Suddenly thrust into the realm of emergency management with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a crisis compounded by disasters like wildfires, heat domes, and ice storms, Portland, OR-based Metro regional government Strategic and Crisis Communications Manager Kimberlee Ables and her agency responded by operationalizing a Joint Information System, which she described as “literally building the plane while flying it.”
While the Center for Homeland Defense and Security Emergence Program alumna said her agency had created a series of after-actions, processes, and policies, Ables (Emergence cohort 2302) said she saw an opportunity to develop a more comprehensive approach.
That spawned Ables’ Emergence change initiative entitled “Improving the Connection: Crisis and Emergency Response Communications (CERC) Plan,” which she credits her CHDS educational experience with providing her the time, latitude, and assistance to develop.
“By applying for the Emergence Program, I knew I would be forced to dedicate time and delve into the process of finalizing a plan that’s scalable, actionable, and can be replicated,” Ables said. “[The CERC] was something we knew we needed and we finally had the opportunity to address it.”
The agency-wide CERC Plan, according to Ables, is a strategic blueprint designed to ensure effective communication during emergencies, outlining procedures for identifying crisis levels, designating communication roles and responsibilities, and establishing channels for timely and accurate information dissemination.
The plan, she said, “prioritizes clear, consistent messaging to external stakeholders, partners, media, and the public, to maintain trust and minimize misinformation. It also builds on trauma-informed practices to help ensure we are using effective and understandable messages and reaching our most vulnerable populations.”
“It’s a complement to the agency’s Emergency Operation Plan and hopefully will make the communications department more resilient and ready to hit the ground running when the next crisis hits,” Ables said.
She said she has been fortunate to have the full support of her agency’s leadership for the initiative, and has briefed the COO, DCOO, and Director of Communications using several tools built during the Emergence Program especially the required change initiative one-page summary and action plan, which impressed leadership.
Starting with a “strong foundational document,” Ables said she worked closely with the agency’s emergency management team to ensure alignment and find where they could leverage each other’s work.
Ables said she will now continue to work to train more public information officers for her agency and the region, and Metro will also create a training program specific to the new CERC plan and participate in exercises to test it.
“I hope to continue my education in this space and advocate for community input in creating messages, evaluating progress and getting the information to places everyone can access it,” she said.
Ables had high praise for CHDS, the Emergence Program, the instructors, and her cohort.
“I cannot say enough good things about (them),” she said. “I was so nervous walking into this space with detectives, firefighters, military leaders, secret service members, and others who have been in emergency management for years. This program built my confidence, helped me find my voice, and reignited my desire to do more for the public.”
She added that she is “already working to find more projects I can assist with or lead and am especially interested in business resiliency in crisis, which is a bit of a pivot. I am also very intrigued by the work being done to counter malinformation and find ways to prevent radicalization of vulnerable people.”
Ables said she is starting a class at MIT in the fall and knows she will continue building on everything she has learned.
“One of the hidden gems about CHDS is that while you will grow professionally and have your mind blown several times over, it will do even more to expand leadership skills and ability to empathize in your personal space as well,” she said. “I learned so many things I will take wherever I go, professionally and personally.”
