The Alerting Authority

How do emergency managers make sure the right people get the right message at the right time? In this episode of The Alerting Authority, Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola sit down with Martin Ritchey, Director of Homeland Security at the Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG), to discuss emergency notification systems, IPAWS, Everbridge, warning fatigue, emergency preparedness, flash flood...

What is it really like to walk across England? In this special episode of Alerting Authority , Dr. Jeannette Sutton shares the incredible story of hiking 210 miles across England on the legendary Alfred Wainwright Coast to Coast Trail . Over 15 days, she and her husband crossed three national parks, visited charming English villages, climbed rugged mountains, navigated changing weather, and comple...

Who is Dr. Jeannette Sutton, and how did she become one of the most influential voices in emergency alerting and warning research? In this special episode of The Alerting Authority , co-host Eddie Bertola turns the tables and interviews Dr. Jeannette Sutton about her personal journey, professional influences, and vision for the future of emergency communication. From her early work as a chaplain a...

What makes an emergency alert effective—and what causes public confusion, panic, or frustration? In this episode of The Alerting Authority, emergency communication experts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola analyze some of the most memorable emergency alerts ever sent. From the infamous Hawaii ballistic missile false alarm to controversial Texas Blue Alerts, poorly written Amber Alerts, wildfire e...

What separates good emergency alerts from life-saving emergency alerts? In this episode of The Alerting Authority, hosts Dr. Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola sit down with Thomas Walmsley, Director of Emergency Management for Bernalillo County, New Mexico, and the 2024 IAEM USA Emergency Manager of the Year. With more than two decades of experience spanning military service, law enforcement, loc...

Emergency alerts and warnings can save lives—but only when organizations have clear, effective policies guiding their decisions. In this episode of The Alerting Authority podcast, emergency communication experts Dr. Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola discuss why alerting policies are often overlooked, how weak or outdated policies create operational risks, and what agencies can do to strengthen th...

In this episode of The Alerting Authority, hosts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola sit down with Stuart Moffatt, Director of Emergency Management at the University of Utah, to explore the unique challenges of campus emergency communication, public safety planning, and crisis response in higher education. From football games with 60,000 fans to healthcare operations, research facilities, student h...

In this powerful and deeply informative episode of Alerting Authority , hosts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola break down everything you need to know about AMBER Alerts: how they work, why they’re issued, and how effective messaging can mean the difference between life and death. Eddie Bertola, a veteran law enforcement officer and national subject matter expert, shares firsthand experience from...

What happens when people stop trusting emergency alerts? Do “false alarms” actually make communities less safe—or is the problem more complicated than we think? In this episode of The Alerting Authority , hosts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola sit down with disaster researcher Dr. Joe Trainor (University of Delaware) to break down the science behind false alarms, trust, and human behavior in eme...

In this powerful episode of The Alerting Authority, hosts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola sit down with emergency communications expert Jen Meyers to explore the evolving world of emergency alerts, FEMA IPAWS, public warning systems, and crisis communication. With more than 25 years of experience in public safety, Jen shares her journey from 911 dispatcher to supporting over 2,200 alerting auth...

This episode is a rewind from our very first premiere of The Alerting Authority. In this debut conversation, hosts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola sit down with former FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate for a candid, no-nonsense look at the real challenges facing emergency alerting in the United States. Fugate explains why most alerting failures aren’t caused by technology—but by people. He emphas...

How do you write a missing persons alert that actually gets the public to respond? In this episode of The Alerting Authority , Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola sit down with Tim Williams, Program Manager of the New York State Missing Persons Clearinghouse, to explore how New York is rethinking missing persons messaging, public alerting, and effective communication. This conversation goes deep in...

What happens when emergencies involve your pets or animals? In this lively and unfiltered episode of The Alerting Authority , hosts Eddie Bertola and Jeannette Sutton bring in their pets—complete with roaming goats, curious cats, and plenty of unexpected moments—to explore the critical role animals play in disasters. Joined by Dr. Sarah DeYoung, an expert in disaster research and companion animals...

In this episode of The Alerting Authority , hosts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola sit down with veteran alerting leader Carri Gordon to break down the evolution, effectiveness, and future of missing persons alerts. With nearly 35 years of experience in emergency communications and public safety, Carri shares her journey from early dispatch operations—long before modern alerting systems—to leadi...

In Part II of our deep dive into the groundbreaking RAND national alerting study, we go beyond the headline stat that 91% of Americans received the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) and uncover the real story: who didn’t—and why it matters. Host Jeannette Sutton is joined again by RAND researchers Rachel Steratore and Andy Parker to explore critical gaps in emergency alert systems, including:  Why ru...

In this gripping episode of The Alerting Authority, hosts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola sit down with Eric Queller, Emergency Manager for the mountain community of Ruidoso, to unpack one of the most intense wildfire response operations in recent memory. What began as a routine fire-weather day on June 17, 2024, quickly escalated into a fast-moving disaster as the South Fork and Salt Fires ign...

In this episode of The Alerting Authority , hosts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola sit down with Dan Vasquez , former Alert & Warning Coordinator for the San Diego County Office of Emergency Services , to break down how one region built one of the most coordinated emergency alerting systems in the United States. From wildfires and hurricanes to multilingual communication and accessibility, D...

In this episode of the Alerting Authority Podcast, Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola discuss winter storm alerts, Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), and real-world emergency communication examples from across the United States. From the 2022 Buffalo blizzard to recent extreme cold warnings, the hosts analyze how local emergency managers used alert origination software, warning templates, and public...

Former FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell joins The Alerting Authority, sponsored by HQE Systems, to discuss what it was really like to send the nationwide IPAWS emergency alert to every phone in the United States. In this episode, Criswell shares behind-the-scenes insights from the 2023 national emergency alert test, explains how FEMA manages the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAW...

This episode of The Alerting Authority features emergency manager Ashley Morris, whose journey from childhood storm enthusiast in New Mexico to community-focused alerting leader in Central Texas blends meteorology, public engagement, and hands-on system building. Ashley shares how her early dream of working for the National Weather Service evolved into a career in emergency management—where scienc...

How can emergency alerts truly reach everyone , especially people with disabilities and access/ functional needs? In this powerful episode, we welcome Vance Taylor, Chief of the Office of Access and Functional Needs at the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES). Vance shares his personal journey, leadership philosophy, and groundbreaking work to transform inclusive emergency...

When severe winter weather hit Arkansas, only one county issued multiple Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs). Was it over-alerting or a powerful example of proactive leadership? In this episode of The Alerting Authority , Dr. Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola break down a real-world case study from Calhoun County, Arkansas, where Judge Floyd Nutt sent a series of WEA messages ahead of and during a w...

In this episode of The Alerting Authority , emergency management and communications leaders from Atlanta International Airport (ATL) take listeners inside the complex world of alerting, warnings, and crisis communication at the busiest airport on the planet. Featuring insights from ATL Emergency Management , Integrated Operations Center leadership , and Airport Communications and Media Affairs , t...

In December 2024, millions of people across California, Oregon, and the San Francisco Bay Area received a sudden Wireless Emergency Alert warning of a possible tsunami —an alert that stopped daily life in its tracks and raised urgent questions about how tsunami warnings are issued, who receives them, and what the public is actually expected to do . In this in-depth episode, Jeannette Sutton and Ed...

In this episode of The Alerting Authority , hosts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola sit down with Pete Gaynor , former FEMA Administrator and current President of Bright Harbor , for an in-depth and candid conversation about what it truly takes to save lives through effective alerts and warnings. Drawing on his experience at the local, state, and federal levels , Pete shares powerful lessons from...