Browse all Rising Stars photos and bios |
Making the safe choice isn’t always easy. In the workplace, every decision comes with complications, costs and critics. Yet, safety professionals, with their drive and passion for their work, make it look easy. They’re willing to keep pushing and go that extra mile for safety because, for them, their work is more than a job – it’s a mission.
Lorraine M. Martin
President and CEO
National Safety Council
For more than a century, the National Safety Council has worked to save lives through safer workplaces, roadways and communities. We understand the challenges safety leaders face and seek to support them as they strive to make the world a safer place.
The 2024 NSC Rising Stars of Safety, our 15th class, demonstrate the incredible impact of their profession. Founded in 2010, the program recognizes up-and-coming safety pros 40 and younger who have a proven track record of safety leadership in their organization and are dedicated to continuous improvement. This program is possible thanks to the generous support of our 2024 Rising Stars Award sponsor, Dow.
These 38 leaders, representing a wide range of industries, are truly among the best and brightest in safety. Through their dedication and enthusiasm, they’ve shown that improvement, innovation and change aren’t only possible, but can also help save lives.
This year’s group is truly impressive. Take Michael Kennerson, director of safety at PosiGen. Known as “Safety Mike” around the workplace, Kennerson developed a comprehensive safety initiative that reduced the company’s total recordable incident rate by 60%. He’s on the frontlines of PosiGen’s safety program, leading safety meetings and inspections, implementing proactive measures, and engaging new hires and contractors. Kennerson shows his energy and passion for safety off the job as well, organizing community safety events and workshops.
In her role as senior manager of operations safety training at Amazon, Ciara Norman led the creation and launch of the Safety School Program – aimed at improving the employee safety onboarding experience. Between 2022 and 2023, new hires who went through the school showed a 37% drop in the recordable injury rate and a 100% reduction in the musculoskeletal disorder recordable injury rate. She’s a champion for total worker health and well-being both at work and in her community.
As the biosafety officer for the Houston Health Department, Gustina Marie Gonzales is charged with overseeing the safety of 2.4 million Texans. She’s made outreach a priority – communicating through weekly bulletins, newsletters and safety fairs. A volunteer in the department’s See to Succeed mission, she helps provide eye exams and glasses for Houston school districts.
Read each profile to learn more about the NSC Rising Stars of Safety, Class of 2024.
Thank you to each of this year’s honorees. Your work is making the world a safer and better place for all.
— Lorraine M. Martin
Rising Stars profilesUse these links to visit Rising Stars profile pages, or browse all profiles as a slideshow using the navigation arrows at the top of each page. |
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View Rising Stars profiles as they appear in the print edition of Safety+Health.
Join the Young Professionals Division
Did you know NSC has a group dedicated to young safety professionals? This affinity group focuses on safety pros who are younger than 45 and in the first half of their safety careers. The Young Professionals Division prioritizes connection, training and resources to improve results in all safety environments. Go to nsc.org/divisions to learn more.
Isabella Anderson
Age: 26
Industrial Hygiene Generalist
Argonne National Laboratory
Lemont, IL
The Advanced Photon Source is a powerful scientific facility. The ultrabright X-rays it generates are used by more than 5,500 scientists each year to create stronger materials, build more efficient batteries, and help develop vaccines and treatments for infectious diseases. Lead shielding is used extensively in the facility, and a recent upgrade included removing all lead materials. Isabella planned and managed the lead surface sampling strategy. She trained sampling professionals to collect lead surface samples and directed their daily activities. Her efforts ensured lead-contaminated equipment was effectively cleaned and lead exposure was controlled.
Salman Arshad
Age: 33
Deputy Executive HSEQ
Fauji Fertilizer Co. Ltd.
Sindh, Pakistan
Salman noticed a gap in senior management’s awareness of site safety performance because of the absence of leading and lagging indicators data. He identified leading indicators such as safety observations, near misses, and compliance with safety and quality talks, along with lagging indicators such as first aids and lost time injuries. He developed an interactive dashboard incorporating these indicators with the aim of encapsulating crucial information in numeric representations and trends, facilitating a comprehensive understanding of site safety statistics. This initiative led to enhanced compliance and analysis of safety metrics.
