The Alerting Authority

What happens when an emergency alert takes too long to reach the people who need it most? In this episode of The Alerting Authority , host Eddie Bertola joins us from Seattle, Washington, where he and Dr. Jeannette Sutton are working with city leadership to examine emergency alert policies, improve warning messages, and strengthen public safety communication. Following a tragic shooting at the Bit...

What happens when an emergency alert goes to the wrong people—or never reaches the people who need it most? On this episode of The Alerting Authority , host Eddie Bertola welcomes William (Will) Chapman , Oregon's Statewide Interoperability and Watch Center Manager, for an in-depth conversation about emergency communications, lessons learned from major disasters, and building a more reliable...

Emergency alerts are supposed to help people make fast, potentially life-saving decisions. But what happens when the alert itself is vague, incomplete, or confusing? In this Alerting Authority Reality Check, Eddie Bertola tackles one of the most basic — and most overlooked — parts of an effective emergency warning program: TEMPLATES. Too many agencies are still trying to write critical messages fr...

Why do people make the wrong decision during an emergency — even when they understand the warning? On this episode of The Alerting Authority, Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola are joined by disaster scholar Dr. DeeDee Bennett Gayle to explore groundbreaking research using virtual reality to study how older adults respond to emergency warnings in real time. Instead of simply asking people what the...

What happens after a devastating weather disaster — and who makes sure we actually learn from it? On this episode of The Alerting Authority, Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola are joined by Jennifer Sprague Hilderbrand and Doug Hilderbrand, co-founders of the American Weather Enterprise Association (AWEA), for a conversation about the future of weather safety, emergency communication, and national...

In this Alerting Authority Reality Check, Eddie Bertola tackles a controversial question: Should AMBER Alerts really be sent statewide? Wireless Emergency Alerts were designed with geotargeting capabilities, yet many jurisdictions continue sending AMBER Alerts across an entire state—even when an abduction occurs near a state border or available information points toward a much smaller geographic a...

How do we actually know whether an emergency alert works? In Part 1 of this special two-part episode of The Alerting Authority, Dr. Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola are joined by research scientist Dr. Hugh Walpole for a deep dive into the science behind emergency warning research. Hugh breaks down qualitative vs. quantitative research, experiments, representative sampling, risk perception, and...

Earthquakes can strike without warning—but new technology can give you precious seconds to react. In this episode archived of The Alerting Authority , Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola break down USGS ShakeAlert, earthquake early warnings, Wireless Emergency Alerts, and the technology that can warn people before strong shaking arrives. They also examine false earthquake alerts and why fast follow...

Artificial intelligence is already changing emergency management — but are we ready to trust it with alerts and warnings? On this episode of The Alerting Authority, Dr. Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola welcome Dr. Jessica Jensen, Senior Policy Researcher at RAND and a national expert in emergency management policy, practice, and research. Dr. Jensen joins the podcast to discuss the newly release...

Wildfire evacuations can turn chaotic in minutes. So how do emergency managers know when to issue an evacuation order, who should leave first, and whether the roads can actually handle everyone trying to escape? In this episode of The Alerting Authority , Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola are joined by Tom Cova , professor at the University of Utah and expert in wildfire evacuation analysis, emer...

What happens when emergency managers, public safety leaders, universities, public health officials, law enforcement, and alerting authorities from across Texas come together for two days of intensive training? In this episode of  The Alerting Authority, Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola break down their experience at CAPCOG 2026, where they trained professionals from across Texas on emergency com...

What happens when emergency alerts fail, misinformation spreads, or organizations lose public trust during a crisis? In this episode of The Alerting Authority , Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola sit down with Dr. W. Timothy Coombs , one of the most cited crisis communication scholars in the world and creator of the Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) . The conversation explores the rel...

What emergency managers see when they send an alert isn't always what the public receives. In this episode of Alerting Authority, Jeannette Sutton, Eddie Bertola, and special guest Rob Dale explore how Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) appear on different devices and why those differences matter. The discussion dives into PBS Warn, message design, alert effectiveness, and common mistakes emerge...

Artificial Intelligence is rapidly changing the way emergency managers, public information officers, and alerting authorities communicate with the public. But should we trust AI with emergency alerts and crisis communication? In this special panel discussion, Jeannette Sutton, Eddie Bertola, and Dan Stoneking explore the growing role of AI in emergency management, public warning systems, and crisi...

In this episode of The Alerting Authority, Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola sit down with Dr. Joseph Trujillo-Falcón, a leading researcher in multilingual risk communication and emergency alerts. Joseph shares his journey from immigrating to the United States from Peru to becoming one of the nation's foremost experts on language equity in weather warnings. The discussion explores how emerge...

Who is Eddie Bertola? In this special episode of The Alerting Authority Podcast, Dr. Jeannette Sutton turns the tables and interviews co-host Eddie Bertola, one of the nation's leading experts on emergency alerts, AMBER Alerts, crisis communication, and public warning systems. Discover the personal story behind the public safety leader as Eddie shares how growing up in California led him into...

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...