Summary NEDRIX (Northeast Disaster Recovery Information X-Change) is a non-profit organization, formed in 1991, that provides continuity and crisis management professionals access to real time governmental agencies information during a crisis or event. This is accomplished through our Public / Private Sector (PPS) Directive and our automated notification tool, NEDRIX Notify*. Background Following September 2001, Disaster Recovery took a critical turn and the focus went from technical recovery to business contingency or even more critical, recovery for a loss of intellectual capital. The catastrophe of 9/11/01 engaged both the public and private sector which spurred the realization that this collaboration was necessary to enhance our country's resilience. Therefore, NEDRIX developed their Private Public Sector initiatives and directives with this in mind. We initially began our work with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), as this was our state base. We realized the need for a liaison between the government sectors and the private sector, therefore, NEDRIX created a Board of Directors chair titled Public / Private Sector (PPS) and assigned the designated chair to one of our Board members. MEMA utilized their Emergency Support Function (ESF 18) for PPS activity and support and we become a member of their Massachusetts Emergency Management Team (MEMT). We have supported and assisted major events, continue to attend monthly meetings and distribute their alerts and educational information as it has become available to us. Early on we had also formed a relationship with FEMA and specifically with the FEMA I Regional Director, Daniel Craig. A few Board members met Director Craig and attended a private meeting with the then FEMA Director, Mike Brown. He was very interested in NEDRIX and our initiatives and expressed his support for our organization. Our meeting validated our belief that providing bi-directional communication during a disaster serves as an important catalyst for successful recovery from any crisis. Mike Brown also spoke at one of NEDRIX's Annual Conferences and provided our attendees with a wealth of information. However, the clearest message he delivered was to ensure a strong communication strategy is in place prior to any disaster. NEDRIX continues to work to support that important strategy. The government agencies we have worked with are always very appreciative of our educational and communication efforts, as we not only want to have accurate crisis information and industry updates distributed to our members, we always provide our government agencies with a resource to understand the needs of the private sector to resume their business operations, as well as private citizens. Based on this premise, we have developed our workshops, symposiums and our Annual Conference to continue this message, bringing industry and government experts to speak on these very topics. Goals and Objectives * Instill the culture and importance of preparedness and response with our professional membership through our public / private sector partnerships * Supply our membership with reliable information for use during an emergency * Provide our members with effective resources to assist in their emergency preparedness planning for their company, their families and their community * Achieve success in our public / private sector partnerships giving our members the resources and visibility they need * Accomplish continued growth in our industry gaining additional respect and confidence with our members, the public sector and our partners * Continue our vision in broadening awareness on emergency preparedness * Support our partners with synergy and trust to provide our members with every resource available Description NEDRIX has created Private Public Sector (PPS) teams throughout the Northeast that are led by the Board Director of the PPS initiative. There are Team Leaders identified for each State along with members that work with their State and local government partners to act as a liaison between the public and private sectors. The teams interact with their own State agencies or partners, based on what private sector strategies have been developed and how mature their private sector ESF is. Based on said criteria, NEDRIX has been very active with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency. We are on the MEMT distribution list and receive organizational updates, meeting notices and emergency alerts. The City of Boston, Maine, Vermont and New York City have also added us to their distribution list. When we receive notifications from these agencies, we forward the information out (if appropriate) immediately to our members or we place in their appropriate State page on our website. This is a very successful way to communicate with the private industry and individuals, to keep them apprised of State activities and Emergency Alerts. Through NEDRIX Notify, our automated notification tool, we have the ability to coordinate bi-directional communications bringing the latest incident assessment to our members and providing any business impact back to the government agencies. This tool gives us the ability to communicate through email, work phone, mobile phone, sms, and fax to our members. NEDRIX also provides industry best practices and an opportunity to meet and share ideas and experiences with peers through conferences and symposiums held throughout the year. Our members receive continuing education points for all our conferences and events which are necessary for them to maintain their Continuity Business professional certification. NEDRIX conducts at least one annual Simulation Exercise for our members at our Annual Conference held in Newport, RI. This forum allows us to run an interactive Simulation Exercise with real scenario events as we utilize our government resources for direction on our accuracy of the exercise as well as inviting them to participate as a panel member at the exercise. This has always been one of our most successful events and a great model of private public sector collaboration. We have participated in the past in State facilitated Simulation Exercises. One of the Simulation Exercises was facilitated by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the scenario was a Pandemic Influenza. This scenario presented a