Fundamentals of Crisis Communications

New

5 Weeks

Cohort-based Course

Learn to lead with clarity under pressure. Build a crisis plan, craft first-hour messages, and protect your organization’s reputation.

Fundamentals of Crisis Communications

New

5 Weeks

Cohort-based Course

Learn to lead with clarity under pressure. Build a crisis plan, craft first-hour messages, and protect your organization’s reputation.

Hosted by

Kathryn Kolaczek

Crisis strategist teaching you to lead with clarity, control, and confidence.

Kathryn Kolaczek

Crisis strategist teaching you to lead with clarity, control, and confidence.

Course overview

Master the Fundamentals of Crisis Communications with Confidence and Clarity

Students will leave this course with the confidence and practical skills to navigate any crisis with clarity and control. They’ll master the core fundamentals of crisis communications—from recognizing early warning signs and managing stakeholder expectations to crafting timely, credible messages and guiding recovery with integrity. By the end, students will not only understand how to respond under pressure but how to lead with calm, credibility, and purpose.

Gain the skills and confidence to lead through any crisis with clarity, control, and a ready-to-use communications blueprint.

PR or marketing pro seeking a clear, proven framework to lead crisis response with confidence.

Community-focused leader needing tools to protect trust and guide transparent crisis response.

Senior leader aiming to protect reputation and lead teams calmly through high-stakes crises.

PR or marketing pro seeking a clear, proven framework to lead crisis response with confidence.

Community-focused leader needing tools to protect trust and guide transparent crisis response.

Senior leader aiming to protect reputation and lead teams calmly through high-stakes crises.

Gain the skills and confidence to lead through any crisis with clarity, control, and a ready-to-use communications blueprint.

Hold a complete, organization-specific crisis communications plan

By the end of the course, you’ll have a fully customized crisis plan tailored to your organization’s structure, audience, and risks — ready to activate when needed.

Know how to activate your team in minutes, not hours

You’ll learn exactly how to assemble your crisis team quickly, assign roles, and launch communications protocols with confidence and precision.

Be armed with templates, checklists, and stakeholder maps

Give students an idea of how they can expect to grow throughout your course. Include specificity and precise results so students can benchmark exactly what they’ll learn.

Have the confidence to step forward as the voice of calm and authority

Build the mindset and leadership presence to guide your organization through any crisis with clarity, credibility, and composure.

What’s included

Live sessions

Learn directly from Kathryn Kolaczek in a real-time, interactive format.

Lifetime access

Go back to course content and recordings whenever you need to.

Community of peers

Stay accountable and share insights with like-minded professionals.

Certificate of completion

Share your new skills with your employer or on LinkedIn.

Maven Guarantee

This course is backed by the Maven Guarantee. Students are eligible for a full refund up until the halfway point of the course.

Course syllabus

15 live sessions • 8 lessons • 4 projects

Week 1

Jan 12—Jan 18

Jan

Session 1

Mon 1/124:00 PM—5:00 PM (UTC)

Project 1: Risk Map & Vulnerability Assessment

1 item

Jan

Session 1 Office Hours

Thu 1/159:00 PM—10:00 PM (UTC)

Video: Strategic Communications for Cyber Attacks: Building an Effective Plan

1 item

Video: Introduction to AI in Communications

1 item

Jan

Guest Speaker; Jessica Harcombe Fleming Case Study on Cyberbreach Crisis

Thu 1/154:00 PM—5:00 PM (UTC)

Week 2

Jan 19—Jan 25

Jan

Session 2

Mon 1/194:00 PM—5:00 PM (UTC)

Week 2 – Protocols, Ethics & Stakeholder Alignment

1 item

Stakeholder Matrix & Command Centre Protocols

0 items

Internal/External Message Templates

0 items

Ethics in Crisis Communications Checklist

0 items

Project 2: Stakeholder Matrix & Command Centre Protocols

1 item

Jan

Session 2 Office Hours

Thu 1/229:00 PM—10:00 PM (UTC)

Video:Ethics in Crisis Communications: Building Trust When It Matters Most

1 item

Jan

Guest Speaker: Greg Trevor, CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS CASE STUDY: LESSONS FROM 9/11

Thu 1/224:00 PM—5:00 PM (UTC)

Week 3

Jan 26—Feb 1

Jan

Session 3

Mon 1/264:00 PM—5:00 PM (UTC)

Week 3: Real Time Execution

1 item

Crisis Action Playbook Template

0 items

Real-Time Monitoring Log

0 items

Media Q&A & Social Media Response Matrix

0 items

Project 3: First-Hour Messaging Playbook

1 item

Jan

Session 3 Office Hours

Thu 1/299:00 PM—10:00 PM (UTC)

