How does a crisis change the management culture of an organization and lead it to adopt a strategy of integrated communication led by a senior leader? Use this link to listen to an audio podcast of a special online Marist College School of Communication & the Arts M.A. speaker event presented on May 1, 2013.
In this one-hour podcast, Ms. Kathy Geiger, deputy assistant director for community, education, government, and public affairs at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Long Island, N.Y., speaks about managing organizational culture and integrating communications during a crisis.
In 1989, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency placed BNL on its National Priorities List because of problems associated with historical chemical and waste-management practices and onsite soil and groundwater contamination. In 1996 and 1997, plumes of volatile compounds and groundwater contaminated with tritium were discovered off the BNL site.
These events led to immediate and intense public outrage, which developed into sustained, active involvement by members of the surrounding communities, activist groups, elected officials, and government agencies. This series of crises, along with a sharp erosion of publics’ trust in BNL, also led Lab leaders to plan a dramatic change in the Lab’s management and communication culture.
This change has resulted in:
- a commitment from senior leaders to a two-way, integrated communication strategy that seeks to maintain public trust.
- the hiring of a senior communication manager who has a direct role in the Lab’s strategic decision making process and access to the Lab’s senior leaders.
- the allocation of resources and implementation of a communication assessment program to support excellence in communication.
Use this link to read more background about this topic.
In her current position, Ms. Geiger is responsible for developing, integrating, implementing, and assessing strategic internal and external communications along with engagement plans and programs to advance the Lab’s scientific mission. She also manages the Lab’s emergency public information program and oversees community relations, media and communications, and issues management programs. Ms. Geiger has served at Brookhaven National Laboratory for more than 20 years.
She previously worked as an editorial researcher for Newsday, a prominent daily newspaper on Long Island, N.Y.; and as a reference services librarian for the Lindenhurst Public Library in Lindenhurst, N.Y. She holds a B.A. in English from Dowling College.
Brookhaven National Laboratory is a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory founded in 1947. It is situated on 5,300 acres in the Pine Barrens of Suffolk County on Long Island, N.Y. The Laboratory’s mission is to create, operate, and make available major facilities to university, industrial, and government personnel for basic and applied research. This research extends to physics, chemistry, materials science, biology, medicine, and other scientific fields. The Laboratory has more 3,000 employees who support more than 4,000 scientists who visit Brookhaven’s large and unique facilities to conduct research each year.
This event was scheduled and organized by students and faculty in COMG 503 Media Relations, a course in Marist’s M.A. in Communication program. The event was also open to students in Marist’s M.A. in IMC program. This audio podcast is provided for anyone who was unable to attend the event.
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