Virtually CRISIS Conference

Wednesday October 7, 2020

Dr. Mario Hardy

Dr. Timothy Coombs

Mr. Daryl Black

Mr. Billy Nolen

Dr. Chaseten Remillard

Dr. Vincent Covello

Dr. Deena Hinshaw

Dr. Chris MacLennan

Dr. Rob Britton

Ms. Emily O’Brien

Dr. Christiani Thompson

Thursday October 8, 2020

Ms. Amanda Coleman

Mr. Greg Solecki

Mr. Darren Butt

Mr. Shane Schreiber

Ms. Shawna Bruce

Mr. Josh Bowen

Mr. Bob Jensen

Dr. Chaseten Remillard

Dr. Sweta Chakraborty

Dr. Steve Joordens

Dr. Satymoorthy Kabilan

Mr. Zack Ziolkowski

Dr. Athena Madan & research team

Dr. Mario Hardy

CEO, Pacific-Asia Travel Association

COVID 19 & The Future of Tourism

While the media are flooding us with statements and updates; the tourism sector is desperately looking for ways to reopen and manage a situation that is constantly evolving. The tourism sector will take years to recover; so how does an industry that contributes to more than 10% of global GDP get back on track?

Dr. Timothy Coombs

Professor, Texas A&M University

From Ordinary to the Extraordinary: Evidence-based Crisis Communication Advice

Crisis communication research can help the practice by identifying when particular crisis response strategies are effective and ineffective—offering tested advice to practitioners. Practitioners then interpret that advice through their own experiences. Dr. Coombs will highlight some of the best advice academic crisis communication research has to offer. He will cover the advice that seems to work in “ordinary” crises and what could help in extraordinary crises.

Mr. Daryl Black

Crisis Leadership Trainer & Coach

JUST Make a Decision Already!- Decision-Making Concepts Proven to Work During Uncertain Times

Leadership is simple when the road is straight, well-lit and predictable. Processes are well-established, tried and tested. Chains of command are well-established and authorities entrenched and followed. Information is clear, validated, accurate and consistent. No problem.

In 2020 we no longer have to imagine what it would be like to have processes obliterated, information ever-changing if even available and personal and organizational stress at an all-time high. Decision-making went from a predictable cycle and rhythm (budget cycles, operational tempo during certain times of the year etc.) to ad hoc, chaotic and unpredictable as leaders found themselves navigating in uncertain times. The organizational rules put in place to allocate resources and maintain business operations during regular business were exactly the rules that hampered progress and crippled overly-analytical individuals and teams.

To adapt to the environment principles of decision-making must be put in place to allow for flexibility, provide momentum and avoid the dreaded ánalysis paralysis.” Fortunately experienced crisis leaders are very used to operating in volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous environments where decisions HAVE to be made to solve the thousands of problems that arise during a crisis. Using his extensive experience and real-life anecdotes Daryl will outline 5 Decision-Making Principles For Uncertain Times so that you, the leader can re-capture momentum, avoid analysis paralysis and allow you, your team and organization to be agile and adapt to ever-changing conditions.

Crisis leadership is about reacting quickly to the curves and hazards on the road and to do that means changing how leaders gather information, the level of information needed and ACT. It’s about ACTING, ASSESSING and ADJUSTING.

Mr. Billy Nolen

Vice President, Safety, Security & Quality at WestJet

WestJet’s Response to COVID-19

Mr. Billy Nolen shares some insights on WestJet’s response to COVID-19 and how the airline had to adjust to the new impacts of the pandemic while maintaining the priority of safety for crew and passengers

Dr. Chaseten Remillard hosts a panel discussion with Dr. Vincent Covello, Dr. Deena Hinshaw, and Dr. Chris MacLennan

COVID-19 Panel Discussion

Join world-leading risk communication expert, Dr. Vincent Covello in discussion with the Province of Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Deena Hinshaw and Global Affairs Canada Associate Deputy Minister, Dr. Chris MacLennan. Research and theory put into practice amidst success and challenges in managing and communication COVID-19

Dr. Rob Britton

Former, Director American Airlines

Marketing Communications at American Airlines after the “9/11” Terrorist Attacks in 2001

In this session Rob reviews:
Advertising, direct marketing, and media relations at American Airlines following the 9/11 attacks. Provide an assessment of our management of the crisis and provide a Fast forward to 2020: perspectives on COVID. There will be time for questions and discussions.

