Black Swan Events (Leadership, Preparedness & Crisis Fiction)

Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify

What does it take to lead when the unimaginable happens?

In this episode of Leading Through Crisis, I talk with Helen Hynson Vettori – former paramedic, senior medical intelligence officer, and emergency manager who spent from 2005 until her retirement planning and preparing the federal government for biological threats, including pandemics (long before COVID-19 made its mark).

Helen traces her unlikely path from a childhood fascination with first responders to working an active shooter scene as a paramedic, to a career in the Department of Defense's Protective Medicine Branch, to becoming the internationally award-winning author of the Black Swan thriller trilogy.

We dig into what real leadership looks like in a crisis: why humility and honest communication matter more than authority, how ordinary people become leaders for themselves in moments of chaos, and why community – not individualism – is what actually gets people through disasters.

The conversation also covers practical emergency preparedness and how Helen turned her professional frustrations into fiction.

This episode is incredibly fascinating for leaders and readers alike; a must-listen for anyone drawn to entertaining stories with practical takeaways!

—

Helen Hynson Vettori was born in Washington, DC, and has always lived and worked in the National Capital Region. Her knowledge and experiences gained as an EMT / commended paramedic in the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad and Employee of the Year emergency manager in the Department of Homeland Security enable her to write books with credible and thrilling Black Swan plots.

A Black Swan event is a catastrophic incident that no one could have foreseen or imagined because of its unprecedented impact.

The first two books in her Black Swan Trilogy Thriller Novel Series, Black Swan Impact and Black Swan Shock, won the speculative fiction category from the International Impact Book Awards in 2025 and 2026, respectively, and Black Swan Impact won the Publishers Weekly choice for its 2026 fiction category. Both may be found worldwide. The third novel, Black Swan Terror, is in the editing process.

Vettori lives in Leesburg, VA, with her husband.

Learn more about Helen and her books at helenhynsonvettori.com. Or connect with her on Instagram (@helenhvettori).