Many experts believe that, as the heart of each community’s economic base, private-sector businesses need to be a significant part of each community’s resilience efforts. The National Institute of Building Sciences Multihazard Mitigation Council (MMC) will host a webinar, “How Does Business Continuity Contribute to Community Resilience?” on Tuesday, November 15, from 2:00 to 3:00 pm ET, to describe the importance of including business continuity (BC) planning activities when discussing community resilience planning. 

Learn what BC and business continuity management (BCM) mean in the private sector; find out about key BC references for selected industries; and hear about good practices as defined by disaster recovery and BC professional associations. The presentation will highlight success stories and look at how local businesses can help communities recover vital functions after disruptive events.

During the webinar, presenter George Huff will provide evidence to support the case that, in numerous ways, BC planning activities of private-sector businesses are complementary to, and consistent with, the six-step planning processes for the built environment and infrastructure systems set forth in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Planning Guide for Community Resilience.

Huff has a passion for business continuity and continuity of operations dating from his days of military service, which continued during his employment as Attorney-Advisor at the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Concurrently, as a U.S. Army Reserve officer, Huff planned and conducted military exercises in Europe, the Persian Gulf and Japan, working with his civil-military counterparts in the allied host nations. He became an American National Standards Institute (ANSI)-approved delegate to the U.S. Technical Advisory Group to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Technical Committee 233, Societal Security, working on the project teams directly responsible for developing business continuity management systems standards and technical specifications. In 2011, Huff was elected to the Board of Directors of ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board. After his career with the military and federal government, Huff launched The Continuity Project in an effort to further pursue his interest in, and dedication to planning and helping create safe and prepared organizations and communities. In 2015, NIST selected Huff as the Business Continuity Fellow for the Community Resilience Program.