NEWS Federal Communications Commission 445 12th Street, S.W. Washington, D. C. 20554 This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action. See MCI v. FCC. 515 F 2d 385 (D.C. Circ 1974). News Media Information 202 / 418-0500 Internet: http://www.fcc.gov TTY: 1-888-835-5322 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: NEWS MEDIA CONTACT: December 16, 2008 Robert Kenny: (202) 418-2668 Email: robert.kenny@fcc.gov PUBLIC SAFETY AND HOMELAND SECURITY BUREAU’s SPEAKER SERIES TO HOST CHRIS ESSID, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Washington D.C. -- The Federal Communications Commission’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB), today announced that Chris Essid, Director of the Office of Emergency Communications, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will be the guest speaker for the Bureau’s Speaker Series on Wednesday, January 14, 2009, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., in the Commission Meeting Room (TW-C305). The Speaker Series provides the latest news and developments on public safety communications and related initiatives to various communications partners. Mr. Essid will discuss highlights of DHS’s recently developed National Emergency Communications Plan. The plan provides guidance on emergency communications protocols and seeks to promote the ability of emergency response providers and government officials to continue to communicate in the event of natural and/or man-made disaster. Mr. Essid will also discuss potential ways to help accelerate and eventually attain interoperable communications for first responders nationwide. The Speaker Series is open to the public; admittance however will be limited to the seating available. Those individuals who are interested in attending may pre-register at: http://www.fcc.gov/pshs/speakerseries.html . Those who pre-register will be asked to provide their name, title, organization affiliation, and contact information. Individuals may also contact Stephanie Caccomo at 202-418-1812 regarding pre-registration. The deadline for pre-registration is Monday, January 12, 2009. Audio/Video coverage of the meeting will be broadcast live with open captioning over the Internet from the FCC's web page at www.fcc.gov/realaudio . The FCC’s webcast is free to the public and does not require pre-registration. Reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities are available upon request. Please include a description of the accommodation you will need. Individuals making such requests must include their contact information should FCC staff need to contact them for more information. Requests should be made as early as possible. Please send an e-mail to fcc504@fcc.gov or call the Consumer & Governmental Affairs Bureau: 202-418-0530 (voice), 202-418-0432 (TTY). For additional information about the meeting, please contact Susan McLean at (202) 418- 7868 or by email: susan.mclean@fcc.gov. -FCC- News and other information about the FCC is available at www.fcc.gov