Suzanne Bernier, Author of Disaster Heroes

Suzanne is a regular guest speaker and panelist at disaster conferences across North America, Europe and Australia.

Suzanne prides herself on her ability to communicate clearly and effectively to all audiences at all levels. She is a down-to-earth communicator who likes to engage her audiences with entertaining, dynamic and thought-provoking presentations. The personal stories and anecdotes she shares with her audiences, whether it be during her relief efforts following Hurricane Katrina or more recently after Hurricane Sandy, have been called “truly inspirational” by many.

"On behalf of MCNY and IAEMSA, I would like to officially thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to present on a very relevant and serious topic. As your presentation showed, pandemics are an ever-present threat to the safety and security to individuals and countries around the world. Your presentation was very informative and captivated those who attended; this has been evidenced by the positive feedback I have received from students and professors.

The fact that you are always on the go and always traveling to various destinations around the world, and still managed to make time to educate and inform students at MCNY, is a testament to your commitment to spreading the word about lessons learned from Canada. Further, it is shows that you are committed to growing the field of emergency and disaster management.”

Obiano Huntley, IAEMSA President

“On Monday 30th September (2013), New South Wales State Emergency Services staff and volunteers attended an informative and entertaining talk on social media in emergencies presented by Canadian expert Suzanne Bernier.

Suzanne had already presented at the social media in disaster management conference in Sydney, Australia, and kindly offered her time to put on a social media presentation specifically for the NSW SES on her experience with the use of social media in disasters. SES volunteers, staff and guests attended the presentation – with some travelling from as far as Wollongong to make the most of this very special opportunity.

With her approachability, funny manner and background in government and volunteering, she had the ability to relate to everyone that attended.”

New South Wales Australian Institute of Emergency Services “News and Views” article, October 2013

SUZANNE BERNIER, CEM, CBCP, MBCI
PRESIDENT, SB CRISIS CONSULTING
AUTHOR of DISASTER HEROES
GLOBAL AMBASSADOR, STARS OF HOPE USA

Suzanne is a multi-certified, award-winning and internationally-recognized crisis management consultant, speaker and author, who has helped governments, communities and companies plan for and respond to disasters for over twenty years. She was named 2016’s ‘Continuity & Resilience Consultant of the Year – North America’ by the Business Continuity Institute (BCI), and had the honor of being a guest speaker at The White House during FEMA’s 2016 Individual & Community Preparedness Awards.

Throughout her career, Suzanne has been professionally and/or personally involved in helping communities respond, rebuild or recover from numerous crises, including the San Bernardino, Brussels, and 9/11 terror attacks, the 2016 Fort McMurray, Alberta wildfire, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy, the H1N1 pandemic, the 2003 Northeast Blackout, the 1998 “Ice Storm of the Century” in Eastern Canada, as well as numerous floods, fires, and severe storms. Prior to her career in business continuity and emergency management, Suzanne was a journalist, press secretary and media spokesperson for the Canadian government.

Suzanne is a current Board Member of the New York Says Thank You Foundation, the Safe America Foundation, and RES/CON New Orleans, and is the Global Ambassador for Stars of HOPE USA. She is a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) through the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), as well as a Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP) through the Disaster Recovery Institute (DRI) and a certified Member of the Business Continuity Institute (MBCI).

Suzanne’s critically-acclaimed book, Disaster Heroes, tells the stories of ordinary men, women and children who have done extraordinary things to help respond, recover and rebuild following some of the world’s most significant modern disasters. She is currently working on several new projects, including her next book, Disaster Heroes Too.

Projector required, as well as internet connectivity and sound.