Continuity of Operations (COOP) and Emergency Planning in Government Training Workshop XXVI

This event qualifies for 1.4 CEUs

Hurricane season is now through October. With last year's series of natural disasters in Texas, Louisiana, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, and the crippling winter storms in the Northeast, is your organization fully prepared to cope with a catastrophic event?

Learn about New COOP Requirements, Federal Government Policy, Best & Proven Practices and what they mean for your organization. The Federal Government’s continuity requirements are currently being updated and this workshop will address new developments and how it will impact your organization. New emphasis has been placed on Federal Career and Newly Appointed Leadership to insure continuity in all mission aspects. There will be no excuses for lack of performance in the event of an emergency. Your agency leadership is more dependent than ever on its COOP personal.

Is your agency management currently satisfied with its COOP Planning, Policy and Execution?
Is your agency prepared for all level of incidents and is it resilient?
Attend this proven Potomac Forum Training Workshop to improve or fine tune your agency COOP planning and policy.

Government and Industry Leaders Present Practical Solutions to Government Continuity of Operations Requirements. This is a “How To” workshop “with proven instructors and guest speakers. Rated as “Excellent” the previous 25 workshop sessions!

Quality Promise – Full Refund if Not Satisfied with the Quality of the Information Presented: Potomac Forum is so confident that each and every attendee will be pleased with the information presented and its value to the government that Potomac Forum will provide a FULL REFUND for any student that does not find the two day workshop of value to their organization.

What’s In It For Me - Instructors will simply and clearly answer the “what’s in it for me” question from the leadership level through, and right down to the individual implementers' level. Learn how to Justify Continuity Efforts to Senior Management and Build Cooperation and Consensus with “Front Line” Leaders. This technique, though simple and easily tailored, is often the key to gain leadership’s buy-in and individual understanding of the complexities involving the many facets of COOP. You will see a simple concept that will allow you to capture, catalog, measure and report on existing Continuity Implementations that already exist within your organization.

This workshop will help advance your program with new strategies, methods and templates. Included in the course materials will be numerous Federal continuity references as well as several ready-to-use templates to advance your program. (Material is Updated to Include the Latest Guidance from NIST, DHS and Administration Initiatives.)

Consider this Workshop...

If you have recently taken over an existing COOP Program and want to ensure that it is up to speed with the government and industry’s best practices
If you have a COOP Program that is just taking off
If you have an established COOP Program and need to find new areas to quickly and easily improve
If you are looking for ways to make your COOP Program execute effectively on a “bad day”
If you are new to the Federal COOP environment
If you are in top leadership and need to learn more about what you are “on the hook” for within COOP
If you are not satisfied with your current agency COOP Plan or Policy
If you have new Agency Leadership and want to be better prepared to discuss COOP

... then this is the session for you to deliver a practical and sustainable Continuity Program that complies with government regulations, best practices and effective management.

What You Will Learn:

Execution - How the development of executable procedures First drives policy development Later
Action Plan - Develop an action plan for tracking progress and delivering a COOP Program that shows regular improvement and due diligence
Telework - How to effectively engage Telework within your COOP Program
Implementation – See methods to rapidly develop a COOP Implementation plan complete with Emergency Response Strategies
Alternate Sites – See proven, easily used techniques to evaluate and better develop seamless activation and functionality of your Alternate Sites
Terminology - Define the various aspects of the COOP Lexicon in understandable terms
IT Relationship - Understand the COOP, IT Infrastructure relationship and how to better connect the two
Funding – Discuss innovative approaches to justify elements of your COOP program

Why You Should Attend:

Learn proven methods that work Smart, but not necessarily Hard, to improve multiplefacets of your COOP Program
Network with colleagues on COOP/DR capability in the Federal, State, Local Government
Take a fresh look at practical experience and proven concepts that can take your program in new directions
Obtain numerous functional Plug and Play Templates that can augment your program immediately
Review the development phases, tasks, and method to deploy personnel for COOP/DR implementations, testing, and exercises
Gain insight into building resilient data centers that scale efficiently
Learn how the cooperation of Continuity of Operation Planning and IT Disaster Recovery is an essential requirement for government emergency preparedness
Understand the reasons why some COOP/DR implementations fail

Who Should Attend:

Program Managers responsible program operation
Senior Leadership who own the COOP Program
Senior Leadership who is Accountable for COOP Planning, Policy and/or Implementation
Middle managers and staff tasked with the development and implementation of COOP
Facility managers of Alternate and Emergency Relocation Sites
IT Managers and Staff tasked with Information Systems Contingency Planning according to NIST SP800-34 Rev. 1 Guidance
IGs, QA Managers and Staff
Procurement Staff responsible for COOP Contracting
Human Resource Managers and Supervisors responsible for Implementing COOP Telework and tracking personnel during emergencies
Industry managers and staff supporting the government

