WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 21, 2008 – PIER Senior Vice President John “Pat” Philbin, Ph.D., APR will be one of a host of speakers featured during the National Urban Area Security Initiative (UASI) Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina from April 21-23, 2008. Philbin will be speaking on the importance of effective communication during incidents particularly when multiple agencies and jurisdictions are responding. The event is held annually and features key leaders in the public and private sectors involved with Homeland Security and emergency preparedness.

Philbin's presentation, "Communicating Effectively in the Interagency Environment,"  will address many of today’s mass communication challenges. Philbin is the former director of external affairs for FEMA and previously enjoyed a distinguished career with the U.S. Coast Guard where he was the chief of public affairs prior to retiring from the service in 2004. His career spans 25-plus years in innovative leadership, strategic communication & public affairs involving cabinet-level officials & senior executives, including crisis communication, media relations and strategic planning.   Philbin holds a B.S. degree in Government from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, a M.S. in Public Relations from Syracuse University and a PhD in Communication from the University of Maryland. In early 2008 Philbin joined PIER Systems, Inc. as the company’s Senior Vice President. He resides in northern Virginia with his family.
 
PIER Systems, an acronym for Public Information Emergency Response, was recently chosen by the Atlanta and Houston UASI regions to be the leading provider of online public information software. The technology in both regions will be used to support Houston UASI’s efforts in improving regional collaboration and communications.

PIER is a fully hosted, web-based platform used for managing communications. The Houston region’s Fort Bend County is already using their PIER site to handle communications with media, the approximately half-million residents and others, as well as for internal communications. The County now has the ability to simultaneously alert stakeholders of critical notifications via e-mail, text-messages and fax, as well as post information directly to the Web and manage incoming inquiries, all from their central PIER site.

The Atlanta UASI region received grant funding by the Homeland Security Department, some of which was used for their PIER expansion. The funds are used to address various homeland security needs within the region, in alignment with the goals and objectives identified in the Urban Area Homeland Security Strategy and State Homeland Security Strategy. The ability to offer interoperable communications has been identified as a state, regional and national overarching priority, resulting in a significant amount of interest among UASI decision makers.

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