Summary DFW First, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation founded regional private sector organizations to establish an ongoing forum to collaborate on Business Continuity and Homeland Security matters with the public sector. DFW First is chartered to establish and foster an effective Public/Private sector partnership, enhance community and economic resilience to regional security threats and disasters, and partner in crisis communications, planning, preparation, response, analysis, and alerting. "A crisis is no time to exchange Business Cards." Background DFW First supports the mission to cultivate a collaborative partnership between DFW private sector critical infrastructure organizations and federal, state, and local public sector entities responsible for legislation, regulation, enforcement, and services associated with critical infrastructure response and protection. To pursue this mission, DFW First was formally founded by regional financial sector firms in October 2006. DFW First is a not-for-profit member corporation serving 16 counties in North Texas region. The population of the DFW First service region is greater than that of the neighboring 22 states. DFW First currently serves more than 150 members comprised of critical infrastructure private sector delegates and remains operations focused in pursuit of its mission. DFW First was a charter member of the Regional Consortium Coordinating Council and an inaugural leadership council member of RPCfirst. DFW First has participated in several national level exercises including the FEMA NLE 2009, CyberFire, and sector Pandemic Flu exercises and has actively responded to disasters including Hurricane Ike, H1N1, and local disasters. DFW First was part of the FSSCC working group that made GETS and WPS available to Hurricane region financial institutions, including the state of Texas. DFW First has presented on partnerships and related topics in several industry and national forums including the recent Business Continuity Insights conference in New Orleans. In addition, DFW First has participated in the FDIC road show for establishing partnership models and recently merged with Houston First, expanding the role of the FIRST organization in the state of Texas. Goals and Objectives Goals ·Develop and foster a successful private/public sector partnership ·Develop and maintain a highly representative private sector coalition comprised primarily of regional financial institutions. ·Create an effective communications platform for regional financial institutions to share and disseminate information and best practices with one another. ·Provide value to coalition members, participants, and other regional financial institutions. ·Increase the resiliency of coalition members and other participating regional financial institutions to potential and probable threats and risks. Objectives ·Provide member representation to regional Emergency Management and Emergency Response organizations. ·Provide regional contingency planning and preparedness assistance to participating members. ·Align geographical services with members, city emergency management, and the North Texas Fusion System. ·Improve public sector awareness to private sector initiatives and objectives. ·Collaborate with state and local agencies on emergency evacuation and credentialing strategies for CI/KR members. ·Provide and share trusted and timely security information and provide for threat advisory to members. ·Collaborate with law enforcement and investigative agencies to assist and effectively combat cyber threats targeting member systems and infrastructure. ·Collaborate with public sector agencies on regional threats, risks, contingencies, safeguards, and countermeasures for members. ·Collaborate and integrate with other national and regional critical infrastructure partnerships. ·Promote Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council (FSSCC) and Homeland Security for Critical Infrastructure Protection initiatives and objectives. ·Sponsor member and industry representation to federal, state, and local public sector infrastructure response and protection initiatives.. Description DFW First is governed by an 11 member board of critical infrastructure delegates and corporate bylaws. DFW First is a well funded, substantial, and well organized partnership model serving North Texas and has played an instrumental role in championing partnership models nationwide. DFW First was formed as a direct result of an outreach program hosted by sponsors who focused on protecting the financial sector through the development of regional private / public sector partnerships. These sponsors consisted of the following organizations/agencies: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Texas Department of Homeland Security (DHS) [Governor’s Office: Steve McGraw] Department of the Treasury Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council (FSSCC) Financial and Banking Information Infrastructure Committee (FBIIC) Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC) US Secret Service (Cyber Crimes) Tarrant and Dallas County Department of Health and Human Services DFW First has since forged and established productive partnerships and alliances with public sector agencies in an effort to adequately represent members interests in response planning and preparedness initiatives. Strategic partners may not hold any leadership positions within DFW First and consist of the following organizations/agencies: Regional Consortium Coordinating Council (RCCC) Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Department of Homeland Security (DHS) [Harbors clearances] RPC First (Regional Partnership Council) Collin County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Fort Worth-Tarrant County Emergency Management Office North Central Texas Fusion Center Dallas County Office of Emergency Management Downtown Emergency Response Team (DERT) North Central Texas Emergency Response Team (NCERT) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) – Region VI Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) (InfraGard and LEO) North Central Texas Council of Governments (NTXCOG) State of Texas Division of Emergency Management Requirements for Success Constraints: Volunteer only Funding for desired growth and initiatives CI/KR Awareness Public sector partnership fragmentation Credentialing program Resources: Crisis Communications Weather and event alerts ["faster than CNN"] Host "Hot Topic" calls with (private/public sector) subject matter experts Tools such as readiness checklists and preparedness questionnaires Virtual EOC for regional events Readiness and Risk Assessments Public sector training and awareness access GETS and WPS sponsorship Navigation, sponsorship, and credentialing in regard to: North Central Texas Metropolitan Urban Area Security Strategy Texas Homeland Security State Strategy NIMS protocols Texas Disaster Districts Texas Disaster Response and declaration processes FEMA, state, and regional response procedures and mandates Resources Crisis Communications Weather and event alerts ["faster than CNN"] Host "Hot Topic" calls with (private/public sector) subject matter experts Tools such as readiness checklists and preparedness questionnaires Virtual EOC for regional events Readiness and Risk Assessments Public sector training and awareness access GETS and WPS sponsorship Navigation, sponsorship, and credentialing in regard to: North Central Texas Metropolitan Urban Area Security Strategy Texas Homeland Security State Strategy NIMS protocols Texas Disaster Districts Texas Disaster Response and declaration processes Training and Exercises DFW First has participated in several national level exercises including the FEMA NLE 2009, CyberFire, and sector Pandemic Flu exercises and has actively responded to disasters including Hurricane Ike, H1N1, and local disasters. DFW First is both a host and participant in regional training exercises. Communication Tools DFW uses the following methods of communication with their public/private sectors; email alerts; in-person meetings; conferences and other events; newsletter; teleconferences; and website. Links www.dfwfirst.org www.rpcfirst.org www.infragard.net/chapters/northtexas Contact Information Erin Owens Executive Director DFW First Chairman Houston First VP North Texas Infragard Chapter Cell: 469.682.9239 erin.owens@dfwfirst.org 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