Available in choice of two formats:   MP3 Download $15  or  Compact Disc $23

Social Media Open Forum
Track(s): Public Education

Tod Aubin, Prepare4;
Lorraine Carli and Michael Hazell, NFPA;
Ed Comeau, Center for Campus Fire Safety;
Bill Delaney, Montgomery County Fire Rescue;
Michael Rupert, Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs

Audio Sample:




Join the social media discussion. This session, moderated by Lorraine Carli, NFPA's Vice President–Communications, will provide you with practical suggestions and tips on creating and maintaining a social media presence. Panel members will provide brief overviews of their experiences and then the floor will be open to questions and a group discussion to share ideas and lessons learned from the audience.

Tod Aubin, Owner of Prepare4 a Emergency Management Consulting Company. Tod is a Disaster Service Worker registrant in Emergency Service for San Diego County CERT. He is also a member of the Ready San Diego Business Alliance and the FEMA Preparedness Task Force-Private Sector Stakeholder. Tod conducts bilingual emergency awareness and preparedness classes throughout San Diego County. He also produces public service announcement and short documentary videos.

Lorraine Carli, NFPA's vice president of communications, oversees all media and public affairs activities including NFPA's key publication, NFPA Journal, and the NFPA website. Ms. Carli works with staff throughout NFPA on a variety of media and advocacy issues in all areas of fire and life safety and is responsible for ensuring that timely, consistent messages are disseminated throughout the media. Lorraine establishes media policy and practice for NFPA for both traditional and social media.

Mike Hazell is Web Publisher for NFPA. In this role, Mike establishes and directs strategic goals for content on NFPA's Web properties. Mike was on the team that developed new pages on NFPA's website which offer detailed information on each of the association's more than 300 codes and standards. He also oversees several other online projects for NFPA, including the recent redesign of the NFPA website, managing the Home Fire Sprinkler Initiative website, writing for several NFPA blogs, and helping oversee the Association's other social media outlets. Mike has been with NFPA for 20 years -- long before the term "social media" was invented.

Ed Comeau is publisher of Campus Firewatch and former chief fire investigator for NFPA. He wrote the chapter on campus fire safety for the NFPA Fire Protection Handbook and has served as the project manager for a number of campus-related federal grants. He works with Congress on federal legislation is the manger of the annual Capitol Hill Day for college students in Washington and is coordinator for the national annual Campus Fire Safety Month campaign.

Bill Delaney has been a member of the fire service for over 28 years. Bill a career firefighter with the City of Fairfax (VA) Fire & Rescue for approximately 17 years and a volunteer fire fighter with the Burke (VA) Volunteer Fire Department 2 years prior. He is currently a Program Manager w/ Montgomery County (MD) Fire & Rescue who manages the fire injury prevention programs and, for the last 3 years, has developed, and managed, the department's social media sites. In the Washington, DC Metro area, Bill is considered a leader in the public safety social media field. Bill is a nationally recognized speaker presenting at such conferences as the Firehouse Expo, Fire-Rescue International, NFPA, MA Public Fire and Life Safety, Mid-Atlantic Life Safety (MD), WI Fire Prevention, and the Missouri Valley IAFC Fire & Life Safety. He has attended the NFA as well as the EMI receiving certificates in fire and injury prevention programs and emergency operations.

Michael Rupert is the communications manager for the DC Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. Michael has a master's degree from Georgetown University and regularly speaks on the power of social media for local government communications. Michael also moderates the weekly international online forum #localgovchat for government communicators.