Ep 98 | Are Your Girls Prepared?

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Overall, within emergency management in the entire United States, there's only 34.8% of female representation. So public safety as a whole, it has a lot of different divisions and fields within public safety itself. So we are introducing other fields that are allies to emergency management to show them that females do do these things. They are in these roles. So it's not only emergency management that we're exposing them to, but the allied fields as well as county government, just to show that it's all a positive force and we all work together for the same goal.

SPEAKER_00 0:43

Welcome to the Voices United in Education podcast. Each week we showcase the teachers, administrators, and community members who go the extra mile to contribute to the success of every student in Escambia County. You'll meet the real people behind the titles and learn about the amazing resources to support every student's success. My next guest is working to make sure everyone knows that positions in emergency management and public safety are ready for female leaders. She's a meteorologist and the program manager for Hurricane Escambia, that's H-E-R. It's a girls' summer camp to help rethink and improve outreach and engagement around emergency preparedness. Today she's going to share how female leaders in Escambia County are uniting to empower and invest in the next generation. Coordinating and collaborating, Emergencies and Emerging Leaders, Scotland Williams. I'm so glad you're here.

SPEAKER_01 1:51

Yes, me too. Thank you so much for having me.

SPEAKER_00 1:53

I have a confession. Okay. I don't think I ever had given much thought to the behind the curtain of emergency management or public safety before learning about the Hurricane Scambia program. So how did you find out about it? What inspired you to get into this field?

SPEAKER_01 2:12

So, as you mentioned, I am a meteorologist. And so I used to be on TV serving as a broadcast meteorologist in Mississippi where I graduated from Mississippi State. Knowing that I kind of wanted to transition out of the TV industry, but continue to stay in the field of weather and meteorology, emergency management was the perfect transition. And I had had some friends go into emergency management. So I kind of used them as mentors to guide me through it all. And it was such a smooth transition. And I still get to use my weather knowledge and be a meteorologist all at the same time. And it's the best of both worlds. I get to tell people the forecasts and the impacts that are expected, but I also get to help them after the fact, too, with emergency management.

SPEAKER_00 2:54

And who inspired you to get into meteorology? Because that's never also been anything that was ever on my radar. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:02

So Alan Seals, he recently retired. So he was chief meteorologist most recently for NBC 15 in Mobile. And when I was in elementary school, he would always come and be a speaker and presenter. And I was so interested and so intrigued with everything he had to say. Um, and so everything really came full circle too. Last year, actually I got to reconnect with him as a meteorologist. So now we're weather colleagues too, and he's not only my weather inspiration.

SPEAKER_00 3:29

Oh my gosh, that's amazing. And so I obviously you gushed and were like, oh my gosh, I watched you as a kid. What was his reaction?

SPEAKER_01 3:38

He hugged me and thanked me and told me he was so proud of me. And, you know, it was years ago when I was in elementary school, and he probably didn't remember me, but he remembered going to the school, which was Perdito School in Alabama. Um, he remembered going to be a speaker there. And so, yeah, like I said, it was just really full circle and it was it was great.

SPEAKER_00 3:59

That's great evidence too that you never know what impact you're making. And so it makes sense that now you're involved with Hurricane Escambia because that's also an impact-making program. Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 4:10

And I mean, I've said this before and I'll say it again: the impacts we have in our lives as adolescents and as children, it really impacts the trajectory of our future. And so that happened to me, and that's what we're hoping for these girls that will be attendees of Hurricane Escambia. How did you get inspired to bring that program to Escambia County? So this camp started in Arlington, Virginia in 2017. And so since then it has spread throughout the United States and into Florida. I attended Hurricane Walton in Walton County last summer as a mentor and as a speaker. I was speaking on the topic of meteorology. And I just knew that I had to bring it to Escambia County because I saw how impacted the girls were and how much they were enjoying the camp and everything they got to experience and learn about. Um, so being the only female though in Escambia County Emergency Management, I knew I had some work to do to involve other females to help me plan this because this is hurricane, H E R, all about the girls.

SPEAKER_00 5:10

So wow, and it is a lot of planning. It is. I think this is a good time to elaborate on just how many coordinating efforts had to go into this because you are pulling from all corners of Escambia County, finding not just the best of the best, but the best of the best and female, yeah, and who are willing and available to come and be visible for these girls so that they can see that they can feel the representation of women in public safety. So can you go into detail about who's gonna be at the camp and what their specialties are?

