In this update:

• New DEPR Division Director
• Quarterly New EPC Orientation
• Preparedness Lunch and Learn
• ICS-300 & ICS-400 Coming to Lansing
• Michigan Volunteer Registry - Administrator & Volunteer Management Training -- Important Schedule Update
• Michigan Volunteer Registry Office Hours
• Upcoming Training Opportunity: Introduction to SNS Operations Course
• Preparedness Resources for the Community
• PHEP Connects Webinar: Improving and Refining Exercise Design in Public Health 
• Great Speaker Submission Form

Upcoming events:

January 2026

15 | New EPC and HCC staff orientation.
15 | Deadline for completing Module 9 of the Roots of Health Inequity course.
19 | Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday, State of Michigan offices closed.
30 | Mid-year progress report due.
30 | JSA Update due from non-CRI health departments

February

12 | Monthly PHEP partners meeting on Teams
16 | Presidents Day – State of Michigan offices closed.

New DEPR Division Director

Terra Riddle is the new director of the Division of Emergency Preparedness and Response (DEPR) effective January 5, 2026.

As many of you know she was with the PHEP program for about 5-years and most recently has spent more than a year working in the HPP program, while continuing to work with the PHEP team regularly.  Prior to working for the Bureau, she worked in the nonprofit sector centered on program development, cross-sector collaboration and crisis communications supporting the transition to emergency preparedness.

Congratulations Terra!

Quarterly New EPC Orientation

The next new EPC orientation at DEPR will be held January 15 – 16, 2026. RSVP to Jim Koval no later than Monday, January 12.

Preparedness Lunch and Learn

January’s Lunch and Learn session highlights the State Burn Coordinating Center, a statewide coordination center that supports hospitals with the tools, and expertise to manage burn emergencies. From enhancing readiness to strengthening coordinated response, this program is transforming how Michigan hospitals care for burn patients. 

Presenter: Dr. Naveen Sangji - State Burn Coordinating Center (SBCC)

Miss a session? Check out the Preparedness Lunch and Learn recordings on MI-TRAIN.

ICS-300 & ICS-400 Coming to Lansing

Sign up now for ICS-300 and ICS-400 sessions at BEPESoC in Lansing. These sessions will be taught by public health, and while open to everyone, will have examples related to public health and healthcare.

EMS credits are available upon completion of these courses. Please refer to the Standardized Continuing Education Credits Guidebook for more information.

Prerequisites: FEMA IS 100, 200, 700 and 800 as well as ICS 300, if signing up for ICS 400.

ICS 300 – March 25-27, 2026
ICS 400 – May 20-21, 2026

These courses are available in the MSP Professional Development Learning Center.

To set up PDLC access see these instructions:

• Create a MiLogin (SOM employee) (PDF) (VIDEO)
• Download MI-TRAIN Certificate(s) and Transcript (PDF) (VIDEO)
• Add External Training to PDLC (PDF) (VIDEO)
• PDLC User Guide (PDF)

For PDLC questions: MSP-PDLC-Support@michigan.gov

For course session questions: Kerry Chamberlain – chamberlaink2@michigan.gov

Michigan Volunteer Registry - Administrator & Volunteer Management Training -- Important Schedule Update

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the MVR Administrator and Volunteer Management training on January 7, 2026, has been rescheduled to January 14, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

If you are unable to attend the training now on January 14, 2026, please know we will be hosting the same training again on February 11 at 10:00 a.m. (an invitation for this training will be sent out in the coming weeks).

We apologize for any inconvenience – please let Elizabeth Shepard or Stephanie Steele know if you have any questions.

Michigan Volunteer Registry Office Hours

Please join us on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, for the Michigan Volunteer Registry office hours. In this short 30-minute meeting we will be demonstrating information on how to create a custom Export. Please bring any questions you may have regarding this topic.

Upcoming Training Opportunity: Introduction to SNS Operations Course

Registration is now open for the next training offering of the Introduction to the SNS Operations Course, scheduled for January 26 – 30, 2026, at the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, Alabama.

The five-day, in-person course is designed to give public health and emergency management professionals an introduction to SNS planning and operations. Participants will practice real-world skills like setting up points of dispensing, managing cold chain logistics, and coordinating large scale distribution through classroom instruction, interactive exercises, and capstone scenarios.

Preparedness Resources for the Community

Convoy of Hope is a nonprofit humanitarian and disaster relief organization that provides food, supplies, and humanitarian services to impoverished or otherwise needy populations throughout the world. The organization also engages in disaster relief work.

They have produced two guides to assist families and churches to prepare for a disaster. The guides have good information and are in an easily understood format for community partners.

PHEP Connects Webinar: Improving and Refining Exercise Design in Public Health 

CDC will host the next PHEP Connects webinar, Improving and Refining Exercise Design in Public Health, on Wednesday, January 14th at 1:00 p.m. EST. This session will highlight strategies and lessons learned from Florida’s recent continuity of operations and hurricane response exercises. 

Presenters Lauren Manning, MPH, CHES, MEP (CDC) and Christina Stenberg, MPH, MEP (Florida Department of Health) will share insights from eight exercises developed and conducted between summer 2023 and summer 2024 through Florida’s Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Hospital Preparedness programs. With Florida’s extensive real-world response experience, these exercises were designed to strengthen internal staff readiness, reinforce response roles, and identify program gaps using the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program framework. 

This session will explore how incorporating after-action report findings, modeling scenarios based on real incidents, and collecting real-time data can improve exercise design, execution, and evaluation. Attendees will gain practical approaches to enhance resiliency and refine capabilities within their own jurisdictions. 

We look forward to your participation and encourage you to bring questions and insights! 

If you have any questions regarding this webinar, email: dslrtraining@cdc.gov

Great Speaker Submission Form

Have you seen a good speaker recently? Use the Great Speaker Submission Form to submit information when you hear a great speaker. This will help inform future state and regional training and educational opportunities.

Regional Points of Contact

Region 1: Denise Fleming
Region 2N & 2S: Jeannie Byrne
Region 3: Jim Koval
Region 5: April Walton
Region 6: Jessica Gould
Region 7: Jeannie Byrne
Region 8: Kerry Chamberlain
Tribes: Terra Riddle
DEPR Finance: DHHS-DEPR-Finance@michigan.gov 
PHEP: MDHHS-DEPR-PHEP@michigan.gov

This message is being sent to the Division of Emergency Preparedness & Response, Tribal Health Care Coordinator, Local Health Department Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, Local Health Department Health Officer, and Regional Epidemiologist mailing lists.