Amanda Marie Ashworth
Age: 35
Explosives Safety Specialist
Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane
Crane, IN
Amanda played a vital role in NSWC Crane receiving International Standard Organization for Occupational Health and Safety 45001 certification. In 2018, she initiated contact with the Navy Safety Center, Department of Defense Center for Excellence and American Federation of Government Employees Local 1415. She developed a plan and led a focus team to guide compliance audits. In January 2020, the Navy Safety Center evaluated progress and found that Crane was 80% compliant. Amanda established a tracking system for deficiencies, developed corrective action plans and monitored execution before the initial audit. Upon completion of the final audit, NSWC Crane received certification.
Lora Cavuoto
Age: 39
Professor
University at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY
Lora has served on the Ergonomics in Surgery Committee for the American College of Surgeons to develop ergonomics recommendations that reduce injuries. At the ACS 2023 annual meeting, she coordinated an eight-hour surgical ergonomics training clinic – during which a few hundred surgeons received one-on-one instruction on ergonomics best practices. One goal of the clinic was to change the culture of surgery to allow surgeons of all levels of seniority to prioritize their safety and health.
Thomas C. Crews
Age: 39
SHE Advisor
Nutrien
Princeton, NC
After being called to respond to a fire in an agricultural facility, Thomas worked to educate more than 300 first responders from across the southeastern United States on safety in agricultural hazardous materials. Through targeted training sessions, the first responders were equipped with the skills to handle pesticides, combustible materials and other hazards. Thomas is enhancing the community’s ability to respond effectively to agricultural emergencies by fostering collaboration and preparedness.
Ryan Cunningham
Age: 34
Certified Industrial Hygienist
United Cleanup Oak Ridge
Oak Ridge, TN
As a silica and asphalt subject matter expert, Ryan led a continuous improvement initiative to develop a hot-asphalt paving exposure assessment that exceeds generally accepted industry practices. Assessment results were used to determine allowable exposure times and establish controls to prevent overexposure to asphalt fumes. As a conduct of operations coach for waste management and nuclear operations, Ryan had a positive impact on reducing the number of nonconforming operational events.
Sean De Hart
Age: 39
Senior Safety Specialist
Amentum
Las Vegas, NV
Sean spearheaded the development and implementation of a comprehensive health and safety plan for a remediation project related to the removal of munitions residue containing depleted uranium. During the developmental stages, Sean collaborated with multiple stakeholders to ensure safety and environmental concerns were prioritized while ensuring compliance with regulatory standards. This collaboration included creating and institutionalizing a feedback mechanism within this fledgling program to allow for continuous process improvement. Sean’s robust planning allowed the project to conclude with no environmental impact and zero incidents or near misses.
Sophie Donnison
Age: 33
HSE Leader
Cummins
Seaham, United Kingdom
As the leader of a campaign called “September for Safety,” Sophie addressed the key hazards impacting the business – namely powered industrial vehicles; ergonomics; hand safety; and slips, trips and falls. This is one of only a very few sites to continue the program year after year since it was first implemented in 2018. Perseverance has paid off and the site has seen a significant decrease in incident rates and achieved an ergonomics incident rate of zero for 2023.
Kurt Fellrath
Age: 38
Occupational Health & Safety Specialist
Boeing
Everett, WA
Kurt partnered with the Everett site’s manufacturing operations support and logistics organization to enhance conformity to nonproduct hazardous energy requirements. He focused on helping create a hazardous energy control procedure documentation and retention system. The hybrid digital and paper system allowed MOS&L to reference its active and historic HECPs and provide evidence of its conformance to EHS requirements. Before partnering with EHS, MOS&L kept paper records on the factory floor throughout the Everett site.