SPEAKER_01 5:46

Absolutely. So yes, I am the program manager, but I have not done any of this alone. We do have a Hurricane Escambia advisory board. So emergency management is within public safety. So we have a couple of other public safety representatives that are on the advisory board, Kelly Go, Tamika Williams. Um, and then we also have Crystal Belrevera. She works for West Florida Public Library, she's on the advisory board, as well as Vanessa Phillips with Escambia County Department of Health, and then Chandra Dinkins, she works in public safety for EMS billing. So all of us have been planning for the last year, and we have so many representatives from around the county coming to be speakers and presenters for different activities for these girls. We have Escambia County public safety representatives. So a female from EMS will be teaching the girls CPR. We have the deputy director of Escambia County Communications. She will be going over See Something, Say Something. The girls will be able to listen in on some 911 calls and learn all about that. We have Chief Jenny Craner from she's the fire chief in for the Pensacola Fire Department. She will be coming and teaching them how to use a fire extinguisher. We have Scambia County Sheriff's Office female coming to teach them a self-defense course. Oh my gosh, that's so exciting. I mean, we have so many women coming and they're gonna learn so many things throughout camp and it's only four days long. So we are jam-packed. Are they gonna be CPR certified? Yeah. So the Scambia County EMS employee will teach them CPR and they will be certified by the end of that day. Wow.

SPEAKER_00 7:17

Okay, so why would this sort of camp matter for girls who don't go into public safety? What why would it benefit them?

SPEAKER_01 7:26

So overall, within emergency management in the entire United States, there's only 34.8% of female representation. So public safety as a whole, it has a lot of different divisions and fields within public safety itself. So we are introducing other fields that are allies to emergency management to show them that females do do these things. They are in these roles. So it's not only emergency management that we're exposing them to, but the allied fields as well as county government, um, just to show that it's all a positive force and we all work together for the same goal. I love that. Yeah. So it's it sounds like it's a confidence booster. It is. And of course, the main focus is disaster preparedness, but we are exposing these girls to so many things. We want to overall improve outreach and engagement around disaster and emergency preparedness. But I think that exposing them to so many different fields shows them that it's not only public safety that you can get into. We will have mentors from legal services of North Florida. So a disaster attorney that's a female will be there as a mentor. I mean, they will be exposed to just so much.

SPEAKER_00 8:38

Wow. I can just imagine their little faces taking this all in. Yeah. Because there really is something to when you're thinking as a kid, as an adolescent, what am I gonna do when I grow up? It's a big question, first of all. But you you kind of look around. And I don't know, kids now they also look on social media. And so when the answer isn't I want to be a YouTuber, then the answer is pulled from those real life examples within their atmosphere. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:10

And even if they do want to be on TV, Sue Strawn, she's gonna be there. So um we will have a day focused on public information. So we have a public information officer with the county that's gonna do a mock press release, and we're gonna have a mock press conference where Sue Strawn, as an anchor and reporter, is going to attend that press conference. And so the girls might just end up on WEAR that evening.

SPEAKER_00 9:33

Oh my gosh, that is so I love that so much. You mentioned earlier that only a small percentage of females make up the workforce in the public safety sector. What do you feel like women bring to the table that's unique for public safety?

SPEAKER_01 9:49

As a female, I just think it will show the girls, it's not a man's world. It may look like it, but we can do these things and we can bring so much to the table, different outlooks on things that a man may have, a woman may have a different outlook on that. Have you found that to be true so far in your positions that you've had? Yeah, I would say so. With some things, what if we look at it this way and they're like, oh yeah, I wish I would have thought of that.

SPEAKER_00 10:14

Like, there you go. Ah, okay. And you feel like those moments were specifically because you're a female?

SPEAKER_01 10:22

I think maybe so. Um, but maybe it's also because I didn't grow up in the public safety field. A lot of people in emergency management may come up from being a firefighter or within emergency medical services or something like that. I didn't come from that world. So that also gives me a different outlook. And it also shows coming into emergency management, you don't have to start there.

SPEAKER_00 10:45

Oh, that's really interesting. You're right, because there's all these natural progressions that uh allow people to end up in certain professions that um kind of just flow into that field, kind of like military.

