CERT Continuing Education

(For public trainings, including CERT Basic Training and Stop the Bleed, see this page. For CERT instructors, see this page.)

Continuing education classes and exercises help CERT team members refresh skills learned in the Basic classes, deepen operational knowledge, and learn new skills. This page combines Advanced Training, continuing education classes, and selected recorded trainings. Attendance at these classes counts towards the hours of CERT training required for renewal of the DSW badge and CERT recertification every five years.

CERT members are also welcome and encouraged to repeat public trainings, including CERT Basic Training and Stop the Bleed.

At evening continuing education sessions, CERT recertification will take place from 6:30–7:00 pm for those who need to update their badges. Please email certauxiliary@gmail.com about procedures to follow for recertification.

Note: CERT Continuing Education includes both in-person classes and online classes through Zoom. See the CERT Respiratory Virus Policy.

CERT Advanced Training

After taking the Basic Training course, what should a CERT member know before they are activated as a Disaster Service Worker? The Basic Training course teaches us how to support ourselves, family, and neighborhood in the event of a disaster, but it does not teach all the skills needed to operate under local government agencies or first responders. These four modules teach a DSW about the organization that they work under, personal safety, and effective communications.

Advanced Training Schedule

If you have completed the Basic Training, you may sign up for one module at a time, but we encourage you to complete all four modules.

Currently Scheduled Continuing Education

Note: Unless otherwise specified, each Continuing Education class must have a minimum of 10 registered one week before the class begins, or it may be cancelled. You will be notified if the minimum has not been met.

Recorded Continuing Education Classes

During the pandemic and beyond, we have held CERT continuing education classes on Zoom. Here are selected classes that were recorded. You won’t be able to ask questions, but you can still learn from the instructors and the discussion.

You’ve been on Zoom. Please excuse the occasional technical glitches.

• Building Workplace Resilience: Bringing CERT into Emergency Preparedness

  Most workplaces maintain emergency action plans to meet regulatory requirements, yet many struggle to translate those plans into real-world capability. This session explores how Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) principles can be applied within workplace environments to bridge the gap between compliance and true preparedness.

  This session introduces a framework for integrating CERT concepts into existing workplace emergency programs. Real-world examples and implementation considerations will be shared to help organizations tailor programs to their specific risks, workforce, and operational needs.

  Attendees will leave with practical strategies to move beyond written plans and develop a more capable, confident, and prepared workforce.

  Presenter: Ashli Sturgill, CSP, Safety and Health Manager and CERT Instructor

  — Watch the recording

• CERT Phone Applications

  This training will provide you with access to the Santa Cruz County Geographic Information System (GIS) Team’s mobile applications. The scSURF app is a new tool in CERT’s toolkit. CERTs may report damage assessments (a.k.a. windshield assessments) in their neighborhoods to help close the information gap within the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) during activations. The Knock & Talk app is used to document public outreach as directed by the EOC with real-time reporting of area evaluations and contacts.

  Presenters: Paul Garcia and Jenni Gomez of the County’s Geographic Information System (GIS) department

  — Watch the recording

  Resources:
  Instructions for installing the Knock & Talk phone application
  QR Codes for downloading the scSURF and Knock & Talk applications

• Last Resort – Sheltering in Place During a Wildfire

  Would you know what to do if a wildfire advances so quickly that you do not have time to get out or you’ve waited too late to evacuate, and the roads are now blocked?

  LizAnne Jensen, Firewise leader and CERT Auxiliary Board President, and Lynn Sestak, FireSafe Council volunteer and Firewise coach for the County, will familiarize you with essential strategies and steps that might help you survive if you find yourself in this perilous situation.
  — Watch the recording
  

• Disaster Psychology for Children
  Presenter — Laura Vroman, MSW
  Children and adolescents are NOT little adults. When a disaster strikes, children and adolescents are at risk of experiencing extreme stress. They are less likely to understand what is going on or have any idea of how to stay safe, and they are less likely to feel as if they have any control of what is going on. Because of this, children and adolescents are at greater risk of experiencing trauma when a disaster happens. In this presentation, we will discuss some ideas about how to support children and adolescents in case of a disaster.
  — Watch the recording
  