Video: Owning the First Hour

1 item

Jan

Session 3 Guest Speaker: Dustin Sternbeck, Chief Communications Officer (Denton, Texas)

Thu 1/294:00 PM—5:00 PM (UTC)

Week 4

Feb 2—Feb 8

Feb

Session 4

Mon 2/24:00 PM—5:00 PM (UTC)

Week 4: Post Crisis Recovery and Legacy Building

1 item

Post-Crisis Debrief Form

0 items

Evaluation Matrix and Recovery Messaging Templates

0 items

Long-Tail SEO and Thought Leadership Guide

0 items

Project 4: Post-Crisis Recovery & Legacy Plan

1 item

Feb

Session 4 Office Hours

Thu 2/59:00 PM—10:00 PM (UTC)

Feb

Session 4: Guest Speaker Amanda Coleman - The Darkest Day

Thu 2/54:00 PM—5:00 PM (UTC)

Week 5

Feb 9—Feb 15

Feb

Session 5

Mon 2/94:00 PM—5:00 PM (UTC)

Week 5 (Bonus Session) – Building Your AI Tech Stack for PR Pros

1 item

Feb

Session 5 Office Hours

Thu 2/129:00 PM—10:00 PM (UTC)

Feb

Guest Speaker: Nelly Miles

Thu 2/124:00 PM—5:00 PM (UTC)

Week 6

Feb 16

Nothing scheduled for this week

What people are saying

Kathryn facilitated a full day crisis simulation workshop at a conference I attended. The workshop was full of realistic, useful, and insightful information combined with hands-on learning. Kathryn’s approach was engaging, warm, fun, and funny. She had us laughing and learning all day, and it was a great experience. I’d recommend this course!

Ginger Plumbo

Collaborative Communications Strategist. Purpose-Driven Servant Leader.

It is my pleasure to recommend Kathryn Kolaczek as an outstanding speaker and trainer. Having worked with Kathryn through P World conferences, I have seen firsthand her professionalism, expertise, and dynamic ability to engage audiences of all sizes and backgrounds.

Hristina Dojcinova

P World

Kathryn is an outstanding speaker with a clear, engaging, and professional style. She communicates complex topics with ease, adapts well to different audiences, and keeps listeners engaged. I highly recommend her and her team!

Marina Cosentino

Intact Insurance

Kathryn, the founder and CEO of Alchemy Communications, hosted a compelling tabletop exercise at a recent Crisis Communications Bootcamp conference that challenged every comms professional in the room. The exercise reinforced important crisis PR principles for each of us and clearly reflected Kathryn's broad and deep expertise in the field.

Deb Lima

Managing Director at Sensei Advisory

Loved Kathryn’s crisis comms exercises at P World’s Crisis Comms Bootcamp! She is an excellent facilitator, who brings experience, expertise, and might I even say fun to a stressful part of any comm employee’s job.

Jen Burris

Strategic communications

In an era where media presence is not just an advantage but a necessity for businesses and professionals, Kathryn Kolaczek's media training stands out as an indispensable resource. Having personally experienced the transformative impact of her training, I am compelled to recommend her services to anyone looking to elevate their media skills.

Kim Miller

I always find Katheryn's presentations and exercises to be both highly informative and compelling. My only advice is to keep up the great work.

Greg Trevor

Public Safety Communications and Outreach Coordinator

Other Feedback... Very informative presentation, and presenter, Kathryn made it easy to understand and relatable. Appreciate the real world examples provided. She was prepared and the webinar contained a few good recent examples of cyber risk and considerations around mitigating cyber risk and communicating if and when a cyber attack occurs

Other Attendees

Meet your instructor

Kathryn Kolaczek

Kathryn Kolaczek is an entrepreneur and communications strategist who helps other entrepreneurs and brands grow robust revenue growth by creating conversations in communities that matter.

Alchemy Communications is a full service Public Relations firm specializing in traditional and social media strategy and integration, and strategic communications management, including crisis communications. Kathryn earned her PR and social media stripes at The Mompreneur Magazine where she served as the company's CEO and used PR as the main marketing tool for the growing company.

Since that time, Kathryn has created and executed on crisis communications strategies for brands managing national and international product recalls, board governance issues, employee injuries and death as well as environmental crises. In times of brand stress, Kathryn serves to create and clarify the key messages, control the conversation, and offer support to media and communities in need of accurate and timely information.

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