Inspire Archives - BRMA

The BRMA Mentoring Program – A Mentee’s View

Fri, 09 Sep 2022 17:45:11 +0000

My personal experience with the BRMA mentoring program was great. I saw it as an opportunity to expand my network, learn from my peers, and share best practices from my personal experiences. I achieved all of these goals throughout the 6 month program, and I am happy I chose to participate. If you have ever thought about being a mentor or mentee, I highly encourage you to sign up for this program!

Chris Chaisson

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The BRMA Mentoring Program – You couldn’t ask for a better outcome!

Mon, 27 Jun 2022 23:20:34 +0000

My initial thoughts going into the program were mixed having participated in several previously, not through BRMA though. Robert’s situation and background gave me pause as I had overcome similar challenges throughout my career and after several conversations, we decided to give the program a chance.

Robert knew exactly what he wanted, and we worked to together to outline his objectives. Using the BRMA structured methodology and documentation as a guide, Robert outlined the items that were important to him.

Robert had 2 primary objectives.

What can I do to get noticed from a resume perspective?
Once noticed, what would help me get hired during interviews?

The first problem to overcome was Robert having mainly a technical background and always getting pigeonholed away from BC/DR, where he wanted to be, back into the System Administration role. For this item, we worked on his resume, highlighting the BC/DR elements, and toning down those technical elements which went through several iterations for each phone interview.

The second problem was how to prepare for the in-person interviews. Working with another BRMA member, Robert received information about a bank position. We reviewed several items on his resume and I suggested that Robert get the FDIC Handbook and become familiar with it. Different regulators have specific language that would be beneficial to at least know during an interview. Robert followed that advice, studying the handbook, excelled during the interview, and was ultimately hired. The bank later stated that they were impressed that he knew the terminology and was able to discuss it during the interview was the reason he got hired.

At this point, even though there was still 2 months left in the mentoring program, it was decided to stop to let Robert focus on his work. Robert was doing well at the bank and was given several key projects that would take most of his time.

From my point of view, the program was a success. Utilizing the BRMA program methodology in part we were able to quickly identify Roberts primary objectives which ultimately led to the mentee finally getting into a profession that he wanted to be in. It was a pleasure having Robert as a Mentee.

Robert continues to excel at his new job.

Regards,
Matthew Rhodes

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Join Our Mentoring Program

Sun, 22 May 2022 01:40:15 +0000

Now, more than ever, is a time to leverage the BRMA network

Our goal is to help enrich our individual member’s skill-set and provide them with access to an experience base that they might not have access to otherwise. We specifically match you with a partner in the program with similar interests, experiences and background.

Here’s How to Get Involved

This is a voluntary program for BRMA members whereby a Mentee will be paired with a Mentor (a talented and experienced member) according to various areas of interest, based on a completed survey by all those who sign up.

If you are interested in developing your professional knowledge and skills, please join BRMA and participate in the BRMA Mentoring Program as either a Mentor or Mentee.

Program Timing

• Twice per year (January – June, and July – December)
• Sign-ups for the next session will be live through June 10, 2022

This program continues to have amazing outcomes for both Mentors and Mentees in unexpected ways, from a career change, to confidence building, to demonstrating leadership skills, and more! Read Matthew Rhodes reflections HERE, Ron La Pedis & Vaishali Jain’s HERE and Dan Dworkin’s HERE.

Any Questions?

Contact membership@brma.com

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BRMA 2020 Award of Excellence Presented to Fiona Raymond-Cox

Thu, 03 Dec 2020 23:46:54 +0000

Fiona Raymond-Cox exemplifies dedication to the field of enterprise resiliency making her the perfect candidate for the BRMA 2020 Award of Excellence.

Fiona’s commitment to excellence in business continuity, organizational resiliency and risk takes many forms. She has volunteered to join the ISO Committee where she traveled at her own expense to participate in lengthy meetings to ratify the current ISO22301 standard and associated technical guidance documents. She quickly became very involved in supporting the BRMA Board of Directors as a volunteer, appointee, and elected official for a combined 10+ years of service. Additionally, she’s contributed to her community as a long participating volunteer with the San Francisco Neighborhood Emergency Response Team. Fiona also led the Emergency Preparedness Committee for a K-8 grade public school and developed incident management plans and training for a San Francisco private high school.

In support of the enterprise resiliency industry, Fiona has co-authored two significant publications. The report on Supporting Employees During Times of Extreme Circumstance was shared with BRMA Members. Her recent Air Quality Event Report and her COVID-19 Reopening Plan have been fantastic resources that she willingly shared with BRMA for public distribution.

Fiona’s involvement with BRMA revolves around the promotion of business continuity practices. Most significantly, she spent many hours preparing content for and facilitating over twenty (!) COVID-19 webinars for BRMA members this year. These allowed a safe space for members to share information as they were each experiencing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in their own organizations and personal lives. She carefully compiled detailed and interesting statistics along with provocative discussion points and even took the time to process survey results for many of the sessions. Fiona has been the driving force in establishing the BRMA Mentoring Program. This program thoughtfully matches BRMA members at varying levels of experience so that they learn from each other to spread great ideas and best practices related to the business continuity discipline.

