Imelda Cota-Brewer - Vice-Chair

February 2, 2015

To: Nominating Committee

I am expressing my intent to apply for the position of Vice-Chair with the Upland Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).

Education

·         Hold a Bachelor's degree in Social Work and a Master's in Business Administration.

Profession:

·         Currently serve as  President of B & B Refractory, Vice-President of B & B Scaffolding, and have  extensive experience working with the public at a personal and professional level.

·         Real Estate agent in our community since 2005

QUALIFICATIONS

Member of Upland CERT since 2012

·         Serve as the Public Relations Director of the program

·         Have taken Train-the-Trainer

·         Instructor with Upland CERT

·         Teach Disaster Psychology and participate in CERT final exercises and Bi-monthly trainings.

·         Participated in local events and speaking engagements to promote CERT.

Volunteer with the American Red Cross since 2005

·         Serve as Disaster Services Instructor and have taught hundreds of volunteers around the United States.  

·         Served as a Client Casework Supervisor  and Public Affairs on local and national disasters.

·         Been a member of the Disaster Action Team that serves local residents at meeting their disaster caused needs after they have experienced a home fire.

·         Have extensive experience in working with disaster affected clients and volunteers on national operations and with community agencies. I understand the importance of change and adaptability during a disaster while maintaining compassion and focus on victims.

·         Have worked on over 8 National Disaster Relief operations around the country: floods, hurricanes and tornadoes. 

·         Experienced in volunteer management and training.

·         Experience in fundraising and participated in local events to promote the American Red Cross

·         CPR and First Aid certified

        My experience with disaster affected communities and victims around the united States has allowed me to see the big picture in disaster preparedness, training and mitigation. I understand the needs of our community and would like to grow our program in the direction that creates more awareness for disaster preparation in our neighborhoods, businesses and schools. Collaborating with businesses, we can train and prepare employers and employees to be self-sufficient. We can create a partnership with other agencies in the Foothills so we can have shared trainings and exercises for the enrichment of our members and our program. We can teach teachers and students to take care of each other when all emergency responders are unable to respond. In addition, we can take our teams out into the communities of Upland and create awareness through drills and exercises in neighborhoods.
     To conclude, I would like to see the CERT program volunteer pool grow and expand so that we can serve the community effectively during and after a disaster.

Sincerely,

Imelda Cota-Brewer