The PIO Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Alexandra Farkas is the Public Information Officer for the Cheyenne Police Department. She is responsible for developing, coordinating, and implementing communication strategies between residents, businesses, the media, and the police department regarding a variety of projects and initiatives which align with the department’s strategic priorities. Farkas’s professional experience...

Send us Fan Mail Jesica Lopez-Huskey is an experienced marketing and communication professional passionate about working within public safety. She leverages her creativity honed from working within Hollywood’s most iconic brands DreamWorks, DreamWorks Animation, and Marvel Studios, for storytelling on behalf of private security firms to police agencies. Her career in law enforcement agencies began...

Send us Fan Mail Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD)Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) 15 yrs  Public Affairs (Media Relations) Supervisor -  Lieutenant Supervise a team of officers who are responsible for promoting the agency both internally and externally through a variety of methods including interviews, press releases, social media and direct interpersonal commun...

Send us Fan Mail  Michelle Marcomb became the Media and Marketing Coordinator/Public Information Officer for the Rockford Police Department in February 2020. She’s responsible for media relations, crisis communication, and issues management, along with the agency’s videos, social media, and digital content.  Michelle got her start in media as the Sales Assistant for a cluster of radio stations in...

Send us Fan Mail Christopher Tarantino is an entrepreneur, investor, and international speaker on resilient innovation. Christopher has worked with thousands of high-performing leaders from startups, enterprises, and government organizations like Google, FEMA, and Cisco.    With past roles at every level of government, Christopher holds various professional certifications: Certified Crisis Managem...

Send us Fan Mail Officer Ryan J. Railsback has been a police officer with the Riverside Police Department for 25 years.  He is currently the department’s Public Information Officer, a position he has held for the past several years.  He liaisons with the media to release important information to the public and press regarding the activities of the department.  He also manages the department’s soci...

Send us Fan Mail Tamrin Olden Bio  Tamrin Olden has 20 years of experience in government public relations, with 12 years at the Chino Police Department. As a Community Relations Manager, Tamrin developed and managed media relations, social media, and community outreach programs. For the last seven years, she has done independent teaching, consulting, media relations, and digital marketing through...

Send us Fan Mail Jeff's Bio 33 years with CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department • Currently the Department Reserve Program Manager responsible for all volunteer positions within the department • Public Information Officer I qualified through CAL FIRE • Instructor FEMA L-952 All -Hazards Public Information Officer • Instructor NWCG/CALFIRE S-203 Introduction to Incident Information • Instr...

Send us Fan Mail Jack's Bio PREREQUISITES PUBLIC AFFAIRS ADVISOR ON CYBER AND STRATEGIC COMPETITION U.S. Army Reserve Active Duty 9/2020 to Current. COMMUNICATION STRATEGY AND POLICY ADVISOR Booze Allen Hamilton (BAH), Washington D.C., 8/2017- Optional return after military duty Consultant to multiple U.S. Agencies on Public-Affairs and communication policy COMMUNICATION STRATEGY AND POLICY U...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we’ll let you hear part of a dynamic presentation from Judy Pal….a media trainer, strategist, former PIO, and another past president of NIOA.  That’s coming up on the PIO PODCAST. Please take a moment to complete the survey on the last 5 episodes with our guest reporter Ed Buice. Click on the link below.   Link to the Survey Support the show Our premiere sponsor,...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we’ll continue the theme of “WHAT WOULD YOU DO?”  Louisiana PIO Brennan Mattherne—another former president of NIOA—shares some of the lessons he learned from Hurricane Ida.    Support the show Our premiere sponsor, Social News Desk, has an exclusive offer for PIO Podcast listeners. Head over to socialnewsdesk.com/pio to get three months free when a qualifying agen...

Send us Fan Mail In our next episode, we’ll hear North Port Florida PIO Josh Taylor discuss the case of Gabby Petito, a young van lifer whose disappearance in late summer 2021 captivated the international media.   Josh will offer tips that might help…..if you ever find yourself in a situation like THAT case.  That’s coming up, on THE PIO PODCAST.   Support the show Our premiere sponsor, Social New...