Fiona frequently participates in speaking engagements at conferences and seminars. Her contributions at the Bay Area Emergency Management (BAEM) conference over the years not only promoted business continuity in general, but inspired attendees who were fellow practitioners from the community and other businesses.

There’s no doubt that BRMA and the enterprise resiliency profession overall benefit from the positive influence Fiona Raymond-Cox brings with her. She’s an ambassador for the profession and an inspiration to us all.

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The BRMA Mentoring Program – and a Story of Fate

Sat, 31 Oct 2020 19:16:02 +0000

by Ron LaPedis (and Vaishali Jain)

It was a sunny but cold late December day in San Francisco. Ron LaPedis and Vaishali Jain had just come back inside after buying lunch to go from a pop-up stall area at the new Salesforce transit center. As we sat down to eat, I could see a question forming behind her eyes, and I already knew what my answer was going to be.

“You know that BRMA has a mentoring program, right?” I replied that I did, and it was then that we knew we wanted to be together – as mentor and mentee.

Less than 30 minutes later, it was apparent that fate had intervened early when both of us received the same email from Fiona Raymond-Cox; “Hi Ron, Vaishali, Great news! You have been selected to participate in the 6-month BRMA mentoring program running January – June 2020.” Okay, so now it was getting weird. And little did we know that just 3 months later, COVID-19 would make the mentoring program all that more valuable.

After working for nearly two years at BOX under the expert tutelage of Renuka Darbha, Vaishali had decided to move to ServiceNow as the senior program manager for business continuity management.

The Players

Before working at BOX, Vaishali was a consultant for Deloitte for four years, performing BIA and identifying the assets required to meet the specified RTO and RPO for her customers. About midway through her time there, Vaishali was awarded her CBCP. Equipped with a basic set of skills, she started to move up the ladder of BCP and knew that BRMA was an additional asset to boost her knowledge.

On the other side, I was a seasoned member of the BCP community, with dozens of plans, speaking engagements and articles to my name. And just like Vaishali was going to be put on the fast track due to COVID-19, I was put on the fast track some 30 years earlier after the Loma Prieta earthquake struck.

What it is All About

The BRMA mentoring program is built around both members answering a questionnaire. Mentee candidates specify the skills that they want to develop while mentors list the skills that they can offer. Some skills might be leadership, working with management and peers, developing writing and public speaking to help gain funding and support for your company’s BC program, or even learning how to contribute to the industry at large, which is a requirement of the FBCI certification.

Vashali’s specific needs were to develop leadership skills and have some assistance in writing white papers and articles.

And How it Went

At our last in-person lunch before San Francisco was shut down, Vaishali expressed concerns because she was seeing conflicting emails popping up in her inbox from all corners.

I told her that this was the time for her to reach out to her management and to gain the support to create a clearing house and central communications hub, thus shutting down the conflicting public communications. While she had some trepidation doing this, she did and it worked – which of course was a double-edged sword. Although it added substantially to her workload, acting as the clearing house for all COVID communications also gave the team control over the messaging, thus increasing its accuracy along with her visibility and worth to ServiceNow.

We won’t know the ending to this story for a while – both because of COVID and because Vaishali is just starting a leave of absence to care for an addition to her family.

But we can tell you this. The BRMA mentoring program is one of the more valuable services that this volunteer-led organization provides to its members. And there are a lot of valuable services available to all of us.

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Behind the Curtain that is Behind the Firefighter

Sun, 13 Sep 2020 17:43:53 +0000

by Ron LaPedis

Like the work of a stage manager, most of the work done by continuity planning professionals is behind the curtain. The audience only sees the actors on stage, while a ballet unrivaled by any formal dance is happening in the wings on the side and in the loft above.

During the California wildfires, we hear about the firefighting professionals on the front lines, the true heroes preventing people’s houses from going up in flames. But just like that stage production, dozens of people are off stage for every person on stage, ensuring that the heroes that we see and the displaced residents have the support that they need.

Firefighters have the support of hundreds of people working on operations, planning, logistics and finance teams, arranged by the standards of the Incident Command System (ICS), while residents have the support of the Red Cross.

There are several other teams that you might not even think of, such as law enforcement, search and rescue (SAR) and small and large animal rescue. I have been a member of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office Communications Unit since 2010, the year that a PG&E pipeline exploded in my hometown of San Bruno. While the CZU Lightning Complex was in full swing, I worked as a dispatcher on a hybrid team made up of law enforcement and SAR.

Our team, many of whom are employed full time, spent hundreds of hours around the clock managing and logging communications with sheriff’s deputies and SAR volunteers who were driving the treacherous mountain roads inside the fire area checking on residents who decided to stay behind, taking missing persons reports, looking for animals which escaped from their pens and interviewing people who seemed like they were out of place and might be looters.

Why we do it

When sitting in a corporate enclave, you slowly develop a set of blinders encouraged by the strictures of your environment. In other words, you start thinking inside of a box formed either by your own training, by your coworkers or perhaps by corporate guidelines and standards. At first, you might feel restricted, but as time goes on, the box feels more comfortable and you rarely venture outside of this “comfort zone.”

