Data Handling and Privacy Policy

This document goes into effect on August 13th, 2019 and is subject to change with notice by email. We will always give you at least 1 week to react to changes.

How do we feel about your privacy?

Our Golden Rule applies to everything we do with your data: Do not do unto another’s contact information what you do not want done to yours.

Coastside CERT respects your personal privacy and is committed to protecting it. Some truths:

  • We will only use your data for our program, which is wholly dedicated to creating a prepared and resilient community on the Coastside.

  • We will never sell your data.

If you have questions or concerns regarding this document, you should first contact Coastside CERT by emailing coastsidecert@gmail.com.

What data are we collecting?

We are collecting the following data:

  • Name

  • Email address

  • Physical address

  • Phone number

  • CERT certification status

  • Ham licensing status

  • Training interests

  • Source and date of data collection

  • Special notes you have given us

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 18 without parental consent.

How are we getting this data?

We only collect data that you have provided via one of these avenues:

  • Direct email to Coastside CERT

  • Submitted via the form on our website

  • Survey or sign-in form collected at an event

  • On-line survey response

  • Response to SMC Alert survey

  • Provided to us from someone on a neighborhood leadership team

  • Webinar participation

We never buy lists or data from anyone.

Who has access to your data?

Three groups of people have access to your data:

  • The Coastside CERT Program Manager, Program Coordinator, and Program Data Managers. Currently:

    • Program Manager Division Chief David Cosgrave

    • Program Coordinator Cynthia Sherrill

    • Program Data Managers Michele Duke and Forrest Wunderlich, backed up by Scott Pyne

  • Coastside CERT neighborhood leadership teams (see example below ***):

    • Neighborhood Leads: The folks who have agreed to act as liaison between a neighborhood and Coastside CERT.

    • Neighborhood Data Managers: The people who have agreed to coordinate the data for the neighborhood.

    • Zone and/or Block Captains: The people who have agreed to coordinate areas within the neighborhood.

  • The Merit application, which Coastside CERT uses to track individual certifications as required by the Office of the Governor’s Listos California CERT/Listos Capacity Building Grant that funds our program.

    • As outlined in their Privacy Policy, the Merit application only uses the data we provide to them at our specific instructions for the purposes of our program.

*** Here is an example of how a neighborhood leadership team has access to your data. We will use El Granada as an example. The terms Neighborhood, Zone, Block may change but the intent remains: they refer to the organization of an area of the Coastside community.

  1. Lucy, an El Granada Block Captain for Ave Balboa, walks this block to talk her neighbors. She distributes flyers and encourages the neighbors to join Coastside CERT’s neighborhood organization efforts.

  2. Joe, a resident on Ave Balboa, fills out a survey and returns it to Lucy.

  3. Lucy provides this survey data to Coastside CERT.

  4. Coastside CERT enters Joe’s data into our database, marking him as a member of the El Granada neighborhood, in Zone 3, on the Ave Balboa Block.

  5. El Granada Neighborhood Leads and Data Managers have access to all El Granada data in the Coastside CERT database.

  6. El Granada Zone or Block Captains have access to the data for folks within their designated Zone or Blocks.

The individuals on the Neighborhood Leadership Teams may change occasionally; it is the person in the recognized role who will have access to your data.

If you do not want data shared with your neighborhood leadership team, please ask to be moved to our “Unaffiliated” list. You will still receive Coastside CERT emails but will not receive any neighborhood-specific content and your data will not be shared with the neighborhood leadership team.

How will your data be handled and used?

Coastside CERT will use your data to:

  • Send you urgent safety alerts

  • Send you program updates.

  • Provide you with relevant training classes, upcoming events, and opportunities.

  • Provide you with general information and educational content.

  • Track certifications and merits in the Merit application.

  • Coordinate neighborhood preparedness events and information.

Coastside CERT Neighborhood Leads and Zone/Block Captains will use your data to:

  1. Coordinate neighborhood-specific preparedness events and information.

  2. Provide general information relevant to a neighborhood’s preparation and resiliency efforts.

We will never sell your data.

How do you opt-in or out?

Simply send us an email to coastsidecert@gmail.com and tell us if you want to:

  1. Be added to our “Unaffiliated” list, which keeps you receiving information from Coastside CERT but not any neighborhood.

  2. Removed entirely from Coastside CERT’s database.

Thank you.