When:
October 26th and 27th, 2010. Please register for the symposium using this link.
Where:
Amarillo Community College Polk Street Campus, Business and Industry Center. Amarillo, Texas. (DIRECTIONS)
What:
This year, the Decision Support Symposium will focus on a few themes:
- Preparedness
- How can the local NWS Office become better prepared to serve the decision making community?
- How do decision makers prepare for high impact events, and what lessons can the NWS learn from these examples?
- Relationships
- What is the importance in building relationships with the various agencies involved in decision making?
- How can we build these effective relationships?
- Societal Impacts
- How does the public respond during high impact events?
- What can be done to illicit positive decisions/behaviors during these events?
- Big Impacts In Small Places
- What challenges face rural communities during high impact events?
- How can the NWS better understand and provide for the needs of rural communities?
Why:
To help National Weather Service Offices:
- Build stronger relationships with the Decision Support Community
- Provide improved Decision Support products and services
- Develop a better understanding of roles in the Decision Support Community
- Lay the foundation for future Decision Support products and services
Also, to help our partners in the Decision Support Community:
- Discuss their needs during high impact events
- Gain a better understanding of how the National Weather Service can be utilized for decision making
- Learn what products and services the National Weather Service can provide
- What we can provide now and in the future
- Learn the roles of other agencies and how they respond during high impact events
How:
By providing an open forum to discuss Decision Support services including: partner needs, societal impacts, lessons learned, effective communication techniques, and innovation.
Who:
The target audience are those in the Decision Support community including (but not limited to):
- National Weather Service
- Emergency Managers/County Judges
- Forest Service/Fire Departments
- Law Enforcement
- Media
- School Districts
- Federal Aviation Administration
- Department of Transportation/Public Works
- Red Cross/Volunteer Disaster Agencies
- BWXT Pantex
Speakers and Topics:
- Tom Bradshaw-Meteorological Services Branch Chief, Southern Region Headquarters, Fort Worth: High Impact events across the southern region of the United States
- Ken Grahm-Meteorologist in Charge, WFO Slidell (New Orleans): Supporting Deepwater Horizon
- Kevin Starbuck-Potter/Randal County Emergency Management Coordinator: The Importance of Collocation During a High Impact Event
- David Solis-Regional Liason Officer with the Texas Department of Public Safety
- John Zeitler-Science and Operations Officer (SOO), WFO Austin/San Antonio: NWS Full Scale Simulations using the NASA Model
- Darone Jones-Societal Impacts Program Manager, Western Region Headquarters, Salt Lake City: SAFER Concepts
- Mark Strobin-Forecaster, WFO Monterey/San Francisco: Building Effective Relationships with the Coast Guard
- Rich Okulski-Warning Coordination Meteorologist, WFO Memphis: Decision Support for the Beale Street Music Festival
- Mike Chapman-Associate Scientist with Earth System Research Laboratory Global Systems Division of NCAR, Boulder, CO: Decision Support Systems for the Transportation Industry
- John Brost-Forecaster, WFO Amarillo: Are We Ready? Results from a NWS Operational Forecaster Survey
