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Welcome
Welcome to the Greater Houston Chapter of the Association of Continuity Professionals - the nation's leading non-profit association, comprised of professionals who are responsible for or have an interest in business continuity, preventing disasters, providing disaster recovery information and facilitating the resumption of normal business activities following a major disaster.
Members of ACP nationwide represent business, industry and government organizations at all levels. Included are executives, administrators, managers, directors, writers, legal staffs, accountants, engineers, sales-persons, records managers, archivists and many more professionals.
We generally meet on the second Tuesday of each month either at the Weatherford International (2000 Saint James Place, Houston, TX 77056) or virtually via Zoom, but the actual date, time and location will vary for each event.
Please see each event's details for more information.
Next Meeting: July 9th Meeting Cancelled
We regret to inform you that due to the impact of Hurricane Beryl on the Houston area, we are forced to cancel tomorrow's scheduled event.
We understand the importance of this topic and Joseph Leonard’s insights, and we are committed to rescheduling this event for a later date. Details of the rescheduled event will be publicized on this website and via email as usual.
Thank you for your understanding and stay safe.
Best regards,
ACP Greater Houston Chapter
Business Continuity Planning
Joseph Leonard, President & CEO, United Services Consulting Group
Date: Tuesday, July 9th, 11:30AM CDT
Location: Hybrid - In-person option will include lunch, and the registration deadline is Wednesday 7/3 at 5PM CDT.
The virtual deadline is Tuesday 7/9 at 10AM CDT. Connection details will be sent via email.
Synopsis: Business continuity planning (BCP) is a critical process that ensures organizations can maintain or quickly resume essential functions during and after a disaster.
The implementation of an effective BCP is paramount, particularly in light of an anticipated very active hurricane season. An effective BCP not only safeguards an organization's assets and personnel but also ensures the continuity of operations and services to clients and stakeholders.
To be truly effective, business continuity plans must be user-friendly and easily implementable. Complex and cumbersome plans can lead to confusion and inefficiencies during a crisis, which can exacerbate the impact of the disaster. Therefore, simplicity and clarity in BCP documentation and procedures are essential.
Moreover, the validity and reliability of a BCP must be ensured through comprehensive and challenging exercises. These exercises should simulate realistic disaster scenarios, particularly those relevant to the organization's geographic and operational context, such as hurricanes. Regular exercises help identify weaknesses in the plan and provide opportunities for continuous improvement. They also ensure that all employees are familiar with their roles and responsibilities, which enhances the overall resilience of the organization.
Given predictions of a highly active hurricane season, the need for robust, easy-to-implement business continuity plans has never been more pressing. Organizations must prioritize the development, testing, and refinement of their BCPs to mitigate the risks posed by natural disasters.
A well-prepared organization can not only survive a crisis but emerge stronger, having safeguarded its resources, reputation, and the well-being of its people.
If interested in sponsoring ACP Greater Houston, please contact us by email.
If you missed our last two in-person events, click on each photo below to open the photo album in new tab:
Happy Hour at The Rustic (Post Oak) - March 28
Field Trip to Harris County's Emergency Operations Center - April 16
Our Purpose
To promote a professional, educational association to continually increase the awareness and the importance of business continuity, contingency planning, disaster mitigation and disaster recovery throughout the public and private sectors.
Our Objectives
To promote greater awareness and understanding of disaster recovery and contingency planning.
To provide opportunities and forums for member growth through training, information exchange, certification programs, career opportunities awareness and conferences.
To contribute to the advancement of contingency and business recovery planning.
To promote increased cooperation and participation in contingency planning between the public and private sectors.
Please visit our Membership page for more details on how to become an ACP member.
DRJ Fall 2024: Building Tomorrow's Resilience Today – Sept 8-11, 2024 @ Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center, Dallas, TX.
ACP Members save $100 off the current registration rate. Select the All Access Discounted Pass during registration to claim your discount and enter ACP when prompted Click for more information and to register.
Check back for future industry events!
Chapter Programs
2024 Program Schedule
Date
Speaker/Event
January 9
Identify Threats and Communicate Faster During Critical Events
Alex Pinder, AlertMedia
February 13
Using Artificial Intelligence as a force multiplier
for your Resilience Program
Shane Mathew, Stone Risk Consulting
March 12
No Chapter Meeting to allow members
to attend industry conferences
March 28
Members-Only Happy Hour at The Rustic
April 16
Field trip to Harris County Emergency Operations Center
May 14
2024 Atlantic Season Outlook & Tabletop Exercise
Derek Ortt, StormGeo
June 11
Protecting Critical Infrastructure Organizations: “Political Polarization & Emerging Security Risks After the 2024 Elections in the US and Other Nations”
Scott McHugh, Program Executive for the Institute for Homeland Security at Sam Houston State University
July 9
Cancelled due to Hurricane Beryl
August 13
TBD
September 10
TBD
October 8
TBD
November 12
TBD
December 10
Annual Member Appreciation Holiday Luncheon (tentative date)
2023 Program Schedule
Date
Speaker/Event
January 10
Hacking Your Brain for Better Cybersecurity
Dr. George Finney
February 7
Paying It Forward…Or Backward?
