The Accidental Safety Pro

For their third installment of the Safety Unscripted series, Jill and her longtime friend and former fellow OSHA investigator, Dr. Todd Loushine, answer EHS questions focused on technology and AI, Emergency Preparedness, Health & Environmental Safety, Contractor, Subcontractor and Multi-Employer Safety, and more! We believe many of our listeners have the same kinds of questions. So, again we'r...

Back by popular demand, Jill and her longtime friend and former fellow OSHA investigator, Dr. Todd Loushine, recently hosted another live webinar to answer your burning EHS questions! Registrants submitted questions before and during the live event, and the duo were able to give answers related to: Safety culture and behavior change, accountability and difficult scenarios, career growth and profes...

A story of resilience, reinvention, and an unexpected path into safety. In this episode, Jill James sits down with Chanell Alaniz, president of the Oklahoma City ASSP Chapter and former head of EHS for Oklahoma’s largest biopharmaceutical manufacturer. Chanell shares an extraordinary origin story that begins on the Mississippi Gulf Coast during Hurricane Katrina, winding through loss, rebuilding,...

Perry Silvey, safety manager at BT Construction in Colorado, shares his journey from working at a driving range to becoming a leader in construction safety. He is the founder and chairman of the Trenching and Excavation Safety Task Force (TEST), a volunteer group dedicated to raising awareness about trenching and excavation safety. Perry's career in construction safety began after a layoff from hi...

A surprising pivot from nutrition and diet therapy to health and safety launched Danishon "Sean" Felder into a decades-long career investigating incidents, mastering compliance, and navigating complex military and OSHA standards with the US Air Force Reserves and Department of Defense. Sean and Jill discuss why compliance alone isn't enough, the power of mentorship and continuous learning, how ris...

Do you have burning safety questions but aren’t sure who to ask—or worry about how they’ll be received? Jill and her longtime friend and former fellow OSHA investigator, Dr. Todd Loushine, recently hosted a live webinar doing just that! Registrants submitted hundreds of questions before and during the live event, and the duo were able to give answers related to: > Program building, governance,...

Do you have questions about AI and the role it’s playing in EHS? Is it a trustworthy source, and how would you know if it is? What are the benefits and implications? Jill sits down with three of HSI’s top executives who are leading the charge in AI technology development for EHS software. Join Jose Arcilla, Chief Executive Officer, John Hambelton, Chief Technology Officer, and Mike Case, Vice Pres...

What happens when the teacher becomes the student? Meet Stacy Dubin, an EHS leader whose journey began in the classroom as a middle and high school teacher, and evolved into an impressive career in industrial hygiene and safety. Stacy shares how creating hands-on lessons in toxicology and epidemiology sparked her move into EHS, the challenges of transitioning from teaching to industry, and how she...

SIFs, HECA, and ROI, oh my! In this episode, we welcome Dr. Elif Erkal, the Associate Director of Research and Strategy at the Construction Safety Research Alliance (CSRA) at the University of Colorado Boulder. With an extensive background in civil engineering, consulting, construction management, and academic research, Dr. Erkal specializes in safety, performance measurement, predictive analytics...

At this year’s NSC Safety Congress, Jill partnered with three other women in EHS to present “Female EHS Leaders: Leveraging Your Superpowers.” The conference room was full of women and allies, and the topic was so well received, the presenters decided to continue the conversation! In this episode, Jill and Monique Parker, Chief Sustainability Officer and ASSP Board Member, further expand on commun...

With over 20 years of experience at industry giants like Caterpillar, Dow Chemical, and Merck, Dana Dawsey's career has been anything but comfortable—by design! Dana is currently the Vice President of Environmental Health and Safety at Pentair, but like most guests, she didn't see safety as her future when becoming an industrial engineering student. Since then, she has implemented life-saving ergo...

For the third year in a row, Jill sat down with EHS professionals who were attending this year's ASSP’s Safety Conference and Expo in Orlando, FL. Jill had the pleasure of asking short form questions to EHS professionals who shared their thoughts on the future of EHS, attending conferences and making connections, how they found the profession, their favorite parts of the job, and more! Thank you t...

