Statewide PIO Opportunities

 1) Election preparation.  DEMA will be coordinating a virtual JIC for the upcoming election (and days after). The purpose is for PIOs to share messaging/safety concerns/rumors, etc. This JIC is not meant to compete with any local efforts or election processes, but to give a statewide view of emerging issues/concerns/trends for contingency planning. I will be sharing an initial invite to the Microsoft Teams Election JIC channel to county/tribal EM PIOs and specific state PIOs. Additional PIOs may be added as things get flushed out further.  

 

2) PIO Press Conference Training. AZ DPS is hosting PIO Press Conference Training on Dec. 11 from 8:00 - 4:00 at 2222 W. Encanto Blvd, Phoenix.  This class is meant for new PIOs, whether part-time or full-time, who may be asked to hold a press conference regarding a major event.  This class teaches the basic do's and don'ts for press conferences and gives students scenario-based training to give them a feel of what it is like.  PIO Supervisors are also encouraged to attend.  This class is open to all law enforcement PIOs, but is limited to only eight students.  To sign up for this free training, please email AZDPS Public Information Supervisor, Sgt. Eric Andrews, at eandrews@azdps.gov.

 

3) 2025 Arizona First Responder PIO Roundtable. DPS is proud to announce the second annual Arizona First Responder PIO Roundtable on January 23, 2025 from 8:00 - 4:00 at 2222 W. Encanto Blvd., Phoenix. PIOs and supervisors of PIOs from law enforcement agencies (from all levels - local, county, state, and federal), military, fire departments, and prosecutor offices.  This training will feature a morning session from the same speaker as last year, Steve Gregory, and an afternoon revolving around case studies and the lessons learned from those experiences as well as group conversation about what PIOs are currently seeing, changes PIOs have had to make recently, and trends PIOs are seeing right now.  Lunch will be included and space is limited.  To register for this free event, please email AZDPS Public Information Supervisor, Sgt. Eric Andrews, at eandrews@azdps.gov.

 

4) PIO credentialing and disaster deployment  Arizona is part of the nationwide Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) that allows us to send resources (PIOs and other SMEs) to help support other state’s responding and recovering from a disaster. Over the last week, there were a few requests for PIOs in support of Hurricane Helene, but those have been filled. It takes a few steps to make the deployment happen, but helping impacted communities is a great way to use your skills  and offer fresh energy to the disaster response team. 

 

The requesting state specifies the skills and proficiency level they are looking for (social media, emergency operations center, in the field) and/or  advanced credentials (graduate of the Master PIO course, credentialed PIOs through the Arizona Qualification System or Complex IMTs,  etc). 

 

If/when a request for PIOs comes up, I will share a link in Arizona PIOs FB page to complete. The receiving end of that link is the DEMA logistics team that will try to match resources with requests.  The EMAC requests go to all 50 states, so depending . . .they can fill quickly.  Completing the form is not a guarantee of deployment.

 

Helping other PIOs is not limited to outside of Arizona. Within the state we have the Arizona Mutual Aid Compact, that can send resources (PIOs and other SMEs) to help support any agency that is a signatory to the Compact. If you have an emergency and need some support, you can work through your county/tribal emergency management office to put in a resource  request for PIOs.  In that case, I will follow a similar process to see who is available.

 

As you can see, trained PIOs are a great asset within and out of the state. If you have questions or want to learn more about working on your credentials, please reach out to me.

 

5) PIO networking.  Many parts of the state have regional PIO groups.  Fantastic opportunity to connect with PIOs in your area who might be a great resource (or at least a good listener) for some regional issues. 

 

If your are in these areas, reach out to the PIO leads in your area to get connected; 

Tucson Public Sector Communicators: James Allerton, jallerton@flytucson.com

Cochise County area; (Carol Capas, ccapas@cochise.az.gov; Grady Butler, gbutler@cochise.az.gov)

Yavapai County  (John Heiney, john.heiney@prescott-az.gov; Sarah Townsley; Sarah.Townsley@yavapaiaz.gov )

Tri-state (AZ, NV,CA) area (Lance Ross, lross@crsk12.org); 

Yuma area (Tony Badilla, tony.badilla@yumacountyaz.gov).

East Valley PIOs (Brenda Carrasco, Brenda.carrasco@gilbertaz.gov)

West Valley Law Enforcement PIOs  . . .who is leading now? 

 

If you have a group in your area, please let me know.  I love to get out and join the regional meetings when my schedule permits.

 

6) PIO Contact list.  Attached is the updated statewide PIO contact list.  The list is divided into multiple tabs representing jurisdictional levels (city, county, federal, state and tribes) and specialties (law enforcement, fire, schools, utilities, etc). 

 

The PIO list is a great resource because you help keep it accurate.  If you have any edits to the list please reply to this email.  If you know of someone that should be added to the list, have them contact me. Send me your agency social media information if you would like it included.

7) Facebook group (Arizona PIOs).  The Arizona Information Officers Association maintains a Facebook PIO group (Arizona PIOs) to find the latest job openings, professional development opportunities and share your knowledge with peers looking for advice on best practices. This is a closed group, you need to be part of the statewide PIO list to join. If interested, send a friend request and if you are joining under a different name please inform Heather Murphy, heather.murphy@phoenix.gov, or Tamra Ingersoll, tingersollaz@arizona.edu.

 

Thanks, Judy

 

Kindest regards,

 

Judy Kioski, Public Information Officer

Public Information Office
Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs (DEMA)

5636 E. McDowell Road, Phoenix, AZ 85008