Send us Fan Mail To find out more about the National Information Officers Association….visit NIOA.ORG In this episode of the NIOA training conference recap, we’ll hear more great lessons learned and also talk with one of the vendors that help sponsor the conference…..and attend to discuss their products and services with attendees.  That’s coming up…….on the PIO PODCAST    Support the show Our pre...

Send us Fan Mail You’ve heard me talk many times about NIOA—-the National Information Officers Association, the premiere organization for public information officers in public safety.    In the next five episodes of The PIO Podcast, we will hear some recaps from the most recent NIOA Annual Training Conference.  The first couple of shows features interviews with conference attendees talking about t...

Send us Fan Mail Captain Sheronda Grant is a proud Milwaukee native who grew up in the 53206 area. Shortly after graduating from Hamilton High School, she was hired by the Milwaukee Police Department as a police aide in 2001. After graduating from the Police Academy, she was assigned to District 4 as a patrol officer. As an officer, Captain Grant became a state-certified law enforcement instructor...

Send us Fan Mail In this year-end episode, we wrap up all 36 guests with excerpts from each episode related to Public Information Officers.  Some quick stats from 2022: 1063 minutes and 32 seconds of audio was recorded The podcast was downloaded 8,459 times, double of 2021 73 % of our listeners heard the podcast on an Apple Podcast/I-tunes 6% on Stitcher 4% on the Web 4% on iHeartradio 3% on Googl...

Send us Fan Mail Lauri-Ellen’s experience in Government and Corporate PR includes serving as communications lead in more than 30 Incident/Unified Commands since her career took a turn in the direction of emergency/crisis/risk communication and management, with her appointment as a spokesperson for Super Bowl XXXIX (39) Safety and Security and lead PIO for the event.  She has “stood up” or run many...

Send us Fan Mail Lauri Stevens is the principal consultant and founder of LAwS Communications. Lauri is also the creator and producer of the SMILE Conference ® .  A former Television news reporter and anchor,  she is an interactive media professional with over 25 years of media experience, including 12 years in higher education as a Department Chair of Interactive Media. She is most well known for...

Send us Fan Mail Grigori Lopez-Garcia was born and raised in Mexico City, Mexico. He emigrated to the United States in 2001. Shortly after graduating High School, he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan to support Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. After his first enlistment, he joined New Castle County Police. He continued serving in...

Send us Fan Mail As a strategic advisor and keynote speaker, Melissa Agnes has worked with NATO, Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Defense, financial firms, technology companies, healthcare organizations, cities and municipalities, law enforcement agencies, global non-profits, and many others, helping them understand risk and build invincible brands that can withstand even the most devastating of...

Send us Fan Mail What you will find in this episode: In this episode, we discuss Chris's background and how long he has been a PIO. His work with the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force. We go in-depth with his experience working on high-profile criminal cases as a PIO.  Chris was the PIO for the Highland Park mass shooting on July 4, 2022. Chris covers how he worked with other PIO's, Ch...

Send us Fan Mail Law Enforcement / Security Specialist at Investigation Discovery Channel, CNN, & various media. Director of Safety & Security at The Kew Forest School. DE&I/Police Academy Instructor. Retired NYPD Detective. Support the show Our premiere sponsor, Social News Desk, has an exclusive offer for PIO Podcast listeners. Head over to socialnewsdesk.com/pio to get three months...

Send us Fan Mail What you will find in this week's episode: We talk about Rico's background and experience, the size of his department, and how the PIO unit is staffed.  What social media platforms are you currently using? What platforms would you like to expand? We discuss with Rico how Mesa PD releases information to the public in crises. What did you find surprising when you first too...

Send us Fan Mail Dillon is one of the sworn Public Information Officers with the Oklahoma City Police Department and the creator of the department series "Getting Quirky."  We discuss being a new public information officer and his experiences being one for just over one year. How he created the series and what he has learned from doing it.   Dillon is originally from Del City, Oklahoma (...

Send us Fan Mail Leslie (Suhr) Gervasio Senior Public Engagement Specialist at Michael Baker International and President-Elect for the National Association of Government Communicators. Leslies LinkedIn Support the show Our premiere sponsor, Social News Desk, has an exclusive offer for PIO Podcast listeners. Head over to socialnewsdesk.com/pio to get three months free when a qualifying agency signs...