Kayla Lynn Fiveash
Age: 36
Occupational Health & Safety Specialist
Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane
Crane, IN
Kayla is one of the primary instructors for hazard analysis writing at NSWC Crane. In 2022, she revamped the classroom portion of hazard analysis writing. Classes are offered twice a month and feature nearly 30 students per class. Before she took on this responsibility, the training needed vital elements such as assessing hazards. Kayla introduced simple training techniques to allow employees to correctly identify hazards, assess the severity and probability of the hazards, and incorporate hazard analyses into standard operating procedures.
Nicholas Fonte
Age: 27
Occupational Safety Technician
U.S. Air Force
Ramstein, Germany
Nicholas orchestrated an event that helped the Air Force Safety Center deliver a Risk Management Applications and Integrations course to Germany. This enterprisewide accredited course equipped 23 members with the expertise necessary to advise key decision-makers on risk management for all military operations at all echelons. As a result, the safety culture at his installation significantly improved, evidenced by a threefold increase in formal hazard reports and the visibility of 11 deliberate risk assessments for installation operations.
Killian Fuh Forbeteh
Age: 39
Safety Supervisor, Surface Operations
Nutrien
Saskatchewan, Canada
The Vanscoy site had observed a pattern of slips and trips over several months, resulting in significant injuries. As Killian reviewed these incidents, he observed specific commonalities. Two incidents involved a specific work boot. Killian began inquiring about the boots with workers in the field. After creating a survey to gather workforce feedback, Killian confirmed that most workers wearing the boot found it slippery in cold conditions. Killian’s findings were provided to the boot vendor and the manufacturer. This feedback inspired the manufacturer to develop a boot with a high-traction sole for cold weather.
Shruti Gangakhedkar
Age: 38
SHE Senior Manager, Hillsboro Site Safety Officer
Genentech
Hillsboro, OR
“Responsible care” is a voluntary commitment by the global chemical industry to drive continuous improvement and achieve excellence in SHE performance. An element includes an annual competition, for which “Making SHE Understandable” was the Roche topic. Shruti led the local initiative and developed a SHE Directive Academy with primary goals of educating our teams about the importance of Roche directives and raising awareness of how they apply locally. We did this through a series of short, informative meetings. New academy materials were concise and simple to engage the audience for ease of understanding and application in everyday business decisions.
Gustina Marie Gonzales
Age: 39
Biosafety Officer
Houston Health Department, Bureau of Laboratory Services
Houston, TX
Gustina effectively communicates through weekly bulletins, posters, news and even semiannual Safety Fair events on holistic topics such as roadways; distractions; impairments; electricity; fire/life safety; violence prevention; strains; ladders; slips, trips and falls; hurricanes; tornadoes; heat; freezes; and more. She ensures her team’s training includes defensive driving, CPR/first aid/AED, active shooter prevention, and others home/work safety topics. Gustina also volunteers with HHD’s “See to Succeed” mission that provides eye exams and glasses for Houston school districts. She provides logistics support, food service and management for more than 5,000 children.
*Taylor currently works for Gilbane Building Co.
Ashley Hahn
Age: 37
WHS Lead Kokomo Powertrain Transmission and Casting Plants
Stellantis
Carmel, IN
Ashley’s facility has multiple overhead robots on rails that transfer parts at heights of 30 feet and higher. The maintenance of these robots requires teams to encounter tasks that require working at height. Ashley collaborated with the maintenance team to identify specific routine and nonroutine activities that are normally required at elevated working height. She developed a solution to reduce risks by programming the robots to designated fenceless maintenance areas at floor level. These maintenance areas have visual floor markings and floor scanners to ensure safe work practices within these zones.
Tommy Hanberg
Age: 32
District Safety Manager – Colorado
Flatiron Construction
Denver, CO
Tommy is a good coach and mentor for his team. He has the unique ability to bridge the gap between operational leadership and his safety staff. He develops and facilitates all-hands safety meetings that are engaging and fun and include awards. He maintains relationships with safety professionals from other firms and stays up to date on industry happenings. He participates in conferences and professional development opportunities to continue learning. He’s a member of other safety organizations and enjoys interacting with his safety peers.
