ACP Our Members Speak: Planning for a Mass Attack in the Workplace - Lessons Learned from Those Who Survived

Presenter: Suzanne Bernier, CEM, CBCP –Author of Disaster Heroes, Vice-President of the Resilience Information Exchange (RIE) – Toronto Chapter & Advocate for mass attack survivors and bereaved families

Outline: In her volunteer time, Suzanne is part of an international team that work with disaster and active shooter survivors and families, helping them heal and give back through art therapy. She has met with survivors or families from across the globe after mass attacks like the Orlando Pulse Nightclub, the Las Vegas outdoor concert, the Parkland High School shooting, the Manchester bombing attacks and sadly many more.

Suzanne has met with and interviewed several survivors and bereaved families, who wanted to share their personal stories and experiences on what went well, what didn’t go well, and provide recommendations on how companies and communities can better plan for, manage, and recover from these types of attacks in the future.

In this presentation, Suzanne will review the findings, observations and recommendations based on the San Bernardino and other mass attack survivors’ perspective, published in a White Paper co-authored by herself and renowned UK-based trauma psychotherapist and author of Power to Recover, Dr. Liz Royle.

While we may not be able to prevent or predict every active shooter, workplace violence, or terror incident in the future, we CAN help ensure communities and organizations can better plan for, respond to, and recover from such tragedies if or when they do occur.

Bio:

Suzanne is a multi-certified, award-winning crisis consultant, speaker, and author, who has helped organizations across the globe plan for, respond to, and recover from disasters for nearly 30 years. She was the first female ever to be appointed to the role of Emergency Management Field Officer in Canada and was named 2016’s ‘Continuity & Resilience Consultant of the Year – North America’ by the Business Continuity Institute (BCI) and had the honor of being a guest speaker at The White House later that same year.

Suzanne has helped respond, rebuild or recover from numerous crises, including the Manchester, San Bernardino, Brussels, and 9/11 terror attacks, Hurricanes Katrina & Sandy, the H1N1 & COVID pandemics, the 2003 SARS epidemic, the 2003 Northeast Blackout, as well as numerous floods, wildfires, and severe storms. Prior to her career in BC/EM, Suzanne was a journalist and government press secretary.

Suzanne’s critically acclaimed 2015 book, Disaster Heroes, tells the stories of ordinary men, women and children who have done extraordinary things to help respond, recover, and rebuild following some of the world’s most significant modern disasters. She is currently working on several new projects, including a Disaster Heroes podcast, documentary series, and the 2^nd Edition of her book, ‘Disaster Heroes TOO – The 2^nd Edition’.