Sheriff Kory L. Honea, Butte County

Kory L. Honea became the 31st Sheriff of Butte County in May 2014. Prior to becoming the Sheriff, Honea served as the Undersheriff for nearly four years. Sheriff Honea began his career with the Butte County Sheriff’s Office in 1993, when he was hired as a deputy sheriff. Prior to that Sheriff Honea was employed by the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office. During his law enforcement career Sheriff Honea has held assignments in corrections, patrol and investigations. In 2000, Sheriff Honea transferred to the District Attorney’s Office as an investigator. While at the District Attorney’s Office, Sheriff Honea promoted through the ranks to become the Chief Investigator in 2008. Sheriff Honea held that position until his return to the Sheriff’s Office as Undersheriff in 2010. Sheriff Honea holds a Juris Doctorate from the Taft School of Law and is a member of the State Bar of California. He also holds an Associate of Arts degree from Butte College. Sheriff Honea has extensive law enforcement training certified by the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST).

Nick Schuler, Deputy Director, Communications/Incident Awareness, CAL FIRE

Nick provides essential guidance on crisis communications strategies to the Director/Fire Chief and collaborates closely with the Governor’s Office, the California Natural Resources Agency, and various state, local, and federal agencies. Nick has played a critical role in managing the Department’s statewide communications strategy during some of the largest disasters in California’s history, including the COVID-19 pandemic, major fire sieges, and other all hazard incidents and initiatives.
Throughout his distinguished career, Chief Schuler has dedicated over 18 years to Type 1 Incident Management Teams, holding key positions such as Public Information Officer, Operations Branch Director, Operations Section Chief, and Deputy Incident Commander.

Robyn Fennig
Assistant Director, Hazard Mitigation
Cal OES

Robyn Fennig was appointed Assistant Director of the Hazard Mitigation Branch on February 27, 2024, and has served as Division Chief of the Hazard Mitigation Planning Division since 2023. Robyn brings a wealth of experience from Wisconsin’s Division of Emergency Management, where she worked from 2012 to 2023. From 2017 to 2018, Robyn served as a Research Scientist at the Association of State Floodplain Managers. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, a Master of Science degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Iowa, and has been a Certified Floodplain Manager since 2012. Robyn is enthusiastic about connecting communities to resources that build and enhance local resilience capabilities. She has a huge interest in the overlap between planning, zoning and capital improvement planning with hazard mitigation and disaster recovery.

Scott Summerfield
Principal, SAE Communications

Scott Summerfield is an expert in strategic communications counsel with over three decades of award-winning public information/public participation experience, along with tenures at several organizations focused on community issues. Scott specializes in assisting our clients with their media training programs and strategic counsel.

Scott is the former Public Information Officer for the City of Newark and also served as project manager for the largest grant program in League of California Cities history, supervising a team of nine communications consultants throughout the state who worked with local communities to implement public education and public participation projects.
Scott also served as Director of Communications for the Oakland Chamber of Commerce. The Oakland native is a graduate of San Diego State University in Telecommunications/Film. He is a past president of the California Association of Public Information Officials (CAPIO) and recipient of their lifetime achievement award; grants chair of the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame; a former executive board member of the City-County Communications and Marketing Association (3CMA); a board member of the Bay Area Cable Excellence Awards; a guest lecturer at the University of Southern California, Annenberg School for Communication in Los Angeles; and is a course manager and crisis communications instructor at the California Specialized Training Institute.

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