John J. Handrigan
Age: 38
Principal for Safety
U.S. Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Newport
Newport, RI
John worked on a solution to improve the safety of an autonomous torpedo glider system that was being developed by changing the wing design. The initial design stored the wings under tension, which, as a result, could cause sudden and inadvertent wing deployment, severely injuring nearby personnel. To prevent that, design alternatives were identified, assessed and then proposed to program leadership. The wing deployment mechanism was changed to a motor-driven design from a spring-loaded design. With the new design, the system must first be started and release consent must be given for the wings to move.
Sudeep Hegde
Age: 39
Assistant Professor
Clemson University
Clemson, SC
Sudeep is among a handful of experts in the country on the theory and practice of an emerging paradigm in safety and system resilience, often called “Safety II.” This is a proactive safety approach that learns from both adverse events and successful adaptations under similar pressures. He developed methodological tools for eliciting information from frontline workers on everyday adaptations. Sudeep successfully implemented the tools at leading multispecialty hospitals. He has been able to translate such novel concepts to the stage of implementation in large organizations, which is a testament to his ability to articulate theoretically deep concepts to stakeholders in ways that resonate with their operational needs.
Mitchell Holland
Age: 34
Onsite Injury Prevention Specialist/Athletic Trainer
Concentra
Grand Rapids, MI
Mitchell developed an early symptom evaluation process and integrated it within his location’s injury reporting system. The goal was to improve tracking of leading indicators before the development of work injuries resulting in recordability and/or lost time. The initial phase involved educating workers on the importance of injury prevention programs and the role of the onsite medical center as it relates to injury reporting. With early symptom reporting, first-aid level intervention and ergonomic re-education are provided on the day of the incident. The location has seen increased reporting of musculoskeletal disorders but an overall decrease in the recordable incident rate.
Katharine Karch
Age: 38
Senior Industrial Hygienist
Washington River Protection Solutions
Hanford, WA
During a safety and health program review, WRPS recognized the need for a written program describing the respiratory protection measures that protect Hanford tank farm workers from hazardous tank vapors. Katharine volunteered to lead an effort to draft a written vapor monitoring program and sampling strategy. Collaboration with industrial safety, engineering, operations, unions and the customer resulted in publication of a program recognized as “best in class” by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Enterprise Assessments in 2023.
Michael Kennerson
Age: 35
Director of Safety
PosiGen
New Orleans, LA
“Safety Mike” initiated a comprehensive safety initiative that significantly reduced the company’s total recordable incident rate by 60%. He accomplished this through a multifaceted approach, including regular safety meetings that he leads to disseminate critical information and foster a culture of safety among employees. Additionally, he takes a hands-on approach by leading from the front lines during safety inspections, identifying potential hazards and implementing corrective measures promptly. His proactive leadership and dedication to safety have not only yielded measurable improvements in our safety metrics but also instilled a greater sense of awareness and responsibility among our workers.
Lyndsey Kenney
Age: 36
Senior WHS-RME Program Manager
Amazon Transportation Services
D
enver, CO
Lyndsey identified an opportunity to improve maintenance technicians’ consistent application of lockout/tagout protocols – clearing product jams on conveyors. She established a team of subject matter experts and led it in creating a visual standard operating procedure to safely clear product jams. To increase access and use of the VSOP, Lyndsey converted the document into a QR code and required all sites to post the code at the most common jam points. Now, more than 17,000 technicians have access to this resource before performing high-risk jam-clearing tasks.
William Langford
Age: 28
Safety Manager
ARCO/Murray Construction Co.
Tampa, FL
One of Will’s most notable safety initiatives was developing the first safety committee in the history of the ARCO Enterprise. Will was able to get the buy-in of leadership to meet once a quarter. During these meetings, Will leads the three vice presidents through recent safety trends, statistical analysis and cultural highlights. This gives them not just a clear picture of where they are, but what they can do to steer ARCO toward being a safer company. This program has resulted in dozens of policy changes, construction and design changes, and improvements to subcontractor safety requirements.
