#205: From Hurricane Harvey to Beryl: Houston's "One Family" Emergency Response [Houston 2024]

#205: From Hurricane Harvey to Beryl: Houston's "One Family" Emergency Response [2024 Houston Live Podcast Tour]

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SentinelOne—Learn how SentinelOne empowers this state to stay secure.

Verizon Frontline—The advanced network that keeps first responders connected when it matters most.

Carahsoft—The Trusted Public Sector IT Solutions Provider™, supports government agencies and education/healthcare markets. Contact your Carahsoft rep today to access special discount pricing exclusively through the TechTables + Carahsoft partnership!

Featuring:

Summer Xiao, Deputy CIO - EAS/PMO, City of Houston

Jane Wu, Deputy Director - Data Privacy & Business Operations Management, City of Houston

Bert Quarfordt, Deputy Chief Information Officer (DCIO) - IT Infrastructure, City of Houston

What You’ll Learn:

How Houston's IT team evolved emergency response protocols through nine federally declared disasters, building bench strength after losing key expertise

Why pre-positioned contracts and vendor partnerships are critical for rapid emergency deployment without compromising standards or security

How Hurricane Beryl knocked out power to 350+ city locations serving 2.6 million residents and the specific recovery strategies used

The "one family approach" that transforms team culture through initiatives like Summer's snack cart and cross-departmental collaboration

Why cloud-first infrastructure strategies provide essential resilience when local data centers fail during natural disasters

Timestamps

(03:00) 9 Federal Disasters: Building Emergency Response Bench Strength

(08:00) Hurricane Beryl: 350+ Locations Lost Power, 2.6M Residents Affected

(12:00) Tier One Response: From Prep to Recovery Operations

(17:00) 311 Crisis: Data Center Meltdown During Emergency Response

(25:00) Keeping 911 Systems Operational When Infrastructure Fails

(31:00) The "One Family Approach": Crisis Collaboration That Actually Works

(34:00) Summer Snacks: Building Team Culture Through Food and Connection

(40:00) AI and Cloud-First: Future-Proofing Against Climate Disasters

(45:00) Crisis Leadership Lessons for Public Sector CXOs

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🎥 Upcoming Live Podcast Tours

1. 2026 IGNITE Powered by Info-Tech LIVE - Austin, TX - Sept. 17th-18th

If you’re an IT leader in Austin, Houston, or nearby, Info-Tech’s got complimentary tickets with your name on them (just DM me I’ll be there). IGNITE is getting past the AI hype and into the real questions CIOs are wrestling with: how to get your people actually using AI, what the shift from “employee in the loop” to “employee on the loop” looks like, and how to budget when the costs keep moving up.

→ Ready to join the conversation in person? Email joe@techtables.com

Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways you can connect with TechTables:

1. 📬 The TechTables Newsletter

Thanks for reading TechTables! Get early access to new episodes, insights, upcoming events, and more — straight to your inbox.

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2. 🤝 Are you a local government CIO who wants to become a better leader?

Check out our high-trust, vendor-free peer group built for local government CIOs tackling real challenges, honest conversations, and an authentic desire to become a better leader — our next retreat is November 4th-6th in Austin, TX!

Learn more → https://techtables.com/communities-local-government

3. 🤝 The Better Together Series

The narrative-driven series bringing together industry partners and public sector CXOs. Discover the compelling stories that unfold when we stop working in silos and start building together.

»»» Email joe@techtables.com to learn more.