About
Emily Romrell
Children's Book Author & School Safety Educator
For two decades Emily has been wrestling with one question: what is the best way to show up for kids when they experience something awful?
She first began studying this at the professional level during her undergraduate studies in Elementary Education.
But this interest hit close to home when her oldest was about to enter kindergarten and do her first lockdown drill. Talk about a conversation she was not prepared to have.
Drawing on the things she had learned during her undergrad, Emily realized families needed a resource that taught safety while also following best practices for talking to children about something scary. So she got to work.
After studying how lockdown drills are conducted across the United States, she reached out to nationally-recognized safety experts for help. She's forever thankful to the creator of the FBI's Active Shooter Program, Katherine Schweit, for contributions that ensured Listen, Run, Hide has the best safety-first messages.
Something unexpected happened as Emily authored her book. She learned, in great detail, what schools should and should not be doing in their drills and in lockdown-related safety generally. She reached out to her own child's school and, later, to the greater school district with recommendations, and has served as a Parent Safety Advisor to them since.
Her expertise lies in helping schools apply transparency and best lockdown drill practices without overcomplicating the process. Additionally, she helps schools refine their communication to the community, empowering grownups at home to provide critical support to children experiencing drills.
Emily and her husband have three children, two cats, and they hope to add a puppy to the mix soon. In her free time she loves to mountain bike, play games, volunteer in her church community, watch reality TV, and read.
Ready to have the conversation?
Because it matters now.