Jamie Mallinder
Age: 38
Director of Health and Safety/Principal Consultant
Collar Group
Perth, Australia
As a sought-after guest speaker, Jamie has addressed critical topics, including ISO 45003 and safety due diligence, during numerous webinars and in-person events. On LinkedIn, his “Ted Lasso Leadership” series and insightful posts have garnered a following, contributing to a growing dialogue on safety and leadership. He has published articles in magazines, further establishing his thought leadership on safety. Most significantly, Jamie’s role as a mentor and coach to aspiring and current safety professionals demonstrates his dedication to nurturing the field’s future.
Kenneth “KC” Murray
Age: 34
EHS Manager
Hallen Construction
New York, NY
Mental health for construction workers is a real concern. Hallen is a family company. Most employees have someone who is struggling. KC recognized this and worked to start and promote a mental health program. Hallen has trained more than 200 employees (via Vital Cog and Mental First Aid programs) to recognize signs and encourage employees to seek help.
Taylor Murray
Age: 36
Director of Safety and Development
Danella Cos.
Plymouth Meeting, PA
Taylor introduced MindForge, a communication platform for employees. His leadership catalyzed the adoption of this platform, significantly enhancing real-time communication and safety awareness within the company. He overcame a stigma around technology by working with each member. This initiative not only streamlined the dissemination of critical safety updates and near-miss reports but also integrated continuous learning through immediate access to training, profoundly impacting operational safety with zero incidents recorded.
Kyle L. Naylor
Age: 35
Senior Director of Safety, Health and Environment
Savage Companies
Kansas City, MO
Kyle was the driving force in developing and implementing Savage’s Critical Risk Management process. The process aims to prevent serious injuries and fatalities by increasing the safety readiness of the global workforce. So far, it’s used in more than 200 locations in the United States, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Canada. Kyle also built an occupational health assessment to prevent workplace illnesses. His approach has grown SH&E culture in operations while overseeing construction safety at the largest capital project in company history.
Ciara Norman
Age: 29
Senior Manager, Safety Training
Amazon
Colorado Springs, CO
Ciara led the development and launch of a “safety school” initiative to enhance the safety onboarding experience for employees. This initiative put all site-relevant information into one central learning location with demonstrations, while shifting process-specific information to the process path floor to drive learner retention. Data from the business units Ciara is working with shows that the approach is working. The new hires who underwent the “safety school” training sustained a 37% lower recordable injury rate in the year following the training.
Virginia Pajarito
Age: 39
Director, Client Solutions, Risk Control
Lockton Insurance Brokers
Los Angeles, CA
One of Virginia’s most impressive accomplishments lies in her role in reducing the frequency and severity of losses for one large contractor client. The client was seeing several claims caused by a gap in leadership messaging and employee activities – senior management was implementing one thing, line managers were telling employees something else, and the result was employees were getting hurt at an alarming rate. By viewing the client’s risk holistically through a strategic lens, she identified critical gaps in the client’s risk management process. She engaged with leadership to retrain managers and instituted accountability mechanisms at the highest levels.
Nicole E. Palermo
Age: 38
Air Combat Command, Occupational Safety Manager
U.S. Air Force
Hampton, VA
Nicole led a team of 12 safety professionals in embedding a culture of safety for 21 Department of Defense locations and 8,200 warfighters throughout the Republic of Korea. There, she drafted safety guidance for the first-ever Ministry of Employment and Labor program, encapsulating South Korean occupational, safety and health laws.
Jason Reaves
Age: 40
Senior Safety Manager
Rosendin
San Jose, CA
Jason developed a mobile app that helps electrical workers follow a process to ensure equipment is de-energized before they begin servicing it. A typical lockout/tagout procedure can require dozens of actions. Jason’s app provides a guide to prevent injuries, improve productivity and ensure workers go home to their families each night. To ensure its reliability, Jason continues to audit its effectiveness and update when needed.
Gilbert Lujan Rivera Jr.
