The Los Angeles Fire Department CERT Program is proud to introduce LAFD CERT Spotlight Janet Gibson. Janet is no stranger to helping those in need. Janet and her husband Tony, are investment adviser representatives and have assisted others understanding how to handle and understand personal finances for the past 25 years. Janet’s advisement specialty, Behavioral Finance.

Janet has proven to successfully excel her client’s abilities in coaching them in creating the right habits and mindset, to empower them financially. Janet believes that what really makes her profession so rewarding is witnessing the accomplishments of her clients reaching their goals. Janet has always enjoyed the outdoors and tends to not limit herself, such as when she backpacked throughout the Sierras. Mt. Ranier has been checked off her list and if that wasn’t enough, made an attempt on rock climbing Mt. Kanchenjunga in the Himalayas. Janet has always enjoyed sports and especially through her high school years as a member of the USA Junior National Volleyball Team and then went to be the first team All American/ MVP at The Co-ed National Volleyball Tournament in her 20’s. Janet completed her CERT training in 2016.

Janet’s leadership and motivational skills did not go unnoticed by the Lafd Cert Unit. Her performance landed her into the LAFD CERT Battalion 12 Coordinator position in January 2018. Since then, CERT members within the Battalion 12 area (Sylmar, Sunland, Tujuna, Arleta, Shadow Hills, La Tuna Cyn, Pacoima, City of San Fernando) have had the opportunity to experience some of Janet’s organized CERT Community Meetings and CERT Skills Review days. Janet is particularly proud of her fellow CERT members for the instrumental work collectively they performed in the planning and coordinating of 2 substantial CERT events. 2018’s Hansen Dam Wildland Search and Rescue Drill and the recent Oakridge Search and Rescue Earthquake exercise in the San Fernando Valley. These dynamic large scale exercises, attracted hundreds of CERT Trained community members the Los Angeles area, to as far as Arizona. Both exercises challenged CERT members to work hand and hand regardless of where they normally call home. A major accomplishment that few recognized during these simulated disasters, was the seamless teamwork, demonstrated between CERT members and multiple public safety agencies assisting in completing their mission. Janet consistently demonstrates her humble character traits, as she credits the successes of these events to her team of dedicated volunteers that she so passionately labels as the Batt 12 OPS Unit (Tim Lauber, Richard and Otilia Rosenberg, Dave Bond, Trish and Chris Pulos, Linda Willeford, and their newest member, Michael Mason).

One phrase Janet commonly shares is “The C in CERT refers to Community. When you have a great team of people, working together, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!” As an LAFD CERT Battalion Coordinator, Janet is dedicated to the ideals of CERT and though these large scale disaster scenarios are a great way to test CERT’s level of preparedness, she still builds on the basic fundamentals of CERT. Through her leadership and experience, Janet’s community outreach activities has led to CERT Training Courses on a more regular basis in the North East San Fernando Valley. Janet takes a proactive role in her community and is committed to a culture of disaster preparedness to being Disaster Ready. Janet Gibson is an absolute asset to the Los Angeles Fire Department CERT Program, to fellow CERT members, and to her community. Los Angeles Fire Department LAFD Valley LAFD CERT Battalion 12