Course 1 Seminar Credit

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Discover practical strategies for helping your community prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies and disasters. This micro-seminar will explore resilience planning, risk mitigation, continuity of operations, and recovery best practices to help local governments build stronger, more adaptable communities.

TMCA micro-seminars are designed to bring high-quality, relevant training to municipal professionals—right in their own regions of the State. By hosting these seminars closer to your home, TMCA aims to make it easier for city clerks and other municipal officials to attend without the time and expense of long-distance travel.

Each 6-hour micro-seminar focuses on practical, up-to-date topics that reflect challenges faced by cities today, ensuring participants gain information and tools they can immediately apply in their roles.

Speakers:

James Guzman is a nonprofit and emergency management professional with over a decade of experience serving communities across Texas. As a Salvation Army Officer, James has led shelter operations, social service programs, youth initiatives, and teams supporting vulnerable populations. With extensive disaster training—including ICS, emotional and spiritual care, trauma response, and emergency food operations—he has played key roles in preparedness, response, and recovery efforts. James excels at developing community partnerships with government agencies, nonprofits, healthcare, and industry organizations. Recognized with Houston’s 2021 Comcast Hispanic Hero Award, he is known for strong leadership, communication, and mission-driven service. James is committed to building resilient, prepared, and connected communities across Southeast Texas. 

Johnny Morales is a strategic emergency manager and local government leader dedicated to protecting and strengthening the resilience of his hometown of La Porte, Texas. As the city’s Emergency Management Coordinator, he oversees comprehensive emergency management operations across mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery while operating in one of the nation’s largest and most complex petrochemical regions along the Houston Ship Channel.

Johnny’s expertise spans homeland security, disaster management, and public-sector leadership. He is known for innovative public outreach, strong regional coordination, and effective crisis communication. He also serves as Co-Chair of the Houston/Galveston PIO Network, supporting collaboration among public safety communication professionals across the region.

His career includes key roles as La Porte’s Assistant Emergency Management Coordinator, Emergency Manager and Homeland Security Director for the City of Texas City, and service within San Jacinto College’s Office of Emergency Management. These experiences have shaped his strengths in leadership, planning, training, grant management, and digital engagement.

Johnny holds a Master of Science in Homeland Security and a graduate certificate in Emergency Management from Angelo State University, as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Relations from Texas Tech University. He is a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM®) and maintains several specialized credentials in emergency management and communications.

Lee Woodward is the City Secretary and Public Information Officer for the City of La Porte. She is Texas Registered Municipal Clerk #663 and an instructor of Texas municipal election law, open government, records and information management, and parliamentary procedure. Woodward carries the designations of Texas Certified Public Manager (CPM) from the William P.  Hobby Center for Public Service at Texas State University and Certified Public Communicator through TCU and is an executive graduate of the Texas Women Leading Government's (TWLG) Texas Women's Leadership Institute (TWLI). She has earned the credentials of Professional Registered Parliamentarian (PRP) of the National Association of Parliamentarians, Certified Parliamentarian (CP) of the American Institute of Parliamentarians, Master Municipal Clerk with the International Institute of Municipal Clerks (IIMC), and Certified Records Manager (CRM) with the Institute of Certified Records Managers (ICRM). She is a graduate of Texas A & M University (College Station) and The Johns Hopkins University. 

Seminar Schedule

PDF version of Seminar Schedule coming soon!

Thursday, October 1

9:00 – 9:15am                            Welcome, Introductions, Announcements

9:15am – 10:30am                    Emergency Management Planning, Mitigation, and Response for Municipalities

10:30am – Noon                       Emergency Management Response: Flooding and Petro-Chemical Incidents

Noon – 1:00pm                          Lunch

1:00 – 2:00pm                           Records Management During and After a Disaster

2:00 – 2:45pm                           Relationship Building to Plan for and Respond to Emergencies

2:45 – 3:00pm                           Questions and Wrap Up

Hotel Information

For those interested, there are 10 rooms available for the night of September 30, 2026 at a rate of $145 per room, plus applicable taxes at the Hampton Inn in Orange, TX.
 
Please call 409-883-2500 to book your reservation.

Pricing

Member Pricing:
Early Bird: 6/18/2026 - 9/16/2026 - $125.00
Regular Pricing: 9/17/2026 - 10/1/2026 - $175.00

Non-Member Pricing:
Early Bird: 6/18/2026 - 9/16/2026 - $150.00
Regular Pricing: 9/17/2026 - 10/1/2026 - $200.00

Refund Policy

If you are unable to attend, we encourage you to send a substitute.
If you cannot send a substitute, a refund or transfer to a subsequent seminar (less a $25 processing fee) will be honored if written cancellation is received by September 16, 2026.
No refunds can be honored after that date. Allow 2-4 weeks to process refunds. Email [email protected] to request cancellation.

You can view our full seminar schedule here: https://municlerks.unt.edu/seminars.html