As with many things social media, this blog is a personal endeavor and the thoughts, ideas, recommendations and actions contained herein do not represent the official policy or standing of my employer.

The following passage is posted for biographical purposes only and should not be taken as endorsement of this blog by my employer.

"What's next," is a phrase those who work with Jim Garrow at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health hear often. A disaster planner with an eye to the future, Jim foresees a time when the public will be a partner to planners and disaster planning will be a normal part of everyday life. These are not goals that will just happen, but instead are part of a process that Jim embraces and is actively working to advance. The focus of his efforts include modernizing and establishing best practices for emergency and risk communication, utilizing social media, and developing disaster response plans that anticipate the state of the art and ensure that the residents of Philadelphia are as safe as they can be.

As an active member of the SMEM Initiative, the Department of Homeland Security's Virtual Social Media Working Group and the CrisisCommons Communications workgroup, Jim has his finger on the pulse of how social media is evolving with regards to emergency management and response. He has presented to national audiences in both the public health and emergency management fields on how social media can be a successful component of emergency public information campaigns.

Closer to home, Jim utilized his knowledge of emergency public information during the H1N1 influenza pandemic and coordinated all non-media outreach and product development, including designing and maintaining multiple websites and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health's first social media accounts. He has since completely rewritten the Department's Emergency Public Information and Communication plan and will continue to serve as the main coordinator for non-media public information outreach during public health emergencies in Philadelphia. The next big thing he's looking into is coordinating the Health Department's communicators and educators before the emergency, so the Department can surge product development staff and to develop Virtual Operations Support Teams in the Medical Reserve Corps to enhance social media monitoring, rumor control and message dissemination.

Finally, Jim continues to work in the operational and planning sections of the Public Health Preparedness Program, and is actively managing the development of a comprehensive staffing and training database, growing the Department's Health Alert Network, engaging new Closed POD and Push Partners, and rewriting the POD Support Center plan, a call center intended as a one-stop-shop for POD Managers and others working in a mass medication response to get access to the Health Department, that he originally wrote, developed and exercised in 2008.

In those free moments not occupied by disasters and social media, Jim enjoys spending time his family, knowing that children don't stay toddlers forever. Plenty of hugs, silly dancing and wrestling really are the best reminder of what's really important, and why this field is so important.

You can reach Jim on LinkedIn, on his Twitter account, or on his About.me page.