• Lightning!
  LIGHTNING: What We Know and What We Have Yet to Learn
  Presenter: Dr. Jacquelyn Ringhausen, Lightning Scientist with NOAA, National Oceanic Atmospheric and Administration Research, at the world’s preeminent National Severe Storms Laboratory in Oklahoma.
  — Watch the recording
  
• Triage Review
  Presenter — Mary Edmund RN, CERT Instructor, and Leader Seacliff Neighborhood Team
  Yellow, red, recovery position, stages of bleeding — do you remember these? Here is an opportunity for a convenient review of triage concepts and CERT’s role in mass casualty situations.
  — Watch the recording
  
• Disaster Psychology Refresher
  Presenter — Dr. Avril Salter, CERT Instructor, and member City of Santa Cruz Team
  Which skill do you think you will use as a CERT volunteer the most? It may surprise you that it is not putting out fires or stopping the bleed. It is disaster psychology. This is because CERT volunteers help the people in our community. We do not just help in disasters. We help prepare people for a disaster, direct traffic, and other community support activities. The people we are helping exhibit emotional responses in all of these situations.You, the people you are helping, and your fellow CERT buddy will all benefit from your skills in disaster psychology.
  — Watch the recording
  
• Tsunamis -- Hear from the Experts
  Presenters:
  a) Brian Garcia — Warning Coordination Meteorologist, National Weather Service Monterey/San Francisco Bay Area
  b) Yvette LaDuke — Program Manager Earthquake, Tsunami and Volcano Program Seismic Hazards Branch, Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES)
  c) Rick Wilson — Senior Engineering Geologist Seismic Hazards Program, Tsunami Unit Mgr., California Geological SurveyHow to be aware of tsunami hazards, and how to prepare for them.
  — Watch the recording
  
• CERT, Firewise USA and the Fire Safe Council of Santa Cruz County: collaboration opportunity for community education
  Presenters — LizAnne Jensen, FireSafe Council volunteer, executive committee member, and CERT Auxiliary Board member; and Lynn Sestak, FireSafe Council volunteer, board member, Firewise coach for this County, and new CERT member for Loma Prieta areaFirewise USA, a national program, is a framework that helps neighbors work together in a community to reduce wildfire risk through education and collaboration. Local Fire Safe Councils in the South Bay area, including the Fire Safe Council of Santa Cruz County, promote the Firewise USA recognition process as a way for communities in the WUI (Wildland-Urban Interface) to reduce their wildfire risk. This includes education pieces for helping neighbors work together on defensible space, home hardening, evacuation planning, and more. With the current drought conditions and fire anxiety very high, there is a lot of interest in the Firewise USA program. The Fire Safe Council of Santa Cruz is seeking partners to assist interested neighborhoods that want to go Firewise. With CERT’s focus on preparedness, we are exploring the possibility of partnering with the Fire Safe Council to help communities become more fire safe.
  — Watch the recording
  
• Call Center Setup and Staffing
  Presenters — Liz Taylor-Selling, Branch Leader, and Bill Fitler, Member Felton Area CERT
  Early in the CZU Wildfire event, CERT was asked to staff the CalFire call center to answer phone calls from the public when professionals were handling the fire event. This Call Center training was developed from the lessons learned and reviews core CERT safety and disaster psychology principles, preparing us to assist again if we are called to do so.
  — Watch the recording
  
• Disaster Psychology for Yourself, Team Members, and Survivors
  Presenter — Laura Vroman, Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) and La Selva Beach Team member
  Additional information beyond what was presented in CERT Basic Training, focusing on children, psychological first aid, mindfulness, and how to stay upbeat in this COVID environment.
  — Watch the recording
  
• Utility Safety and Handling Emergencies
  Presenter — Stew Roth, PG&E Community Representative
  Are you ready for power shut-offs and possible utility emergencies? PG&E representative Stew Roth presents an informative and engaging discussion dealing with gas and electric infrastructure, identifying utility hazards and risks, with a special focus on downed power lines.
  — Watch the recording
  
• Beginning MURS Radios (Multi Radio Service)
  Presenter — Dawn Mackey, Registrar, ARES, Team Bonny Doon
  Now that you have a new MURS radio, attend an online class on how to use it. Provides basic information for radio maintenance, operation, etiquette, and protocols.
  — Watch the recording
  