problem where companies may have limited processing activity due to the pandemic possibly affecting 35 - 50% of the workforce. After the event, we brought our knowledge and experience back to our members. NEDRIX hosted Pandemic Symposiums and Simulation Exercises for our members as well. This was provided by creating a panel of experts made up of State and Federal government representation, as well as health care officials, to provide our members with clear and accurate information. Again, providing our members with information exchange, driving better preparedness and response for all. We recently developed an Internship Opportunities page on our website. This allows for college graduates to post their resumes and companies to post their internship openings. The goal is to help students with an emergency management or business continuity education to obtain real experience with our company members. This program began two months ago and we have already placed three interns into member/company internships. NEDRIX has partnered with the Business Network of Emergency Resources (BNet) to promote the CEAS (Corporate Emergency Access System) in Boston. This system is an issued card access system to get into a City following a disaster. NEDRIX has held numerous Awareness Sessions as well as allowed the Executive Director to speak to our members at our Annual Conference. CEAS has the support from the Mayor's Office in the City of Boston as well as the Boston Police and Fire Department. Finally, we recently changed our name from New England Disaster Recovery Information X-Change to Northeast Disaster Recovery Information X-Change as we are trying to expand our membership and provide our services to other northeast states. We hope to, in the near future, broaden our capability even further throughout the country. Requirements for Success * Dedicated Board of Directors with great support from our PPS Teams * Dedicated Teams and Team Leader for each State in the Region. * Dedicated Federal and State resources - Specifically FEMA Region 1 and MEMA * Income from our workshops and conferences currently supports our budget to travel to State meetings and provide training, as requests are numerous, from our public sector partners and to have dedicated individuals working on our PPS initiatives. * Support from our Sponsors who have provided free meeting space, notification tools, and funding for events. (Attached - Presentation by Sungard, Platinum Sponsor and Press Release from Everbridge - Platinum Sponsor) * Access and support from our government officials and public agencies. * Obtain grant funding (as we continue to reach out to our government partners, we hope to achieve grant funding to support growth in our initiatives and goals) * Web EOC access (future goal) * Ability to have a Virtual EOC to support State and Federal Agencies (future goal) Resources NEDRIX has the following resources available through its partnership -- A seat in the Emergency Operations Centers, depending on the State; Resources to help prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters; Web resources and Automated Notification Tool (NEDRIX Notify) Training and Exercises NEDRIX hosts and participates in joint training and exercises with the public and private sectors. We provide Symposiums, Conferences and Simulations Exercises for our members with participation from public agencies and partners depending on the topic. We have participated in State / City exercises as well. NEDRIX was represented as panel member in Massachusetts for the Governor's Summit for Pandemic Preparedness. We were also invited to participate with the Mayor's office Summit in Boston, MA for H1N1 preparedness. NEDRIX has a great relationship with the colleges and universities located within our region, i.e., Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Bryant University, Norwich University and Boston University who currently have emergency preparedness programs available for the public. The RI PPS Team participated in a RI Emergency Management Agency Simulation Exercise a few years ago. The event was a hurricane that hit the east coast. The team provided great support and resources by bringing in golf carts to maneuver around fallen trees and debris, found a large empty building to collect necessary disaster items, and continued to send communication updates to our private sector members. In May of this year, we were called to support the ESF 18 during the catastrophic Water Main Break in Massachusetts. The PPS Team provided 24/7 support, contacted private sector companies to ask for water resources that would help sustain public schools, hospitals and elderly housing complexes. Our team brought in thousand of gallons of water, which wasn't an easy task, as the first calls were made on a Sunday morning. We also provided early alerts to our members so they could invoke their Plans and ready themselves for potential disruptions as the work week began. We have been invited to present at the Vermont Emergency Management Annual Conference as well as a conducted emergency preparedness workshop in Portland, Maine. Communication Tools NEDRIX uses the following methods of communication with your public/private partners -- Email alerts; Text message; In-person monthly meetings in some States as well as ad- hoc meeting requests as specific initiatives present themselves; Conferences and other events; Website; Public service announcements on our website under the appropriate State Page as we receive from our State Partners. Links http://www.nedrix.com/ http://www.ceas.com/ Contact Information Christine Glebus, President 617-594-8070 (mobile) Lori C. Adamo, Vice President & Director of Private Public Sector Coordination, Phone 401.954.7547 PO Box 52120 Boston MA 0220 Email info@nedrix.com DISCLAIMER FEMA's Private Sector Division of the Office of External Affairs facilitates information sharing and good practices for developing effective public-private partnerships. This Web site and its contents are provided for informational purposes only, without warranty or guarantee of any kind, and do not represent the official positions of the US Department of Homeland Security. For more information on the Private Sector Division, please email FEMA-private-sector@dhs.gov or visit www.FEMA.gov/privatesector Regional Partnership - NEDRIX