all members regarding the important work being done within the mid-Atlantic region. It is our hope that this proves to be a valuable method of communicating the progress of various efforts being undertaken by the AHC.
We would also like to provide an opportunity for our member states and private sector, university and non-profit partners to submit brief articles on news or information relevant to the mission of the Consortium. We invite you to share any other ideas or suggestions you might have.
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| AHC Board News |
The All Hazards Consortium welcomes the newest member to the Board, Mr. John Gibb, Director of the New York State Emergency Management Office (SEMO).
Mr. Gibb, who has served in this capacity since December 2005 (and previously at SEMO from 1987 through 2001) has extensive knowledge and experience in emergency response, local emergency preparedness, emergency planning and emergency worker training. He has served as the State Coordinating Officer for four federally-declared disasters/ emergencies in New York State. In that role, Director Gibb coordinated the response of State agencies to assist local governments and coordinated the delivery of State and federal disaster assistance to thousands of New Yorkers.
Prior to returning to SEMO, Mr. Gibb served with the New York State Office of Homeland Security and was the Executive Director of the New York State Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Task Force. He was responsible for administering the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Grant programs for New York State.
Mr. Gibb has also had numerous operational assignments in response to disasters and emergencies including serving as the Deputy State Coordinating Officer for the World Trade Center response, where he coordinated State operations in New York City following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. We are honored to have John join us on the AHC Board of Directors.
In 2008, the Board has worked to put new policies in place and discussed new initiatives that will continue to improve collaboration within the region. New summit meetings were approved including the Border Coordination Summit (looking at coordinating at state borders during a catastrophic evacuation), a CIP Interdependencies Summit (looking at bringing public and private sector partners together to collaborate and coordinate on interdependencies for critical infrastructure), as well as a regional GIS Workshop which brought together GIS leaders from 9 states to work on coordinating GIS efforts with catastrophic evacuation efforts.
In 2009, the Board will continue work on communication and procurement policies, organizational structure, and future planning strategies.
A listing of Board officers can be found on the AHC website at www.ahcusa.org.
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| AHC Working Group News |
The Critical Infrastructure Protection Working Group has new leadership. Former Chair Bud Mertz (PA) transitioned to a position with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) to assist in evacuation planning and is succeeded by Joe Conrey, CIP Coordinator, NJ Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness. Joe has been a member of this Working Group since its inception and brings extensive experience in field operations. New Jersey hosted a CIP Interdependencies Summit Meeting in November 2008 to integrate efforts with private sector owners and operators. The current focus of the Working Group is to update white paper recommendations and conduct a webinar series on the CIP sectors defined in the NIPP. AHC representation on the newly created DHS RCCC (Regional Consortium Coordinating Council) includes Mike McAllister (VA) and Kris Nelson (MD) who attended a meeting in Colorado in October 2008 to lay the groundwork for this effort.
The Emergency Management Working Group collaborated on a regional multi-state grant application, with the RCPGP grant awarded in July. This group's energy has been directed toward the projects and planning connected with this grant.
The Information Sharing and Intelligence Working Group, chaired by Rich Kelly, Director of the NJ ROIC (Regional Operations Intelligence Center), will be re-formed in 2009 to update the white paper and collaborate with the CIP Working Group on topics such as cyber and port security issues.
The Public Safety Communications and Interoperability Working Group is focusing on a regional capability assessment project. Working Group members Jon Spanos, Constance McGeorge and Rocky Lopes were invited to collaborate with the OEC on the newly formed Communications Assets Tracking (CAT) Stakeholder Working Group. The Interoperability Working Group is also actively working with FEMA's RECCWG to ensure the group's efforts are coordinated. A spring 2009 meeting and/or workshop will be held.
A regional Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) Working Group is forming from the GIS Workshop held in Maryland at Towson University in July 2008. Their current focus is to finalize the white paper report that was generated by all nine states and identify multi-state projects based on the recommendations of the report.
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| Regional Project and Grant News |
CIP - The New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) is currently working with the State of New Jersey to produce a baseline assessment of CIP interdependencies projects in our region. If you have knowledge of any efforts in this area, please send an email to info@ahcusa.org.
Interoperability - The AHC Interoperability Working Group has begun work toward a Regional Baseline Capability Assessment study. Current work includes framing a Statement of Work.
Emergency Management - Under the auspices of the highly successful Border Coordination Summit Meeting held in October, the AHC is compiling a conference summary report that identifies the three top issues per function that exist in Border Coordination efforts. In addition, a report identifying existing catastrophic planning organizations, task forces and efforts as they relate to multi-state border coordination issues will be produced.
Regional Catastrophic Planning Grant Program - The six FEMA Region III states that participated in the RCPGP grant are currently compiling their project plans for the grant projects. Each state is leading a particular effort.
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| Upcoming AHC Events |
All Hazards Consortium Executive Briefing - On Monday, December 22nd, the Consortium will be hosting an Informational Seminar at the Greenbelt Marriott in Greenbelt, Maryland. This seminar will focus on how the All Hazards Consortium is helping to facilitate:
- Regional workshops and white papers
- Regional summit meetings and reports
- Regional planning and grant efforts
- Coordination and partnership with federal agencies
For more information, please email info@ahcusa.org.
Walk up registrations are also welcome.
CIP Interdependencies Webinar - The Consortium is now in the planning stages for a proposed CIP Interdependencies webinar. Each segment will focus on a CIP sector with representation from the private sector, owner/operators and states participating.
GIS Webinar Series - The Consortium is exploring the possibility of a GIS webinar series that will expand upon the information presented at the recent GIS workshop.
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| AHC Web Portal Update |
The AHC is updating its information portal that is being used by member states. This is a secure information portal that is used as a collaboration tool for all AHC activities including events, projects, white papers, etc.
The AHC Board of Directors and government Working Group members also utilize this tool to support information-sharing state-to-state in a secure, private forum. In addition, the portal will house a section just for private sector, university, and non-profit members to access non-secure information and share information with the states including solutions, white papers, research, etc.
This secure portal will also be used to support regional grant and project activity. The AHC will be involved in several regional projects in 2009 and this will serve as an important collaboration tool going forward. | |
| AHC Corporate Partner Spotlight |
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SUN Microsystems was among the first supporters of the All Hazard Consortium model in 2004. Their vision for how states and private sector might collaborate and share information was shared by many and has served as a foundational building block to the AHC's philosophy. SUN has been a supporter since that time and is focused on helping the states and their federal partners continue working with the private sector toward coordinated regional preparedness and information sharing.
Sun Microsystems / Sun Microsystems Federal is one of only a few U.S. OEM manufacturers who is truly a technology owner and innovator. Sun designs, manufactures and owns the technologies deployed across the federal sector that call for the most stringent enforcement of security policies in the protection of either the individual or data. Sun is the market leader in secure operating systems and middleware, providing a platform for many applications handling classified content.
Key features and benefits of our enterprise solution sets include:
· Reduction in the cost of operations, maintenance and modernization
· Increased performance (capacity, responsiveness & availability) at lower costs
· Reduction in electrical power consumption, space & cooling
· Innovative thinking on implementation of a more cost-effective solution
· Proven scalability and increased data security
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