About

The Southern California Preparedness Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation founded to promote and support disaster awareness, education, and preparedness via community events, public forums, focused programs, and targeted outreach. Headquarters are in the San Fernando Valley of California, in the heart of earthquake country. The Foundation is listed with GuideStar, the world’s largest source of information on nonprofit organizations.

 

The Foundation, producer of the Annual Valley Disaster Preparedness Fair, primarily supports the Map Your Neighborhood (MYN) program, now Ready Your LA Neighborhood (RYLAN), and Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training. As well as production coordination for larger Emergency Preparedness events regionally, and in depth focused topics and exercises.

Annual Valley Disaster Preparedness Fair

The free annual Valley Disaster Preparedness Fair, largest of its kind in Los Angeles, managed and produced by the Foundation as a whole community event to help bring information, knowledge, and awareness to being better prepared for large-scale emergencies and disasters. The last in-person annual Fair was held on Saturday, October 10, 2020 at Northridge Fashion Center. Following this, the fair was held virtually and remains available on www.ValleyDisasterFair.com. While the Foundation no longer produces the annual Fair itself, it continues this legacy by supporting the large format Outreach events of other entities. Please see calendar for upcoming events of interest.

Map Your Neighborhood (MYN)
Ready Your LA Neighborhood (RYLAN)

MYN / RYLAN is a bridge between individual preparedness and programs like CERT. This program saves lives, reduces the severity of injuries and trauma, and reduces property damage. Working together as a team and contributing as an individual develops stronger communities and improves the quality of life in the community. MYN has a proven track record and has been implemented in over 42 states and worldwide. This 9-step program is presented free by community volunteers in about three hours to an immediate neighborhood (residents of 15  to 20 houses/condos/apartments along one street).  This short article published in the April 2013 issue of Granada Hills Life provides more details about the program. For more information, email MYN@SoCalPrep.us. The Los Angeles Emergency Management Department has re-branded and optimized MYN for Los Angeles as RYLAN, Ready Your LA Neighborhood. It remains free to participate and is available for any size group. More information at: https://ready.lacity.gov/

Community Emergency Response Team (CERT)

The CERT program is an all-risk, all-hazard training. This valuable course is designed to help one protect themselves, their family, neighbors, and immediate neighborhood in an emergency situation. CERT members receive 17½ hours of initial training. CERT training is provided free of charge within the city of Los Angeles by the Los Angeles Fire Department. The Foundation works with CERT programs to provide free CERT backpacks to graduates, and is approaching 100 classes supported. For class schedules and more information, see the CERT website:
https://www.cert-la.com

Informational Brochure

Download our tri-fold informational brochure here. Designed to be printed double-sided and folded as a letter would be folded before inserting into a #10 envelope. To request a quantity for an upcoming event, please send an email to info@SoCalPrep.us with information about the event.

Contributions

As a U.S. registered nonprofit, contributions may be tax deductible (see your tax advisor).

Board of Directors

The Foundation is governed by an all-volunteer Board of Directors, consisting of Mr. Dave Brown (President/Director), Mr. Michael Hart (Vice-President/Director) Mr. Martin Woll (Treasurer/Director) and Ms. Maggie Elliott (Corporate Secretary/Director). There are no employees. Cumulatively, the Directors have decades of experience in disaster preparedness and response, and are all active amateur radio (ham) operators.

Biographies of the Board of Directors of the Southern California Preparedness Foundation

All Directors have experienced the February 9, 1971 Sylmar, CA and the January 17, 1994 Northridge, CA earthquakes and are amateur radio operators with a passion for Preparedness.

 

Dave Brown (Dave.Brown@SoCalPrep.us), Logistics, President, Director, and Founder,  a trained CERT 3 responder, has invested many years facilitating Emergency Preparedness within the Neighborhood Council system, CERT classes and the annual Valley Disaster Preparedness Fair.  Dave serves on the Devonshire Division Community Police Advisory Board (CPAB), the Mission Division Quality of Life Committee and a strategic roster of Public Safety groups.  He has extensive hands-on technical production and logistics management experience from a successful live entertainment tech support career including managing and coordinating diverse support personnel under a variety of critical conditions as Chief Safety and Logistics Officer. He also easily handles transborder land, sea, and air shipping. His background includes astrophysics, engineering, security, and finance. Dave holds a ham radio license, is a PADI licensed diver and martial arts enthusiast, and for fun teaches practical audio and video for meeting environments, with a particular emphasis on public safety. See: https://www.eventsafetyalliance.org

Martin Woll Treasurer and Director
A highly proficient Ham Radio operator and equally skilled accountant, Marty contributes significant expertise and effort into maintaining a variety of Emergency Preparedness non-profits in good standing. He is additionally LAFD EVOC trained and certified, as well as numerous additional educational milestones. He travels the World to unique locations in furtherance of expanding his Ham Radio repertoire and understanding of technical relationships.

