Welcome to my personal toolbox! My name is Kelly Huston and I’m part technology & web 2.0 geek, part media junkie and have developed the knack for knowing how to tell a story in really simple terms. I guess that’s probably why I’ve been blessed with success in my career as a crisis communicator, part-time documentary producer and still photographer. Oh, and throw in sportbikes and three very cute Dachshunds and you’re well on your way to getting to know me.

Why did you create this website?

I learned virtually everything I know about providing public information and effective crisis communication through OJT (On the Job Training).  It’s rarely a pretty site to watch yourself crash and burn on live television or cringe when you read the newspaper and see yourself misquoted (which is actually just the result of being misunderstood).  I’ve experienced some major media events and learned from every one of them.  As I’m teaching classes and sharing my experience, I’m almost always asked, “Where can we go to learn more about what you teach?”  Especially when I share my “new media” and “social media tools,” I find that people get excited and want to play with them after the class is over.  Well, this is the place I created to keep you engaged.  I pay for the domain name and site hosting out of my own pocket and the content is purely my own – it doesn’t represent anyone or any organization other than myself.

Don’t I know you?

I can usually tell when someone is trying to place me. I’ll be standing in line at the grocery store and there’s a funny little look and second glance my way. The wheels are turning. Despite my career beginnings as a part-time Parking Enforcement Officer at the Modesto Police Department back in the late 1980′s, most people are familiar with me as the face and voice of some of the most notorious criminal cases in the past decade – the Yosemite Sightseer Disappearance, the Chandra Levy disappearance and murder and, most recently, the murder trial of Scott Peterson. Throw in a few natural disasters like the devastating 1997 flooding in northern California and the statewide wildfire siege in mid-2008 and somewhere my name, face or voice became a part of history. It’s an honor, and humbling, to know that I have helped some people in the midst of the worst times in their lives.

What’s your passion?

• Crisis Communications – Having managed the swarms of national and local press covering high-profile cases has given me a chance to learn on the job and gain a sense of confidence. When crisis strikes, I now look forward to putting my knowledge to work and getting the facts to the public as quickly as possible. I also enjoy the opportunities I’ve had to build effective crisis communication teams and expand the effectiveness of public information by using web technologies… FREE web technologies.
• Technology – I’m fascinated with everything you can do using today’s PC’s and the never-ending free web technology. If I’m not working on my MacBook playing with web 2.0 tools, you might find me scrolling through my iPhone or trying to shoot pictures in RAW format using my Canon EOS-1D. I’m an equal opportunity geek. I have both Mac and PC’s at work and home. I must admit that I enjoy the Mac much more than I do the PC, but they both have their place.
• Documentary Filmmaking – Among other videos, I produced a 30-minute documentary, “On the Front Line: Gangs, Guns & Violence” that aired on KVIE in Sacramento and was later nominated for an Emmy by the National Association of Television Arts & Sciences. I wrote the script, videotaped the interviews, edited it at my home on a PC using Adobe Premiere Pro and mastered it to DVcam tape. It’s crazy that the days of tape machines and million dollar equipment are all but gone. You can view several of my productions by clicking on video.
• Everything Sportbikes – Yes, I know this seems a bit random, but my life can’t be all about serious things. When I’m not working, I love visiting motorcycle shops and seeing the latest “crotch rocket” motorcycles. My coffee table is full of magazines – Motorcyclist Magazine, Cycle World, and Roadracing World & Motorcycle Technology. In my garage are beautiful 2002 and 2008 Honda VFR 800 Incerceptors.