My Big Safety Challenge

Perry Logan, Ph. D., seemed destined to be a leader in the safety industry. Growing up in the Florida Keys during the 1970s and 80s, Perry often accompanied his father, an underwater welder—a job known for its extreme danger—to work, seeing firsthand at a young age the dangers of the profession. He recalls his dad attending diving school in preparation for the job with 8 other divers, and within a...

As the Vice President of Health and Safety at Mortenson, a leading construction company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Marni Hogen has worked to create a safety culture that emphasizes personal connections, open communication, and employee empowerment. Marni believes that everyone in an organization, regardless of role or job title, has a responsibility for safety, and to truly create an effecti...

Tyler Lorenzen, CEO of Puris—a plant-based food company dedicated to restoring knowledge, control, and trust within the food system—believes that in order to save people, we have to save food. If his name sounds familiar, it’s because Tyler spent his Saturdays in college playing quarterback for the University of Connecticut before joining the New Orleans Saints, winning a Superbowl with the team i...

As a keynote speaker, leadership advisor, sales expert, author, and speaker coach, Rene Rodriguez and his company Volentum have trained more than 100,000 people in applying behavioral psychology and neuroleadership methodologies to solve some of the toughest challenges in leadership, sales, and change. So, what does Rene and his company have to do with safety? On this episode of My Big Safety Chal...

The third episode of My Big Safety Challenge Season 3 features Allison Montgomery, Vice President of EHS at Applied Materials. Montgomery isn’t one to shy away from challenges. Upon graduating high school a year early, Montgomery enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps because, as she puts it, she’s a bit of a risk taker, and she wanted to choose the branch she thought would be an excellent challenge. J...

“When people know you care, they’re going to care too.” A bachelor’s degree in communications, a master’s in leadership education, and a doctorate in training and development may not sound like the traditional path to a 37-year career in logistics safety, but for Dr. John Holland, they were steps that would lead to a vocation that, as he puts it, “loves and gets him out of bed in the morning.” Now...

Welcome to the Season 3 premiere of My Big Safety Challenge, produced by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) and Dale Carnegie (DC). In this episode, we are joined by Anthony Miller, CSP, Vice President of Sunbelt Rentals, Inc.—a leader in the equipment rental industry with over 1,200 locations, 18,000 team members, and 70 safety professionals. With more than 26 years of industry ex...

“Identify what people are good at; find opportunities for them to engage and grow.” Eli Friedman, EHS leader for a worldwide technology company, offers insight from a sustainability and safety journey that has taken him from offshore rigs to the apparel industry and now high tech, with a law school stop along the way. He shares his passion for psychological safety and his experience with overcomin...

Since 2019 Steve Myers has been the Director, Risk & Safety at Amy’s Kitchen. Under Steve’s leadership, Amy’s has seen five straight years of improved safety performance. In 2023, the company attained its best safety record to date. Prior to specializing in safety, Steve was in private practice as a workers compensation defense attorney in California. His years of experience in workers compens...

The fourth episode of My Big Safety Challenge Season 2 features insight from Sim Kaur, Program Director for Global Environmental Health and Safety at Netflix. A fast riser in the profession, Kaur outlines leadership communication principles for concisely sharing your message to maximize effect and understanding employee behavior by asking questions. She advises new professionals to be adaptable wh...

Montrese is the Vice President Human Resources for Global CBS News & Operations and is based in Washington, DC. She has worked in the media/news industry for over 20 years, providing support on all facets of human resources. In that role and others that she has held within the healthcare, cosmetics, and automotive industries, she has found herself at the intersection of HR, health, and safety....

Jay is a value-based inspirational leader with a strong sense of purpose. His enthusiastic mindset fosters a collaborative culture of enablement. He serves as a role model, demonstrating the right behaviors to be successful as a business leader. Empathy is Jay's superpower and he is keen to mentor and coach other professionals. Jay considers everyone with kindness and his emotional intelligence en...

Dr. Sharifa Batts currently serves as the Head of Environment & Sustainability at Ports America, the largest stevedore company in the U.S., operating in 33 ports in over 70 locations. She is an expert in risk mitigation and resiliency planning and oversees the company’s Environment & Sustainability programs. With almost 24 years at Ports America, she is an inspirational leader who is respe...

Fresh off an enlightening and entertaining first season, the My Big Safety Challenge podcast is back for more. More leadership insight, more guidance for overcoming challenges, and more inspiration for the critical work you do each day. Season 2 of the joint venture from the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) and Dale Carnegie (DC) features new guest host Tiffany Felix and another nota...

Mr. Sams joined SBA Communications Corporation in September of 2000. He currently has over thirty years of experience as a Safety and Health Professional in the recognition, evaluation and control of workplace risks and hazards, both domestically and internationally. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee with a BS in Public Health and MS in Safety Education. His qualifications include a...

Hannah Sesay is the Vice President of Health and Safety for Ferguson. She has over 30 years of progressive experience managing Global Health, Safety, and Environmental Programs. Twenty of which, as a member of executive leadership teams responsible for setting and executing global HSE strategies. Her experience spans multiple industries such as Insurance, food, and beverage; financial; manufacturi...

Michael is the Director, Health, Safety and Security for RYAM in Jacksonville, Florida. Drawing on more than 25 years of safety and health experience, he has helped lead his company’s operations on a new journey to achieve world class safety performance. By establishing management systems and instilling progressive leading metrics he has consistently transformed company safety cultures. Michael sp...

Preston Wood is a passionate EHS professional and Eastern Kentucky University grad where he received a master’s degree in Safety, Security, and Emergency Management. He began his career as an EHS consultant at EnSafe Inc., where he excelled in developing custom safety solutions for a diverse set of clients in industries across North America. Currently, Preston is the Director of EHS at Relativity...

Chris began his safety career in 1990 working as a Safety Technician for a large construction company. During his time in the construction industry Chris was able to grow his career to where he became an E, S & H Manager who led safety teams on major construction sites. This time also exposed him to a variety of industries like petro-chemical, fossil power, nuclear power, as well as administra...

Emily Gamblin is the Senior Environmental Health and Safety Manager for Advance Auto Parts. Emily specializes in positive safety culture development to create impactful, safe and sustainable work environments. Through innovative people-focused management initiatives, Emily has a proven track record to reduce work-place injuries. She graduated from the University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Scien...

Season 3 of My Big Safety Challenge is back! Host Merle Heckman is joined this season by Jason Kunz as co-host. This season will include more great guests who will share leadership challenges and lessons learned. Subscribe today so you don't miss an episode!

Steve began his career in occupational safety and health in 1986 as an Occupational Safety Specialist with the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration. In 1999, he was appointed to the assistant administrator position. In 2012, he was appointed as the administrator of the agency. In his position as administrator, he managed the day-to-day operations of Tennessee OSHA, supervising e...