Choose Your Path
Preparedness, local capability, relationships, service, and the habits that help communities adapt.
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A Tampa-area discussion exercise testing venue coordination, traffic and crowd movement, responder identity, hospital surge, misinformation, and a second wave of incidents.
Run the exerciseBriefing work
Current assessments and intelligence-style work connected to this subject.
A catastrophic glacier collapse along the Nepal-Tibet border left thousands dead or missing, including approximately 85 Americans. Many of the Americans were pilgrims traveling to or…
Read briefOver the past decade, the battleground of child sexual exploitation has shifted from physical trafficking routes to digital terrain. Smartphones, encrypted messaging apps, and anonymous payment…
Read briefOutside publications
Magazine, journal, and outside publication work that belongs on this path.
Major crises rarely arrive without warning. The challenge is recognizing when scattered signals begin pointing in the same direction and acting while meaningful options still exist.
Read the articleThe Commons
Practical guidance from The Commons for turning lessons into capability.
A discussion exercise for a smaller jurisdiction focused on a veterans event, limited resources, mutual aid, hospital surge, credential verification, and a second incident.
Run the exerciseA response-focused discussion exercise for testing unified command, credential verification, mass-casualty coordination, public messaging, continuity, and a second wave of incidents.
Run the exerciseA state-and-local readiness checklist covering communications, command, medical response, HAZMAT, hospitals, digital resilience, community expertise, private partners, and exercises.
Open the checklistThe basics for an ordinary household: communication, meeting points, essential supplies, medications, documents, children, pets, and a calm plan everyone can understand.
Start hereThe value of CPR, AED awareness, bleeding-control training, clear delegation, and knowing how to summon help in the opening minutes.
Read the briefHow families, workplaces, schools, and community organizations can rehearse plans in a calm, age-appropriate way.
Read the briefHow to verify urgent information, avoid spreading rumors, recognize manipulated content, and rely on trusted local sources.
Read the briefHow volunteers, veterans, medical professionals, faith groups, and neighborhood leaders can prepare to assist without creating confusion.
Read the briefHow neighborhoods, local organizations, public safety, and trained amateur-radio operators can build and test a simple communications tree.
Read the briefA friendly framework for understanding exits, meeting points, alerts, lifesaving resources, and points of contact away from home.
Read the briefPlanning with children, older neighbors, people with disabilities, caregivers, and families without reliable transportation or digital access.
Read the briefA calm family plan for check-ins, meeting places, printed contacts, out-of-area contacts, alerts, and backup communication.
Read the briefPractical steps for neighborhood communication, schools and workplaces, wellness support, volunteer networks, local food and blood banks, medical training, and trauma kits.
Open the planA calm framework for assessing risk, planning communications, training volunteers, working with local authorities, and supporting people after a frightening event.
Read the frameworkA practical plan for evacuating, sheltering, identifying, transporting, and caring for the animals who depend on us.
Read the briefThe practical difference between a first-aid kit and a trauma kit—and the training that makes either one useful.
Review the briefA calm family emergency plan for communicating, reuniting, caring for the people who depend on you, and practicing without fear.
Read the briefA responsible memory aid for prioritizing safety, severe bleeding, airway, breathing, circulation, shock, head injury, and heat loss while help is coming.
Read the briefA Nordic idea about courage, endurance, and taking the next useful step without pretending difficulty is easy.
Read the noteA Commons companion to the collaborative book—focused on endurance, service, memory, and what communities owe one another after a long war.
Enter the conversationA Nordic note on courage, perseverance, adaptation, and taking the next useful step when the path becomes difficult.
Read the noteA calmer approach to fear, judgment, and learning—plus books and resources that build confidence without feeding panic.
Read the briefA practical framework for building relationships, plans, and everyday habits before a community is tested.
Read the briefHow to build an inclusive communication network that reaches the people most likely to be missed.
Read the briefAn expanded working paper for families and communities: communications-down planning, essential buffers, go bags, vehicles, medical readiness, chemical/biological awareness, mobility, and local relationships.
Open working paperA brief on avoiding assumption lock, training with imperfect information, and building adaptation into preparedness.
Open briefPractical guidance for moving safely through crowded events, transportation systems, transition points, and rapidly changing conditions.
Open briefA layered, care-centered approach to safety for churches and other houses of worship.
Read the briefA calm household guide to the first 72 hours, the following week, family communication, children, pets, information, and community.
Open briefThe practical medical skills, training, and supplies that matter in the minutes before responders arrive.
Read the briefHow to volunteer, donate, and organize support in ways that meet real needs and strengthen the response.
Read the briefPlanning for the emotional, practical, and long-term work of recovery after the visible emergency is over.
Read the briefWelcome to The Watch Floor. I'm glad you're here. As we get into summer, I wanted to do something a little different. Not hurricanes. Not terrorism.…
Read the briefOne of the most common phrases you'll hear after a major crisis is: "Nobody could have seen this coming." I've spent much of my career studying…
Read the briefDigital Hygiene Checklist Search your name, phone number, and email online Remove your info from data broker sites (use tools like Optery, DeleteMe, or Incogni) Blur…
Read the briefHere’s links to pull materials from: https://youtu.be/OrXtioJ0C58?si=bePIqMkHmfGfkwiY https://www.uber.com/en-FR/newsroom/security-update/ https://www.wxyz.com/news/national/fake-ride-share-drivers-could-know-your-personal-information-arizona-woman-warns-after-lyft-experience Intro Today we’re diving into a growing threat you might not…
Read the briefConsumer apps can expose more than a location. Over time, routine check-ins, fitness data, photos, rides, social posts, and account metadata can reveal patterns about where…
Read the briefWayne Black, author of School Insecurity: A Comprehensive Guide for Parents and Educators on School Security, lays down a hard truth: no child has died in…
Read the briefChurches across the U.S. have been experiencing a concerning trend of surveillance activities. These incidents typically involve one to four individuals entering religious establishments and attempting…
Read the briefTerrorist threats are expected to spike this year, with groups like al-Qaeda continuing to prioritize aviation and crowded spaces. Suicide vests remain a favored method of…
Read the briefBooks & enduring work
Books, collaborations, and other enduring material that helps round out the subject.
Amy Edelman and Chris Begley offer a practical, bunker-free guide to resilience built around households, community networks, disaster psychology, and recovery.
View bookSarah wrote the foreword to this study of war, trauma, and the making of civilian rescuers.
View the bookKeep the thread
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