The talk will provide a high-level overview of Emergency Management British Columbia (EMBC), British Columbia Emergency Management System (BCERMS), the Public Safety Lifeline Volunteer programs (PSLV’s) and the deployment of Temporary Emergency Assignment Management Staff (TEAMS). The speaker will also provide an overview of the 2017/2018 historical floods and fires in British Columbia which includes EMBC support to local governments, First Nations, Ministry partners, infrastructure owners, business and visitors to BC. EMBC’s six regions also support the Operational Learning, Public Education (OPLE) section at headquarters which is planning several large-scale exercises over the next few years. It has been about a year and a half since BC signed a bilateral agreement with the Government of Canada to provide the full suite of EM services to 193 non-treaty First Nations communities in BC. The speaker will also discuss the learnings and successes of this engagement.
Mike Knauff
Born in Northern Ontario, Mike Knauff has been a resident of Kamloops for over 50 years. Mike has been a regional manager with EMBC for 9 years and filled the role of PREOC director during the 2017/2018 flood and fire seasons. Passionate about Public Safety, Mike's role is to ensure First Nations and local governments are prepared for emergency events and to manage an effective coordinated all agency response to disasters when they occur. Married with two adult daughters, when not at work Mike is fishing, woodworking or trying to catch up on sleep.
Sylvia Chow
Sylvia Chow accepted a Regional Manager position with Emergency Management British Columbia (EMBC) in 2017. Prior to joining EMBC Sylvia worked for the Ministry of Forests Lands and Natural Resource Operations primarily with financial administration, appraisals, OHSC and safety training. She has worked with EMBC through the TEAMS (temporary emergency assignment management system) program since 2005 activated in Provincial Emergency Operations Centre (PREOC)s around the province as well as the during the 2010 Winter Olympics. Sylvia’s commitment in fiscal responsibility to the tax payers of BC as well as compassion for community brings balance to the challenging decisions she makes on a daily basis.
Profits from this event will go to our Branch’s TRU Engineering Scholarship Fund. We look for corporate sponsorship as our main source of funding for the scholarship fund. While we are asking for a minimum of $100, more is greatly appreciated! Sponsors will be recognized at the event and their logo displayed. For more information or to sponsor this event, please visit the sponsorship page.