OES/CSTI Issues First Crisis Communications Specialist Training Certificate

The Governor's Office of Emergency Services' (OES) California Specialized Training Institute (CSTI) is pleased to announce the award of the first three certificates in the Crisis Communications Specialist Training Certificate program.

The first three individuals to receive this certificate are Sergeant Tammany Brooks and Lieutenant Richard Marchoke of the Antioch Police Department and Deputy Royjindar Singh of Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department.

"By completing the Crisis Communications Specialist Training Certificate, these individuals have demonstrated a level of achievement that is an example to the entire emergency management profession" said OES Director, Henry Renteria.

Tammany Brooks is a Sergeant with the Antioch Police Department and has been with the department for 13 years. Sergeant Brooks holds a BS degree in Public Administration from the University of San Francisco. He has an MA in Leadership from St. Mary's College. He belongs to the National Information Officers Association (NIOA), and the California Association of Public Information Officials (CAPIO).

Richard Marchoke is a Police Lieutenant with the Antioch Police Department. He has been with the department for 29 years. He is the Professional Standards Bureau Manager, the Crime Prevention Commission liaison officer, as well as the CERT Volunteers in Police Services, facilities maintenance officer, OES Coordinator, and Terrorism Liaison Officer. He is an instructor at the University of Phoenix and Western Career College. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and holds a BS Degree from the University of California, Davis and an MPA Degree from California State University, Hayward,
CA.

Royjindar Singh has been a Deputy Sheriff for the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department for four years. For the past two years he has been the department's Public Information Officer (PIO). He has been a volunteer firefighter for nine years and currently holds the rank of Captain. Deputy Singh is certified by the State Fire Marshall to respond statewide as a PIO and spent four days as a PIO in Butte County in June 2008 for the Lightning Fires. He is a CSTI Hazards Materials Outreach Instructor and teaches Hazmat First Responder Awareness and Operations at the police academy and HAZMAT Incident Commander to supervisors. He is also an instructor for the National Incident Management System levels I-100, I-200, and I-700.

This OES/CSTI professional certificate program, established in 2007, recognizes emergency management and public safety professionals who have completed a five-course training program at the Governor's Office of Emergency Services California Specialized Training Institute - CSTI.

Certificate recipients complete three core courses in Crisis Communications and two elective courses. Elective courses include terrorism prevention, exercise design, emergency management and homeland security for business and industry, managing sustained operations, emergency operations center functions, and other courses offered by CSTI for over 35 years. CSTI's courses are offered on a regular basis throughout the state.

For more information about OES and CSTI training opportunities, visit www.oes.ca.gov.