Age: 35
Senior Industrial Hygienist
Amazon
Tucson, AZ
In 2023, an extreme wildfire season threatened to negatively impact air quality at some Amazon operations. Gilbert was critical in ensuring the rapid education and implementation of programs for the health and safety of employees. By outlining key elements of the existing wildfire procedure, he made sure all sites were leveraging programs and risk-based information to make health-based decisions for employees. This included the use of voluntary respiratory protection following all applicable jurisdictional regulations, providing vendor information for onsite air monitoring, and securing additional resource allocations and support.
Melissa Sawa
Age: 33
Well-Being, Health & Safety Lead
Stellantis
Warren, MI
Melissa observed many employees taking shortcuts to workstations, deviating from designated pedestrian walkways. These shortcuts added potential hazards, increasing injury risk. Melissa analyzed plant injury data, identifying unsafe act patterns, and took proactive targeted actions addressing root causes related to unsafe behaviors. A “shortcut survey” was devised to examine areas where shortcuts were taken. She actively engaged team leaders to gain insight into unsafe acts. The collaborative effort of a cross-functional team led to the identification of corrective actions, resulting in heightened safety awareness among employees and a significant reduction in slip, trip and fall incidents.
Michael Snow
Age: 27
Safety Manager
ARCO Design/Build
Raleigh, NC
Mike built up the “Safety Scavenger Hunt” initiative that focuses on identifying and mitigating jobsite hazards, as well as increasing leadership and employee engagement. Over the past several years, employee engagement in safety-based interactions in the field has increased significantly. Building on this, submissions of safety hazards found and corrected by project teams has increased approximately 25% over the past year alone. Employee engagement is at an all-time high, and project teams are often leading the charge with safety communications on their own.
Jake Steelhammer
Age: 32
Safety and Health Specialist
Central Plateau Cleanup Co.
Richland, WA
During the winter of 2022-2023, the organization experienced a significant increase in the number of slips, trips and falls caused by an unusual amount of snow and ice. Affected personnel included both field and office workers, with injuries as severe as broken limbs. Jake played a critical role in helping CPCCo and Hanford’s other prime contractors develop an integrated approach to respond to adverse weather, which included clear communication of responsibilities, proper staffing for snow-removal activities and the deployment of innovative snow-removal equipment. His efforts helped CPCCo realize an 80% reduction in snow/ice-related incidents over the next winter.
Jose Torres
Age: 33
EHS Compliance Leader
Jones Lang LaSalle*
Chicago, IL
Jose has leveraged the early adoption of new technology by implementing the ToolSense application. The use of this application has reduced costs, simplified safety inspections and improved compliance, with high end-user acceptance and full engagement from employees. Implementation required an effective partnership with frontline staff, management and senior leadership. His ability to influence others to embrace change, leverage the trust he has built in his relationships and use a hands-on approach demonstrate his leadership abilities. His commitment to finding new and effective ways to enhance safety practices displays his proactive approach.
*Jose currently works for the Navy Closure Task Force.
Christian Virgil
Age: 37
Senior Lecturer
College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Christian led a team that produced a documentary-based digital learning tool. The documentary was made to improve the academic performance of occupational safety students. It explored the trauma experienced by victims of occupational incidents. It focused on local incidents to deepen students’ understanding of how theoretical safety principles and practices could prevent incidents in industries where they will soon work as safety professionals. The effectiveness of the documentary was reflected quantitatively in a 10% improvement in student performance in the construction safety course.
Charles Derek Wilson
Age: 34
Area Safety Manager
Clark Construction Group
McLean, VA
Derek demonstrated his ability to gather consensus as he balanced collective input from numerous trade partners and Clark leadership. He was instrumental in Clark’s effort to analyze historic project safety data and industry trends. As a result, Clark’s “Critical 8” initiative focuses on the organization’s key areas of risk. Derek also identified key controls and actions required to be in place before work starts. He developed processes to audit these controls; obtained buy-in from Clark leadership; and developed training tools to engage teams, including toolbox talks, microlearning videos, pamphlets, stickers, posters and presentations.
