Crisis management

CLIFTON  The director shouted “Go!” as the camera started to roll in a television studio at the headquarters of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on May 17 in Washington, D.C. Even the bright lights did not rattle the confidence of Eric Wilsusen, diocesan director of child and youth protection, as he sat at a table in the studio to help drive home a significant point — speak with one message and in one voice — during a webinar on the topic of crisis communication and management.

Watching and listening to Wilsusen that morning on their computers or mobile devices were about 70 communications and child-protection officials from dioceses around the U.S. — participating in a broadcast that thrust him in the national spotlight. Viewers also heard the insights of Ken Gavin, chief communications officer of the Philadelphia Archdiocese, who teamed with Wilsusen for the webinar. Moderating the telecast was Melanie Takinen, associate director of the USCCB’s Secretariat of Child and Youth Protection. That morning, the two guests suggested a variety of crisis-management strategies that dioceses can use in moments of crisis, among them child sexual abuse, like the importance of “promoting the good [child-protection initiatives] that your diocese has been doing,” Gavin said.

“In the webinar, we emphasized that dioceses need to have a person in place to handle media inquiries — one person, who has one consistent message. He or she has to be pro-active in getting out the message of the good things the diocese is doing before a crisis arises,” said Wilsusen, who has long been comfortable in the public spotlight. He served as public information officer of the Jefferson Township Police Department in Morris County for 26 years, before retiring as deputy chief two years ago after 31 years, and now serves as the municipality’s mayor, elected last November. “The webinar was fun. It was very conversational. On the air, Melanie asked follow-up questions and selected questions from the audience that they sent in. It was an experience and an honor to represent the Diocese [on the national stage],” he said.

The 90-minute webinar — which included a PowerPoint slide presentation seen on screens in the studio and on viewers’ devices — was broadcast in the newly-refurbished TV studio in the USCCB’s headquarters in the nation’s capital. Wilsusen and Gavin spoke about — an expounded on — points in an outline on which they collaborated. During the broadcast, they sat at a large desk on either side of Takinen.

“The one person to handle communications for the diocese can change. Sometimes, it could be the bishop, a communications official, a pastor or a principal. That person doesn’t only handle the media but also internal communications — reaching stakeholders in the diocese. They might be handling many types of crises — from child sexual abuse to criminal issues and financial wrongdoing,” said Gavin, who has worked for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for 15 years. “Also the communications official should prepare for various crises that could arise — even though he or she can’t get ready for every detail. That person should be writing outlines of ways to respond to those crises,” he said during the telecast.

Originally, Takinen had invited Wilsusen to participate in the webinar, after the two met at a national conference for diocesan coordinators of the Virtus child-protection program in Chicago last year. At that conference, Wilsusen suggested the start of a dialogue about the importance of a diocese preparing for crises in advance. Later, Wilsusen attended the Child and Youth Protection Catholic Lead­ership National Con­ference in Camden, hosted by the Newark Archdiocese, the four dioceses of New Jersey and Philadelphia Arch­diocese. There, he met Gavin, master of ceremonies of the event and a member of a panel on media relations. Impressed that Gavin was “well-spoken and polished,” Wilsusen suggested that they collaborate on the crisis management webinar.

“Eric and Ken talked about the importance of preparing before a crisis happens, when people can think more logically. It’s a challenging time in a crisis, when people aren’t thinking so clearly. They also spoke about the need for transparency: honestly communicating as much as you can,” said Takinen, who noted that, in addition to the 70 viewers who watched live, many people might view the webinar later on the USCCB’s web site, www.usccb.org/charter under the heading of child-protection videos for 2019. “Eric and Ken had a good back and forth. They complemented each other. They also have a wide range of professional experience, so they brought a broad range of examples [in crisis communication and management],” she said.

In 2017, Wilsusen became the diocesan director of child and youth protection, helping the Church of Paterson protect children from harm and creating safe environments for them. This includes training clergy, religious and laity, who work with tens of thousands of children and teens in the Diocese, through the safe environment program and conducting background checks on them, said Wilsusen, who also serves as a trustee, local youth protection coordinator and a Protecting God’s Children facilitator for his parish, Our Lady Star of the Sea in Lake Hopatcong. He and his wife, Kristine, have two daughters, Karly and Katelyn.

“Working with Eric on the webinar was a good fit for us. We had some interesting interplay and collaboration and got to speak about some of the crisis communication and management issues,” Gavin told The Beacon after the webinar. “With the lights, camera and green screens, the TV studio could seem plasticized, even though we wanted to act as naturally as possible. But when we got into the studio, we got used to the environment quickly. Then when we went live, we just focused on the conversation at hand,” he said.