Speaker and Presenter Information

Keynote Speaker:

Richard "Rich" M. Chávez

Director, Office of Operations Coordination, DHS Continuity Coordinator, Department of Homeland Security

Mr. Chávez is a career Senior Executive at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS). As the Director of the Office of Operations Coordination (OPS), he provides counsel directly to the Secretary of Homeland Security on a wide range of operational issues to include prevention, protection, mitigation, response and recovery operations, continuity of operations (COOP), and planning. He leads an office of more than 500 people who are responsible for monitoring the security of the United States on a daily basis, providing national situational awareness, and developing the national common operating picture. His office provides vital decision support information to the Federal interagency, Governors, Homeland Security Advisors, law enforcement, private sector, and critical infrastructure operators across the homeland security enterprise.

Mr. Chávez holds a Bachelor of Science professional degree in Corrections and Law Enforcement from East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. He also holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Golden Gate University, San Francisco, California, and a Master’s degree in Strategic Studies from the Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama.

Guest Speakers:

Kenneth Briscoe

Chief, Readiness Branch, Continuity Division, Department of Homeland Security

Kenny Briscoe has over 25 years of professional service; he is a Retired Military Officer with Special Operation and Combat experience, a Manager in Corporate America and is presently the Chief of the Readiness Branch for DHS. His experience is evident in his broad knowledge and expertise in Business Continuity Planning and Emergency Management/Security Operations. Mr. Briscoe was instrumental in supporting numerous large and complex operations that include, Hurricanes Isabelle, Katrina, Andrew, Fran, Marilyn St. Thomas, Floyd, Uphold Democracy Haiti, Restore Hope Somalia, Desert Shield and Desert Storm

Kenny holds a Masters in Security Management/Emergency Planning, is a DRII Certified Business Continuity Planner, is Six Sigma (Green Belt) certified and a published author. His book is titled “Disaster Management & COOP Handbook”. Kenny has developed and implemented numerous programs and process improvement procedures within the Federal Government and National Capitol Region for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Joint Staff, Defense Information Systems and Department of Homeland Security.

Veronica (Roni) M. Glass

Deputy Director, Continuity Division, Office of Operations Coordination, Department of Homeland Security

Veronica M. Glass (fondly known as “Roni”) started her public and professional service working for legacy U.S. Customs Service24 years ago before it was bridged with the Department of Homeland Security and became Customs and Border Protection. Her body of work of 33 years in public service has exposed her to vast opportunities at all levels of management. Her experience with the changing world of IT afforded her the unique opportunity to be asked to help revitalize the CBP Continuity Program. Previously she was the owner and Program Manager for the Headquarters Customs and Border Protection Continuity of Operations (COOP) Program within the National Capital Region (NCR). Ms. Glass coordinated and had complete COOP oversight and responsibility not only for CBP Headquarters, but CBP field locations. Recently, Ms Glass was selected for a Department level position as Chief, DHS Headquarters Section, Mission Assurance Branch, Continuity Division for the Department of Homeland Security.

At the Departmental-level Ms. Glass is responsible for department-wide coordination / integration of COOP policy and plans on all levels of contingency planning surrounding potential threat conditions. Ms. Glass has daily COOP programmatic oversightfor at least 26 components. She has been working in the Emergency Management field for the last nine years and has taken every opportunity with the new challenges to become as informed and trained on continuity and emergency planning as possible. Ms. Glass has completed coursework with the Disaster Recovery Institute (DRI) and is a candidate for certificationas a Certified Business Continuity Planner (CBCP). She has also completed coursework in Information Assurance (IA) and continuity planning at the Department of Defense (DoD) Information Resource Management College (IRMC), Fort McNair. Ms. Glass is passionate about her challenge of emergency management, working with the people she meets and championing the cause of COOP whenever and wherever she can.

Elizabeth Voeller, PMP, ABCP

Incident Response, Emergency Management, Cyber Risk Management/Security Consultant

Vice President of the Mid Atlantic Disaster Recovery Associate (MADRA)

Program Manager, eGlobalTech (eGT)

Elizabeth Voeller is a Program Manager at eGlobalTech where she provides consulting support on cyber risk management, incident response, emergency management, and strategic communications to the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of Information Security. Prior to that, Ms. Voeller spent 8 years at Booz Allen Hamilton as a Lead Associate supporting Federal business continuity/COOP, critical infrastructure analysis, strategic planning and communications, and emergency management programs. She has facilitated national level exercises and senior leadership meetings for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), written Congressional briefings for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), drafted and rolled out national-level plans for DHS, and developed pandemic response tools and emergency communications curriculum for the Department of Defense (DoD) PACOM and USAFRICOM. She has a Masters degree in International Affairs from American University and an Bachelors degree in Political Science and English from Hamline University in Saint Paul, MN. Ms. Voeller is currently the Vice President of the Mid Atlantic Disaster Recovery Association (MADRA, a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), and a DRII-certified Associate Business Continuity Professional (ABCP).