• MURS Radio Intermediate Class
  CERT radio communication allows for information to be gathered quickly and passed on to help make decisions on priority of response. In this intermediate class the discussion centers on radio wave propagation, making calls, CERT and ARES radio structure, and radio accessories with possibilities for increasing range.
  — Watch the recording | View the handout
  
• Map Your Neighbor (MYN) Workshop
  Presenter — Joyce Smith, Team Santa Cruz, and others
  Neighborhoods that are prepared for emergencies and disaster situations save lives and reduce the severity of injuries and property damage. In addition, contributing as an individual and working together as a team helps develop stronger communities and improves the quality of life in the community.The Map Your Neighborhood program guides you and your neighbors through simple steps to help enhance your preparedness for an emergency or disaster. We outline ways to set up the program in your neighborhood and how to be ready to take advantage of the “golden hour.”
  — Watch the recording
  
• Equine Evacuation
  Presenter — Kenneth Coale, Coordinator / Staging Area Manager
  Do you own large animals — horses, llamas, and alpacas? Are you prepared to evacuate them in case of wildfire or other emergencies? Find out how you may prepare and utilize pre-planning, and what steps are necessary to get help. This presentation covers Equine Evacuation’s role in past emergencies and how the team is activated and trained for its mission.
  — Watch the recording
  
• Fire Safe Council
  Presenter — LizAnne Jensen, Vice President, CERT Auxiliary Board of Directors
  The purpose of Fire Safe Santa Cruz County (FSSCC) is to educate and mobilize the people of Santa Cruz County to protect their community, homes, and environment from wildfire. Two-thirds of Santa Cruz County is considered Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), putting a large percentage of our population, housing, economy, wildlife, and environment at risk from catastrophic fire. Find out what programs and steps we may all take to make our neighborhoods and communities more resilient to wildfires through education, home hardening, strategic fuel reduction, and community collaboration.As a handy reference guide, please download this Wildfire Preparation Worksheet and Emergency Evacuation Guide.
  — Watch the recording
  
• Utility Safety and Handling Emergencies
  Presenter — Stew Roth, PG&E Community Representative
  Are you ready for power shut-offs and possible utility emergencies? PG&E representative Stew Roth presents an informative and engaging discussion dealing with gas and electric infrastructure, identifying utility hazards and risks, and recognizing emergencies and what to do about them.
  — Watch the recording
  
• Active Shooter — What to Do!
  Presenter — Marsha Hovey, Emergency Management Consultant
  Prepare for an Active Shooter scenario. Learn a survival mindset, planning ahead, decision making, and run, hide, and fight strategies.
  — Watch the recording
  
• Risk Management for the CERT Squad
  Presenter — John Collins, Team Leader Scotts Valley/Branciforte CERT
  How do CERTs size-up disaster situations? What are the risks involved? This class will take you through possible scenarios and outline steps to keeping your squad and survivors safe.
  — Watch the recording
  
• Leader Development
  Presenter — John Collins, Team Leader Scotts Valley/Branciforte CERT
  In an activation, what if you are the first one at the Command Post or assigned as a CERT Team Lead in a new operation? What do you do? Discussion will center on setting up an operation or command post, focusing on situation awareness, and reporting through the chain of command. The class will take you through possible scenarios and outline steps to keeping CERTs and survivors safe.
  — Watch the recording
  
• Advanced Search and Rescue (SAR)
  Presenter — Stacie McGrady, Retired SAR Officer, and CERT Instructor
  A quick review of SAR from CERT Basic Training, then a discussion on advanced concepts and a deeper dive into structural damage and safe searches.
  — Watch the recording
  
• Temporary, Portable, and Emergency Power Options
  Presenter — David Dean, Co-Branch Leader for Live Oak/Soquel Branch
  There are now a wide variety of options available for temporary, portable, and emergency power. When there are so many options, it is sometimes hard to keep up with them all, know what you are buying or looking for when you shop, or determine the best choices for a given situation. This session should help you understand what options are available, what you need to know to evaluate them, and how to prepare for the next time you might need temporary, portable, or emergency power.
  — Watch the recording
  

Emergency-related training available from other organizations may be found on our Resources page.