Dr. Erik Stilling, Information & Technology Management Officer, Louisiana Public Defender Board, is the founding Information and Technology Management Officer since 2008.  At LPDB, Dr. Stilling implemented a statewide case and financial management data collection system with over 1200 trained users. He conceived and deployed a real-time analytics system feeding back digested information to local offices for data-driven decision-making using information from the data collection system.  Dr. Stilling was a pioneer in videoconferencing and distance education technology in Louisiana and California beginning in 1995.  He earned the B.A. in Communications from Loyola-New Orleans and Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

After his studies in psychology (University of Utrecht) and mass communications (University of Amsterdam: M.Sc.), Dr. Peter Smit (1960) taught journalism and public relations at the school of journalism at HU, University of applied sciences Utrecht for seven years. He headed the communications department of that university and was a manager of public relations. In 2000 Peter started a firm in public relations and is self-employed ever since. He specialized in crisis communications and complex issues. Peter served as spokesperson for Mayors and aldermen in crises situations and issues as diverse as air quality, energy, public housing, urban and rural development, and health care. He founded the crisis support team in 2012 and is a chair of the crisis communications and issues management of Logeion the professional organization for communications professionals. He was a guest lecturer at the University of Tennessee and more recently at the Hague University. He innovates in his field of expertise by creating mind maps for different crisis situations.

Presenters discuss the various models of Communication and Public Relations and the necessity of Feedback in the process of communication and its relation to early Informatics and Cybernetics in Western Science and Innovation.  Innovation can have a darker side; the concept of Disemployment is discussed as well as the responsibility of the innovator in the process of Disemployment. Possible solutions to Disemployment which capitalize on the strengths and talents of the recently disemployed are considered.