Dean Gallup

Disaster Recovery Consultant

Vice President for Planning with the Mid Atlantic Disaster Recovery Association (MADRA)

Co-author of NIST SP800-34 Revision 1 Contingency Planning Guide for Federal Information Systems

Dean Gallup, MBCP, is a co-author of NIST SP800-34 Revision 1 Contingency Planning Guide for Federal Information Systems. He has over 25 years experience in management and operation of large-scale critical information systems and Disaster Recovery and Contingency Planning for both the public and private sector. He has IT management experience in 24/7 data center operations, including implementations, disaster recovery management and planning, IT COOP development, and risk and impact analyses for Federal and state agencies and military organizations. His experience includes over thirty years of emergency management training and operations in both the fire service and emergency medicine.

Mr. Gallup is a Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Consultant with Advantaged Solutions, Inc., developing contingency and continuity plans for a Department of Defense agency. He has developed COOP, disaster recovery, continuity and contingency plans for federal civilian and defense agencies for over 10 years. Additionally, he managed the installation and implementation of the Virginia Tax computer system and development of their disaster recovery strategy. Mr. Gallup spent 17 years at the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, serving as Manager of Computer Operations, and overseeing the implementation and operation of the Statewide Automated Fingerprint Identification System (SAFIS), one of the largest automated fingerprint systems in the world at the time.

INVITED: Calvin W. Turner, Jr.

Director, OFCO, National Finance Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

Calvin W. Turner, Jr. is the Director of the National Finance Center (NFC). Mr. Turner joined NFC in October 2011, as the Deputy Director, and most recently, he was the Acting Director. Prior to joining NFC, Mr. Turner had more than 20 years of leadership experience in the banking industry with Whitney National Bank, Hibernia National Bank, and the Federal Reserve Bank.

He was also an Associate Instructor with the University of Phoenix at the New Orleans campus, and he was the owner of two small businesses.

Mr. Turner is active in the community and frequently volunteers as on-air talent with WYES TV/Channel 12 Public Television to help raise money with their pledge drives, and he has served on the boards of numerous local community organizations. Mr. Turner has a Master’s degree in Public Administration and an undergraduate degree in Business Management and Communications.

Joe Douglas, ABCP

Continuity Program Manager, US International Trade Commission

Joe Douglas is a recognized expert within continuity operations COOP and emergency planning. Previously he was the Director of the ICE ITS Continuity of Operations Practice based in Reston, Virginia. He has planned and executed continuity efforts for DHS, Customs and Border Protection, US Coast Guard and Department of Justice. He is currently the Continuity Program Manager for the US International Trade Commission.

Prior to this engagement he supported DHS with emergency relocation site planning and led the tactical continuity planning and implementation of CBP’s Continuity Program. Joe has performed as an exercise controller in Eagle Horizon and National Level Exercises. He developed the alternate site reception plan for US Coast Guard Commandant Staff and completed the IT Contingency Plan for DOJ’s Consolidated Asset Tracking System. He was a trusted agent in Forward Challenge 2004 and has been instrumental in the planning, outfitting and accreditation of Sensitive Compartmented Information Facilities (SCIF) within the Continuity Community.

Joe previously served as an officer in the United States Coast Guard performing both operational and staff duties that included coordination of directorate-level Year 2000 (Y2K) contingency planning. Mr. Douglas holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Appalachian State University.

Relevant Government Agencies

Air Force, Army, Navy & Marine Corps, Intelligence Agencies, DOD & Military, Office of the President (includes OMB), Dept of Agriculture, Dept of Commerce, Dept of Education, Dept of Energy, Dept of Health & Human Services, Dept of Homeland Security, Dept of Housing & Urban Development, Dept of the Interior, Dept of Justice, Dept of Labor, Dept of State, Dept of Transportation, Dept of Treasury, Dept of Veterans Affairs, EPA, GSA, USPS, SSA, NASA, Other Federal Agencies, Legislative Agencies (GAO, GPO, LOC, etc.), Judicial Branch Agencies, State Government, County Government, City Government, Municipal Government, CIA, FEMA, Office of Personnel Management, Coast Guard, National Institutes of Health, FAA, Census Bureau, USAID, National Guard Association, EEOC, Federal Government, State & Local Government, FDA