…is his kid's dad and President of Media Survival Group. He retired in 2002 from the state of California in 2002 after 20 years as an Instructor/Public Information Officer with the California Specialized Training Institute, San Luis Obispo, specializing in Crisis Communications. At CSTI he developed several programs dealing with the media and emergency information as well as day-to-day media relations. He was developer and course manager for CSTI's popular "Crisis Communications & The Media" four level course, "Legal Update", "Crisis Communications for Elected Officials," "Instructional Techniques," "PIO Team Training Workshop," and other special seminars. Media Survival Group
Frank CowanHe is an adjunct instructor for the University of Chicago/Argonne National Laboratories, helping to conduct workshops in the Joint Information Center, News Interview Training and training exercises in the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (www.anl.gov). He is also an instructor for the Joint Interagency Training Center-West (www.jitc-west.org), the National Guard's academy for Homeland Security.
As a crisis PIO Mr. Cowan worked as a Media Monitoring Unit Leader and Field PIO during the Northridge earthquake, Telephone Team Unit Leader during the Loma Prieta earthquake, and Field Ops Branch Director and Field PIO during the Big Bear/Yucca Valley (Landers) earthquake. He performed as Joint Information Center Director for the McGrath Beach Oil Spill in Ventura County, a Liaison PIO and Field PIO for the Highway 41 urban/wildland fire in San Luis Obispo County, a Deputy Lead PIO for the Logan Fire in August of 1997. He organized a county PIO Team for the Hollister Biker Rally on July 4, 1997, worked as Joint Information Center Director for the winter storms in February, 1998 and Media Monitoring Unit Leader following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
A veteran of 21 years of radio and television broadcasting, Frank worked with Armed Forces Radio and Television Service and Voice of America. He performed as News Director at an NBC affiliate and executive producer at a CBS affiliate. He also worked as an announcer, program director, anchor, news director, photographer, producer, assignment editor, reporter and editor.
He was also a Police Officer for three years in San Luis Obispo, California.
Mr. Cowan is past President of the California Association of Public Information Officials and a member of Southern California Emergency Public Information Officers Association and National Association of Public Information Officials. He served for more than a decade on the board of directors for Continuing Education for Public Officials (CEPO) and is an honorary member of the Press Photographer's Association of Greater Los Angeles.Frank was invited to be a guest lecturer for the Crisis Communications portion of a Public Administration Doctorate program at the University of La Verne in 1992. He presented crisis communications seminars in Tokyo for major Japanese corporations in June, 1998, July 1999, August 2000, and January 2002. In partnership with the City of Los Angeles he conducted a PIO Team Training Workshop for the city of Bogota, Colombia in July, 2005.
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www.mediasurvivalgroup.com