The Pepperdine School of Public Policy will form an academic enterprise with the Los Angeles Homeland Security Advisory Council (HSAC) focused on disaster preparedness, crisis management, and resiliency through engaging the public, private, and civic sectors.
The Homeland Security Advisory Council at the School of Public Policy will explore cross-sector and information technology solutions to public policy challenges.
“Through the trail-blazing, innovative work of the Los Angeles Homeland Security Advisory Council, we are actually seeing viable solutions to issues important to our community,” said Pepperdine president Andrew K. Benton. “That Pepperdine, through its School of Public Policy, is going to have a major hand in this important and shaping effort is a great opportunity and a point of pride. We hope to use this opportunity to build social capital in greater Los Angeles and help make our community a safer, more caring place for all of our citizens.”
HSAC currently offers a variety of programs focused on technology, engagement, capability building, and partnerships for crisis managers, policymakers, and public safety professionals, in addition to students pursuing a master’s or doctoral degree. Through the partnership with the School of Public Policy, HSAC will expand its current offerings, create new educational and training programs, and reach a broader participant group that includes graduate students and audiences throughout California and the nation.
The move also includes the acquisition of HSAC’s crisis and event management platform, SALUS - The Crisis Hub, which uses geographic information systems (GIS) to manage and analyze data in order to build upon existing relationships with municipal and state governments. GIS is typically used to visualize information, such as patterns and relationships, and helps crisis managers make informed decisions and gain a more complete situational awareness before, during, and after a crisis or major event. SALUS also supports and facilitates strategies that address homelessness in Los Angeles by providing a single, common platform accessible to the mayor’s office and all 16 departments in the city’s Unified Homelessness Response Center.