Ms. Emily O’Brien,

Founder, ComeBack Snacks

Coming Back From Behind

Emily O’Brien is the founder of Comeback Snacks popcorn company. It all started when she went to prison. Before, Emily was an entrepreneur and social media professional, having created her own firm at a young age and enjoyed great success. Regrettably, addiction caused her to make some poor choices that culminated in a four-year jail term.

As her sentence began, Emily made it her mission to transform herself, get clean, and make a positive difference during her term. “I didn’t know how I’d make a difference at the time,” says Emily, “but I knew I would find something I cared about that would benefit from a purpose-driven facelift.”
Thus, Comeback Snacks (formerly known as Cons and Kernels)was born.

Upon her release, Emily made a decision to start a popcorn company that used high quality, health-conscious ingredients to create unique flavours inspired by the ones she found in prison. A fun, self-deprecating brand that would also help remove the stigma around people who had prior convictions and provide newly-released offenders with the chance at a fresh start through training, empowerment, and education.

Ms. Christiani Thompson

Professor & Researcher

Social Media and COVID-19

Christiani (Chris) Thompson will be presenting on behalf of Dr. Shandell Houlden.
In a time of an unprecedented global pandemic, health-related crisis communication on digital channels needs to reach those who need it most. This presentation will examine people’s engagement with COVID 19 related information, including reasons they give for feeling that different sources of information are credible. It will look at social media habits that people use to access COVID-19 related health information, and it will show how content, relationships, and identity make up a complex web of influence for health-related message sharing.

Ms. Amanda Coleman

Senior Associate, Centre for Crisis & Risk Communications

Being Human in a Crisis

The most important part of communicating through a crisis is to remember the people, according to crisis communication consultant and author Amanda Coleman. In this session she will use personal experience to provide practical suggestions about building humanity and empathy into your planning, response and long term recovery.

Mr. Greg Solecki hosts a panel discussion with, Mr. Shane Schreiber, Mr. Darren Butt, Ms. Shawna Bruce, and Mr. Josh Bowen

Emergency Management & PIO Panel Discussion

Mr. Bob Jensen

Senior Managing Director at Strat3 LLC.

10 Critical Elements of a Crisis Communication System

We are all discovering how hard it can be to do everything virtually. In this session, Bob explores the “system” as opposed to just pieces of crisis communications like messaging or plans or equipment.

Dr. Chaseten Remillard

Professor & Researcher, Royal Roads University

Questions and Potential Solutions to Reaching Millennials and Generation Zers During a Pandemic

Getting the right message to the right people is critical in a crisis situation. In the early days of the pandemic, communication was critical in communicating the general risks and updating the public on proper protocols. After the initial lockdowns, and during reopening, numbers of infections increased in a younger demographic. How do we effectively communicate to younger people about the risk of CoVid-19? In this presentation, Dr. Chaseten Remillard discusses preliminary questions and potential solutions to reaching Millennials and Generation Zers during a pandemic, such as COVID-19.

Dr. Sweta Chakraborty

Risk & Behavioral Scientist

How Risk Perceptions Fuel Decision Making and Behavioral Outcomes for COVID-19 and Beyond

COVID-19 is a prime example of how our innate biases influence our perceptions of risk. Beyond COVID, there are looming global challenges ahead that we can only overcome if we make decisions informed by data and science. Unfortunately, there are a host of unrelated triggers that influence our risk perceptions, which then fuel our decisions and ultimately our behavioral outcomes. We CAN overcome the cognitive limitations of our brains, and it starts with understanding, admitting to, and gaining control of our innate biases.

Dr. Satymoorthy Kabilan

Executive Partner, Gartner

Building Digital Resilience

Technology has radically altered the shape of many industries and our personal lives. It has also had a similar impact on crisis management and communication – you only need to look at the impact that social media has had in the last decade or so to see that. But the digital revolution has not only altered crisis communication – it has had significant impact on how we prepare for and manage modern emergencies. Digital technologies now play a fundamental role in enabling resilience. What can we learn from the impact of technology in recent emergencies and how can we leverage those lessons to increase our resilience to future emergencies from a digital perspective?

Mr. Zack Ziolkowski

Alberta Counsel

New Normal: Advocacy and Communication in the wake of social distancing

Advocacy and communication are such personal aspects of our world, and social distancing has removed the opportunity for in-person communications. In this session, Zack will discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated a shift to a virtual advocacy strategy and how that has complicated traditional methods of government relations. He will cover widely available tools that can overcome new limitations and help you reach and activate your audience.