G&H staff recently supported the 2015 International Disaster Conference & Expo’s Disaster Tech Hackathon. Teams competed to develop platform-agnostic solutions to pressing challenges faced by first responders – especially those related to effective communication and leveraging social media. Social media, information sharing, and technology experts from G&H helped set the stage by presenting on the current environment and problems of emergencies. Representatives from the first response and public safety communities, including Craig Fugate, the administrator of FEMA, also provided input to help guide the hackathon participants.

Two teams were chosen as winners based on the innovation and creativity of their solutions. Each solution developed a unique way to address communications challenges present in emergency situations. Read more about the winning teams and their solutions here.