The give and take of successful mentorship
James Mitchell
March 14
No Chapter Meeting to allow members
to attend DRJ Spring Conference
April 11
Educators Making a Difference –
Higher Learning for Business Continuity and Emergency Management Professionals
May 9
StormGeo 2023 Hurricane Season Outlook and
The Climate Has Changed: Are You Prepared For The New Reality?
Derek Ortt & Shannon Copeland, StormGeo
June 13
Event Weather Safety
Dr. Kevin Kloesel, University Of Oklahoma
July 11
Creating and Delivering Effective Tabletop Exercises
Robert Burton, PreparedEx
August 8
Exercise Pitfalls or How “NOT TO” Conduct an Exercise
Mark Carroll
September 12
Future Proofing America: A New Model for Disaster and Risk Mitigation
Richard Seline, Resilience Innovation Hub
October 10
Building Enterprise Resilience:
How Threat and Risk Detection Balance a Duty of Care Program
Brian Toolan, Everbridge
October 19
ACP Greater Houston Happy Hour!
The Rustic
November 14
Field Trip to Kenyon International Facilities
Spring, Texas
December 12
Annual Member Appreciation Holiday Luncheon
Career Opportunities
Welcome to the Career Opportunities area of the ACP Greater Houston Chapter Web site. Here, you can view descriptions of positions available in the field of business continuity planning, emergency management, and risk management in the Greater Houston area. This is a value-added service to the chapter members, guests and chapter affiliates in the local resilience community.
Employers and recruiters are invited to post positions available in Business Continuity, IT Disaster Recovery, Emergency Management, Risilience, Emergency Response, Risk Management and Corporate Crisis Management. Positions will be posted for up to 90 days at no cost.
To submit a listing, you must provide position title, position location, sector/industry, recruiter contact information, link to the job posting, and close date by email to the Education Director.
Emergency Management Program Manager (Public Information) - Partially Grant Funded
Employer: City of Houston
Position Location: Houston, TX
Sector: Government Click For More Information:
Emergency Management Specialist III (Emergency Public Information Systems) - Grant Funded
Employer: City of Houston
Position Location: Houston, TX
Sector: Government Click For More Information:
Emergency Management Specialist III (Crisis Information Systems) - Grant Funded
Employer: City of Houston
Position Location: Houston, TX
Sector: Government Click For More Information:
***The Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) provides a comprehensive training registration and transcript service for FEMA, TDEM, TEEX, and other government approved emergency management and continuity courses. You can register and search courses across Texas at Preparing Texas.***
If anyone has an article/white paper/document they would like to share with the chapter, please send Information Director a copy to include on the website.
MS Cybersecurity degree with a technology specialization - The School of Computer Science
MS Cybersecurity degree with a cyber-physical and energy systems specialization - The School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE)
MS Cybersecurity degree with a policy specialization - The School of Public Policy (PUBP)
Computer Information Systems degree with Cyber Security Programming specialization (Bachelor of Science - online or on-campus) - DeVry University (Vendor requested listing)
Membership Information
Thank you for your interest in the Greater Houston Chapter of the Association of Continuity Professionals (ACP).
ACP is a national organization of 2,000+ members with experience, expertise and a willingness to share unique perspectives. ACP provides a forum for members to network with peers in similar job roles across a wide variety of for profit businesses, non-profits, government, higher education, and NGO organizations.
In addition, benefits from becoming an ACP member are:
eligibility for discounts to conferences and trade publications,
quality webinars for members only,
CEU credits towards retaining your certification,
leadership opportunities in your local chapter and so much more
We believe you'll enjoy the networking opportunities and camaraderie available through ACP.
To become a member, simply click here to access the Association's national website. Once there, select the option to "Join Now!" at the top of the page.
Visit our chapter website for information on upcoming chapter meetings, events to help you get involved, resources for training, education, and job openings, and connect with us on Facebook,Twitter, and LinkedIn!
Don’t hesitate to reach out to our Membership Director at ACPSouthTexas@gmail.com should you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you at our next chapter meeting and/or event!
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Business Continuity Planning
If interested in sponsoring ACP Greater Houston, please contact us by email.
