The City of Marysville’s Communications Administrator, Connie Mennie, has joined a select group of only 65 people nationwide recognized as Master Public Information Officers (MPIO).

Established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in 2017, the MPIO program is a year-long professional development program that prepares senior level public information officers for an expanded role in delivering public information and warning using a strategic, whole community approach. It is the Department of Homeland Security’s highest level of training and credentialing for public information professionals.

“The Master PIO Course is the pinnacle of our training for emergency public information professionals,” said FEMA Emergency Management Institute Deputy Superintendent Michael J. Sharon. “It solidifies the skills they learned in our Basic and Advanced PIO courses to build seasoned communicators who are ready in times of crisis.”

Participants contribute to the body of knowledge for emergency management through evaluation of leadership, group dynamics and functional best practices of joint information centers (JICs) and by conducting peer-reviewed research resulting in a paper published by the National Emergency Training Center Library at the U.S. Fire Administration.

The Public Information Officer’s role in emergencies is to deliver important information to the public so they can make informed decisions. Today the city’s Emergency Management team conducted an Emergency Operations Center exercise in conjunction with Snohomish County and other regional entities. Gov. Jay Inslee has declared October as Disaster Preparedness Month.