Issue 164 - October 2025
NEWS: WORTHY
Authority Members Gather for Class of ’95: Not So Clueless About Risk at 30th Annual Risk Management Educational Forum
The event kicked off with a panel discussion on how the City of Santa Monica implemented a comprehensive youth protection program with the support of Praesidium services in the session, “All That and a Bag of Chips: Strengthening Youth Protection—The Praesidium-Public Agency Success Story.” Then, Jacob Houghton inspired attendees to look inward to strengthen trust within their teams and agencies in the session, “Stop, Collaborate, and Listen: Effective Tools for Building Trust in Local Government.”
Thursday’s programming started with the recognition of the Capstone Award finalists. The award is presented each year to an individual at a member agency who best exemplifies risk management. Dorna Farhadi, human resources manager at the City of Laguna Niguel, received the 12th Annual Capstone Award.
Erin Stafford, a social psychologist, author, and burnout expert, delivered a dynamic and engaging keynote discussion on how to avoid burnout by recharging and having daily moments of joy.
Breakout sessions addressed risk management issues affecting public agencies. Members immersed themselves in topics such as legal liability, workers’ compensation, cybersecurity, avoiding special event liability, managing complaints against elected officials, governance, and ADA compliance. The Forum agenda provides a complete listing of breakout sessions.
The Forum concluded on Friday with a candid and practical discussion about the 2024 Los Angeles-area wildfires featuring Traci Park, councilmember for District 11. Park’s session, “Out of the Firestorm: Crisis Communications—Studying the L.A. Wildfires,” provided practical techniques for real-time updates, media coordination, and effective message prioritization to maintain public trust during emergencies.
Save the date for the 31st Annual California JPIA Risk Management Educational Forum, October 7–9, 2026, at the Monterey Conference Center in Monterey.
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