 

Michael Hart Vice-President and Director
In addition to contributing to the Foundation and actively participating with various Ham Radio groups, Michael mentors a Scout Troop, helping them become well prepared for any occasion. Additionally Michael’s computer expertise led to developing the underlying code powering the Annual Valley Disaster Preparedness Fair, including registration and kit distribution and has guided all aspects of the Foundations web presence. Michael also maintains a calm patient demeanor that that has proved to be an invaluable resource to be modeled after.

Maggie Elliott Secretary and Director
Ms. Elliott in addition to being CERT level 3 (EMR) certified and re-certified, has a very productive history contributing to the greater community via the Neighborhood Council system, The LA Animal Services Division, LAPD events and is an integral part of the Foundation’s support of large format educationally oriented public events focused on Emergency Preparedness. Having traveled the World involved with feature movie production has provided Maggie with a big picture view of life and the ability to work productively in highly diverse situations with unique individuals.

 

 

Every successful organization has tireless legacy contributors upon which the group is build upon. Bill Hopkins, Linda Pruett and Ted Snyder have by their example inspired countless folks with their enthusiasm and dedication. This site and the ongoing work we do is dedicated to their honor and memory.

pix Bill Hopkins  Bill pix    

William (Bill) Hopkins, Jr. (Bill.Hopkins@SoCalPrep.us), President, Director, and Founder, was a strong supporter of disaster and emergency preparedness. He served as a community-elected member of Granada Hills North Neighborhood Council (GHNNC), founded and chaired the GHNNC Emergency Preparedness Committee, and Vice-Chair of its Public Safety Committee. Bill has been the principal key to the success of previous annual Valley Disaster Preparedness Fairs, now in its thirteenth year, and served as Chair of the all-volunteer Valley Disaster Preparedness Team. He was a Community Emergency Response Team callout member (CERT 3) and CERT class coordinator for GHNNC, a Map Your Neighborhood (MYN) Instructor, and an American Red Cross volunteer. Bill first taught Red Cross First Aid and CPR classes while attending UCLA, graduating with an engineering degree. Subsequently, he served on the Board of the San Fernando Valley District of the Los Angeles American Red Cross Chapter as Disaster Chairman, and led their Disaster Action Team (DAT) while also serving as a DAT responder and first aid station coordinator. He has been an amateur radio licensee for over 50 years; held an Extra class license; and was a Volunteer Examiner for several ham groups and a member of the Amateur Radio Emergency Services (ARES), Los Angeles County Disaster Communications Service (DCS), and the Los Angeles Fire Department Auxiliary Communications Service (LAFD ACS). For over a decade, through his stock photography business, Bill supplied the publishing industry with images. His articles on emergency preparedness regularly appeared in Granada Hills Life magazine. Bill received the George Washington Honor Medal from Freedoms Foundation of Valley Forge, Los Angeles Chapter, in 2016. He is the recipient of Granada Hills Chamber of Commerce 2017 Gil Benjamin Citizen of the Year Award. Southern California Preparedness Foundation received BICEPP‘s (Business & Industry Council for Emergency Planning & Preparedness) Award of Excellence in 2018.

 

Linda Pruett pix  Linda drill pix    

Linda Pruett (Linda.Pruett@SoCalPrep.us), Corporate Secretary, Director, and Founder, was an elected member of Lake Balboa Neighborhood Council (LBNC) and wasa member since its certification in September 2004, serving in various capacities including President and holding the position of Chairperson of the LBNC Emergency Preparedness Committee since 2004. Linda has extensive experience in the emergency and disaster preparedness community. It was her staunch support that enabled LBNC to obtain, position, and stock two large cargo containers with emergency supplies and rescue tools within Lake Balboa. On March 21, 2011, Assemblymember Bob Blumenfield honored Linda’s tireless dedication to emergency preparedness during the California State Assembly’s Woman of the Year ceremony at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. Trained as a CERT 3 responder, she vigorously supported that training for others, and was responsible for graduating the largest CERT class in Los Angeles. She was the Founder of Text Management Services, Inc., the first full-service word processing Service Bureau on the west coast, and served as its President and CEO for nearly thirty years. Developing into a publishing company, TMS, Inc. produced technical manuals for the aircraft and aerospace industry throughout the world. Linda currently served as Preparedness Adviser on the West Valley Community Police Advisory Board (CPAB), and as Co-President of the San Fernando Valley Chapter of NOW, the National Organization for Women.

 

Ted Snyder pix

Theodore (Ted) Snyder Treasurer, Director and Founder, retiring from an illustrious career as a celebrated Mathematics teacher, found a new passion in collaborative Emergency Preparedness. His ability to discern difficult concepts, make them understandable to others and modify them to advantageous use left the rest of us in awe. When you find out can be fun to learn about Math, you know you are a lucky student of a gifted instructor.