SPEAKER_01 10:58

I was gonna say military is even another one that people transition out of the military into emergency management. And I wasn't one of those people, so and I'm still here.

SPEAKER_00 11:07

I love that so much. Okay, so let's get back to the camp. It's four days. It is. And where is it located?

SPEAKER_01 11:13

So it will be held at the emergency operations center, which is in the public safety building on W Street. So it is a four-day camp Tuesday through Friday. Girls can show up as early as 7:30. So we'll have check-in from 7:30 to 8 a.m. And then camp will be from 8 until 4:30, and then pickup will begin at 4:30 and we'll be there until the last girl is picked up. Cost. It is absolutely free. So that is one of the main things that we've reached out to so many businesses and community partners because everything we're able to do for these girls, of course, it comes from the time commitment from the speakers and the presenters and the mentors and the advisory board and everyone involved. But everything we're able to do, the CPR certification cards, getting them the t-shirts that they'll be able to wear, everything that they'll be able to put into their disaster kit that we will be building throughout each and every day, it all comes through donations. So we love the community partners that have already partnered with us. We are still looking for those. So people can always reach out. Myescambia.com slash hurricane is a great way to find that donor guide to do that. So none of this is taxpayer money, it's all donations. Correct. And so the donations are also going through Brace, which is Be Ready Alliance Coordinating for Emergencies. So that is a 501c3 nonprofit organizations. Donations go to them, and then all of those stations donations, excuse me, will be tax exempt.

SPEAKER_00 12:38

If you were to paint an ideal outcome for the first year of camp, which is this year, whether that's 10 minutes after camp or 10 years from camp, in your imagination, what does that look like?

SPEAKER_01 12:54

So I know the theme of this is united in education for the success of every child. So after every disaster, wildfire, hurricane, every emergency, things are evolving. So we have to evolve how we approach, talk about, and prepare for these disasters that we are experiencing. So I think we have a responsibility as a community and as emergency management and the public safety field overall to improve that preparedness. So programs like Hurricane is doing just that, and that's our hope. We want to move that needle.

SPEAKER_00 13:26

That's exciting. I'm really grateful that you're heading this up because this is no small feat. I know you said you have a team and you, you know, graciously share the credit with them, but to put in the energy to coordinate all of this, to get the donations, to get the location, and then to build awareness. It's no small thing to build that. So one question I didn't ask is who qualifies to attend this? Obviously, young girls, is there an age range and is there a limit on how many people can attend the camp?

SPEAKER_01 14:00

Yes. So since this was our first year, we did cap it at 20 girls. Applications for now are closed for this year. Um we'll reopen them and we'll announce next year's camp dates at this year's camp. And I don't know if if we said the dates, it's June 25th through the 28th. We will be doing the camp the Tuesday through Friday. Girls who applied and will apply for next year. You do have to be a resident of Escambia County. And for this year's camp, it's girls entering seventh through ninth grades for the next school year. Now we'll see how this camp and this year plays out. We might expand those uh school grades to include more. Um, we might do an age range. So we'll just see how it goes and we'll do an after-action review and see how we need to change things and alter things. But overall for this year, girls entering seventh or ninth grades are the ones that applied and were accepted. We didn't have to turn anyone away.

SPEAKER_00 14:54

So where can parents listening to this go to get more information or maybe sign up for like a newsletter so that they can learn more about what is planned for next year when it comes around? Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 15:07

So our website is still live, myascambia.com slash hurricane, H E R R I C A N E. And also following Escambia County Emergency Management on Facebook. We post frequent updates there, like when applications were closing. And if you already get community media and public relations press releases, then once you sign up for those, you will get all Hurricane Camp press releases as well.

SPEAKER_00 15:34

Well, thank you so much for sharing about this. I can't wait to hear how it goes. I I think we need a follow-up. I think so too. And to hear I want to hear all the stories about their the girls' faces and what they learned. And yeah, maybe we can do a follow-up because that just sounds like it will be a core memory. Yeah, I would love to do a follow-up.

SPEAKER_01 15:54

We are so excited, and I know it will be here before we know it. Thank you. This was great. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 16:00

Thanks for listening. Be sure to subscribe and share. Voices United in Education is a production of Escambia County Public Schools.