The Alerting Authority
The Alerting Authority is a podcast dedicated to improving how we warn the public when seconds matter. Hosted by Jeanette Sutton, a leading researcher in public alerts and warnings, and Eddie Bertola, an expert in emergency communications technology, the show brings together practitioners, policymakers, technologists, and thought leaders shaping the future of public alerting.
Each episode dives deep into real-world challenges behind creating, issuing, and delivering life-saving alerts. From Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) and the Emergency Alert System (EAS) to IPAWS implementation, crisis messaging, public behavior, and alerting policy, the hosts explore what works, what fails, and why.
Rather than focusing solely on tools or software, The Alerting Authority examines the “human side” of emergency communication—decision-making under pressure, message design, training gaps, coordination across agencies, and the psychology of how people interpret warnings.
The podcast aims to empower emergency managers, communicators, and public safety professionals with actionable insights, practical guidance, and candid conversations with the people who have shaped, studied, and experienced alerting at every level.
Whether you’re responsible for issuing alerts, designing systems, researching risk communication, or simply interested in how warnings save lives, The Alerting Authority is your go-to source for understanding and improving public alerting in a complex and rapidly evolving world.
The Alerting Authority
Nick Crossley on Building an Effective Alert and Warning Program
In this episode of The Alerting Authority, hosts Jeannette Sutton and Eddie Bertola are joined by Nick Crossley, Director of Emergency Management and Homeland Security for Hamilton County, Ohio, to explore what it truly takes to build and sustain an effective, public-facing alert and warning program.
Nick shares how Hamilton County manages emergency communications across 49 jurisdictions, including the City of Cincinnati, while navigating county borders, interstate coordination, and cross-river messaging challenges. He breaks down the philosophy behind treating alerting and warning as the most public responsibility of emergency management—and why constant training, prescripting, and evaluation are critical to public trust.
The conversation dives deep into:
- Building and maintaining a robust alerting and warning strategy
- Training duty officers to confidently send Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) under pressure
- Using the FEMA Message Design Dashboard (MDD) to improve clarity and reduce confusion
- Applying EMAP accreditation standards to alerting, communications, and documentation
- Managing message bleed-over across county and state boundaries
- Lessons learned from real-world hazmat incidents, flooding, and shelter-in-place orders
- Practical advice for small agencies and one-person emergency management shops just getting started
Nick also shares why collaboration, borrowing templates, and cross-jurisdictional MOUs are essential tools for modern emergency management—and why continuous improvement is non-negotiable when lives are at stake.
Whether you’re an emergency manager, dispatcher, public information officer, or policy leader, this episode offers actionable insights into how to design alerts that inform, protect, and empower the public when it matters most.
Thank you to our sponsor, TheWarnRoom.com, for supporting this episode and helping advance best practices in emergency alerting and public communication.