Thinking inside the box can limit the successful response to an incident, like the workers without power or communications during Superstorm Sandy who were supposed to work from home on their laptops. Pro bono work not only lets you break out of your comfort zone, but you also receive valuable training which can help you and your organization in the future. And it goes without saying that you also gain valuable new friendships and memories which you will cherish for the rest of your life.

For more information on how you can volunteer, contact your local county’s sheriffs or SAR offices.; and if your local office says that they don’t need volunteers, San Mateo County would love to chat with you.

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Air Quality Event Report

Thu, 23 Jul 2020 01:45:33 +0000

As we face another summer and fall of wildfires, we again have the risk of air quality events. Last year the California Resiliency Alliance and BRMA teamed up on a survey to look at this topic in California. In total, we received over 100 responses from the public and private sectors.

As the risk of air quality events increases, and they become a recognized hazard, more attention and planning will be required.

The goal of the report is to increase the understanding of the impact of air quality events and how others are managing them; thereby, supporting organizations in their planning and preparadness efforts. Report sections address:

The Air Quality Index (AQI)
The Effects of Air Quality Events on People & Organizations
Planning for Air Quality Events
Protecting Employees / Reducing Exposure
Minimizing Business Impacts
Monitoring Air Quality Levels
Information Sharing
Respondents’ Planning Assumptions
Employee Opinions of what Employers Should Do
Additional Concerns About Air Quality Events

Three appendices include respirator usage, AQI considerations, and a collection of resources.

This report has been made possible through a partnership between the California Resiliency Alliance (CRA) and BRMA. We wish to thank survey respondents for their contributions.

Click the image below to download the report.

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And the 2019 BRMA Award of Excellence goes to…Box, Inc.

Tue, 10 Dec 2019 03:44:57 +0000

The award was presented to Renuka Darbha, Crispin Maung, Shelley Munoz, Kevin Low, and Vaishali Jain by Fiona Raymond-Cox, President (2017-2019) at the BRMA annual meeting and luncheon on December 5, 2019.

Box has been supporting the business continuity profession and nurturing the next generation of resiliency professionals since establishing its business continuity management program in 2014.

Renuka Darbha was hired to put in place a basic program in the lead up to the company’s IPO but soon realized there was much work to be done. She garnered the support of the Chief Compliance Officer, CISO and VP of Engineering to build the program from the ground up. In a span of 5 years, the Box Business Continuity Management (BCM) program has grown to encompass emergency response, business continuity, crisis management, disaster recovery, enterprise risk management, internal audit, vendor management and a team of 8 full-time staff. Renuka built a BCM program that addresses changing technology, customer needs, as well as laws and regulations, and encompasses resiliency requirements for Box. The program is also highly praised by customers who often request business continuity walkthroughs and exercise reports.

In 2016, Renuka was nominated for the BCI North America Awards for the most effective recovery. Renuka built a great partnership with both internal and external stakeholders that has helped in effectively building out BCM program competencies.

In 2018 Renuka helped launch the BRMA Mentoring Program and became a Mentor. In 2019, she took a leap of faith and stepped up to assume the role of BRMA Program Director. Shelly Munoz agreed to support Renuka in the role of Program Development Coordinator ultimately joining the Box team this past summer. Together Renuka and Shelly have overseen the BRMA programming. New member, Kevin Low, wrote the meeting summary for our September meeting. Ex-Box members have also contributed as Social Media Coordinator (Kelly D’Innocenti) and Nominating Committee member (Vaishali Jain).

Furthermore, BRMA members have directly benefitted from the programs Box has been implementing internally. For example, their workplace violence program led to our members receiving training from the Redwood City Police Department SWAT team in April. And their efforts with artificial intelligence and machine learning lead to the May webinar by one of their consultants.

Additionally, the Box BCM team promotes our industry and imparts their knowledge at business continuity conferences like the DRJ, Solutions Fusion Conference, and are regular contributors at regional Fusion Risk Management User Group meetings. Box staff is also vested in the community, collaborating with local Middle and High schools on emergency response and with firms in Redwood City and various locations where there is a Box office presence.

Box is a worthy recipient of the 2019 BRMA Award of Excellence.

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Conference Drawing: Attending the 2019 DRJ Spring World Conference in Orlando by Shirley Ono

Thu, 29 Aug 2019 03:45:10 +0000

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BRMA’s Mentoring Program is Live!

Tue, 11 Jun 2019 22:45:27 +0000

Having completed a very successful 6-month pilot, our mentoring program has officially launched. The program is open to Mentors and Mentees twice per year, each for a period of six months as follows: Session 1: January – June | Session 2: July – December.

Our goal is to help enrich our individual member’s skillset and provide them with access to an experience base that they might not have access to otherwise. We specifically match members in the program with similar interests, experiences and background.

Our initial effort resulted in amazing outcomes for both Mentors and Mentees in unexpected ways, from a career change, to confidence building, to demonstrating leadership skills, and even more involvement in BRMA!

We are excited to see the mentorships and outcomes which evolve from this program.

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