Initially aspiring to be a hip-hop music producer, PJ Gillam instead found his career in EHS through early experiences working in chemical and laboratory safety roles. With the encouragement of mentors, PJ continued down the path of EHS and transitioned to a leadership position in manufacturing, adapting as a one-person safety team and creating the "Safety After Dark" program for night shift worke...

Ryan Word's journey began as a firefighter in Georgia, where a fire truck accident prompted his shift to working for his family’s construction company. He eventually moved to a major construction corporation in Orlando, climbed the ladder to superintendent, and started taking notice of safety more while working on theme park jobsites. He played a crucial role in developing a safety plan for a BROW...

In today's ever-changing landscape, health and safety professionals need to practice resilience more than ever. For this special 7th anniversary episode, previous guest, Chip Hughes, discusses significant challenges in the industry, focusing on the evolving recognition of mental health's impact on workplaces, and the changes to critical government agencies like NIOSH. Jill and Chip share resilienc...

Tune in to hear how the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) is shaping the future of occupational health and safety. CEO, Larry Sloan, shares with us AIHA's innovative initiatives, such as their heat stress monitoring app, collaboration with NIOSH on the Total Worker Health program, and AIHA's commitment to research, resource development, and training to elevate industrial hygiene pract...

Does your EHS program have a negative reputation within your organization? Are you tired of always just being associated with regulations, instead of being seen as an integral business driver? Welcome back Subena Colligan, a seasoned industrial hygienist and safety professional, who leads EHS professionals towards becoming strategic business partners. Her approach focuses on developing elite EHS p...

Dr. Fran Scott-Diehl, who embarked on her journey in the safety profession in the mid-1990s, initially intended to study architecture but was steered towards occupational safety and health by encouraging female professors. Her career began in claims processing, a role she found emotionally taxing, prompting her to transition to the utility industry and private sector positions, including at Sysco...

The construction industry has one of the highest suicide rates of any occupation, with 6,000 workers dying by suicide in 2022. Sondra Lavoie knows how difficult it is to have "THE" conversation around mental health, but emphasizes the importance of building trust, using the right language, and providing resources to support workers' wellbeing. Sondra is an assistant vice president risk control spe...

Many find OSHA inspectors to be intimidating, but this week's guest credits them for inspiring his true passion. Jill chats with Randy Milliron, safety manager for the city of Gillette, Wyoming, about starting his career in quality control before moving into a safety role. He talks about receiving mentorship from OSHA inspectors early on (to which he credits his success and longevity) and discusse...

**EARLY DROP ALERT!** Happy Thanksgiving and safe travels to our listeners who celebrate the holiday. Are your employees in a physically demanding occupation? This episode is for you! Jill is joined by Jason Bacigalupo, a human performance coach at Vimocity. Jason discusses his role in helping utility workers, manufacturing employees, and others reduce musculoskeletal injuries. He describes how di...

Meet Dr. Jan Handwerk, Associate Professor of Occupational Safety at the University of Central Oklahoma. Dr. Handwerk discusses the challenges she faced throughout her diverse career in male-dominated industries, from teaching physical education to working as a utility substation mechanic, including issues with properly fitting PPE. She emphasizes the importance of effective communication skills f...

This week, Jill sits down with a truly accidental safety professional. Catherine West now serves as senior director of global health and safety for a business consulting company, but she never intended to get into this industry. After deciding to leave her sales role, she quickly discovered an unexpected love for safety, where she gets to work closely with employees to better their experience and...

It's back! Jill sat down with EHS professionals who were attending this year's ASSP’s Safety Conference and Expo in Denver, Colorado. She talked with people from many different industries and asked what their favorite part of being a safety professional, advice for other professionals, favorite success stories, and what the future of EHS looks like to them. thank you to those EHS pros who stopped...

Jill had the pleasure of speaking with ASSP's 2024 Outstanding Safety Educator, Dr. Leslie Stockel! Leslie is an associate professor of professional practice at Oklahoma State University, and teaches in the Fire Protection and Safety Engineering Technology program. She shares how her father helped her find her passion through firefighting, which lead to her experiences as a safety professional in...