Creating Connections

Earlier this month in Sacramento, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) brought together its Listos California grantee partners for a Communications Training and the opportunity for them to share their stories of a resilient California with each other. Over the course of two days, representatives of community-based organizations, CERT programs, tribal nations, and other groups grew their communications skills and built connections to bring back to their communities.

They also heard from local leaders, like Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo, who talked about his own experiences being on the front lines of a disaster, did deep-dives into the worlds of journalism and data, and had opportunities to record PSAs and other messages in professional video studios. A panel of media professionals pulled back the curtain on how reporters build their stories, and explained the best ways for community leaders to get important information out. Attendees also took part in breakout sessions, where expertise in storytelling, social media, making use of data, and graphic design was shared to help them strengthen skills to better reach their target audiences with life-saving information.