Incidents such as power outages, equipment failures, and cyberthreats can significantly disrupt the work done by various departments around campus. Without a backup plan, many of the UNLV services we use every day may become unavailable for an unknown period of time.

Ereka Morton understands the importance of being prepared for these disruptions. As an information security analyst, she helps departments at UNLV implement response plans as part of the university’s Business Continuity and Resilience Program. Recently, Morton was awarded a $3,000 Women in Business Continuity Management Scholarship from the Disaster Recovery Institute (DRI) Foundation for training.

“The course is a four-day, instructor-led training which is ideal for gaining hands-on experience and diving into all aspects of building and maintaining a strong continuity program,” Morton says.

She plans to use what she learns from DRI’s business continuity training to enhance UNLV’s program by updating procedures involving risk assessment, business impact analytics, and crisis communications and expanding the program to more units across the campus.

“These topics are closely tied to the work we are doing now to develop continuity plans and increase awareness, and will ultimately build on the work we’ve already done in establishing an overall strong continuity plan,” Morton says.

Morton can directly apply the skills she gains to projects she is actively working on, eventually refining the current response plan for MyUNLV, a critical service used by the campus community daily.

“Overall, the training will help strengthen the structured approach that supports services like MyUNLV which will serve as a model for other departments as we continue to expand and strengthen the program over time,” Morton says.

The business continuity course is a requirement to earn fellow DRI certifications. It also helps Morton earn her Certified Business Continuity Professional credential, where she’ll join 20,000 DRI certified professionals who are trained to help organizations from across the world prepare for and recover from disasters.

“When creating a continuity plan, a good place to start is by identifying the key functions your department carries out and what could be done if they were disrupted including using any backups or manually carrying out tasks,” Morton says. “Ultimately, business continuity is about making sure essential operations can continue, even when unexpected disruptions arise.”