Shining brightly

The National Safety Council is pleased to recognize the 2013 class of the NSC Rising Stars of Safety, presented by DuPont Sustainable Solutions. The NSC Rising Stars of Safety program honors leaders of tomorrow for their commitment to safety, influence on safety culture, promotion of continuous workplace safety improvement and creation of safety initiatives that produce measureable outcomes – the foundational pillars of the council’s Journey to Safety Excellence.

This group of up-and-coming safety professionals was selected from more than 110 nominees. This year’s honorees work in a variety of industries representing four different countries. Strong safety cultures require safety to be acknowledged as everyone’s responsibility within an organization. In addition to safety professionals, this year we are recognizing an adjunct professor, a drilling manager, and the president and vice presidents of organizations.

The Rising Stars will be honored at the 2013 NSC Congress & Expo in Chicago, Sept. 28 to Oct. 4. This is a fitting time for their recognition because this year’s event is about “Leading Safety into the Future” and how the Journey to Safety Excellence will remain our steadfast guide as we apply its fundamentals to the ever-changing nature of our workplaces and workforces. These Rising Stars are the future of safety. Gaining their perspective and addressing their challenges will be crucial to making a greater impact in the century to come.

It has been a pleasure working alongside each class of NSC Rising Stars. Our first three classes played a major role in introducing the Young Professional track at Congress & Expo, and we are now introducing a new Young Professionals Division. The Rising Stars led the strategic planning process in launching the new Division. They also currently are working on the agenda for an inaugural 2014 spring Division meeting, scheduled to take place in New Orleans.

Continually engaging the leaders of tomorrow is important to tackling the evolving safety issues we are all facing.

Congratulations to this year’s class of NSC Rising Stars of Safety. We know that much can be accomplished when we work together, and ultimately more lives can be saved and injuries prevented.

"The National Safety Council is pleased to recognize the 2013 class of the NSC Rising Stars of Safety, presented by DuPont Sustainable Solutions." Read the complete introduction by Janet Froetscher, president and CEO, National Safety Council.

	Ghulam Abbas 26 Industrial Safety Engineer Engro Fertilizer Ltd. Ghotki, Pakistan
“Ghulam Abbas has been coordinating sessions and quiz competitions on different HSE topics for training of employees. Through his leadership, the safety committee has developed several initiatives. Those include an Injury-Free December campaign, Spot-The-Hazard campaign and Operations Discipline week. Off the job, Abbas has been leading a team for EFERT’s National HSE Seminar for the last two years, which engages safety pros from Pakistan’s multifarious leading organizations. He also engages colony occupants (employee wives and kids) by conducting spot-the-hazard award competitions in which the community is asked to identify hazards in and around their residences.”
	Amanda Chambers 34 Health and Safety Specialist LG&E and KU Energy Lexington, KY
“Because the workers for which Amanda is responsible are widespread and exposed to different types of hazards, she realized the importance of constant communication and sharing current safety information and uniform messages about expectations, issues, practices and regulations. Consequently, Amanda launched a monthly newsletter to update employees about their safety performance, incidents, and health and wellness topics. She also initiated a biweekly teleconference with all management and contractors to inform them about safety expectations and new standards, and to promote best-practice sharing.”
	Matthew Arabie 30 Environmental Health and Safety Specialist Siemens Energy – HSC Houston, TX
“Matthew listens and ensures you have a voice. He factors your thoughts into his decisions, and it’s based on your personal safety. When Matthew stops a job or calls a meeting, he does it in a way that’s non-combative and without blame. He’s the kind of leader who points out successes and ensures the individual and the organization is aware of who’s showing leadership in safety. Matthew’s efforts make me want to work not only harder, but safer.”
	Brandon Dunkin 37 Regional Safety Manager DynCorp International Poway, CA
“Brandon is responsible for two significant initiatives that influence the success of our safety program: the 365 Day Work Plan and the Daily Situation Report. The 365 Day Work Plan is a scheduling and cross-training tool that allows a certain amount of uniformity in the daily activities of the safety professional. The Daily Situation Report has been developed so that the activities under the 365 can be recorded for posterity and reported to the management.”
	Dawn Breznai 37 Environment Health and Safety Lead Chrysler Group LLC Detroit, MI
“Dawn has an unconventional method to manage and drive proactive safety systems. She uses creative ways of teaching and coaching safety to others. One example is the ‘SEWO Board,’ a 6-by-4-foot board on wheels that allows everyone, including employees on the shop floor, to provide input on the root cause analysis of the incident and the opportunity to suggest countermeasures to address the root causes.”
	Amanda Finnegan 38 Regional HSE Manager CH2M Hill Alaska Anchorage, AK
“Amanda focused on personalizing safety within the last year. She has worked to develop a safety leadership training course for employees entitled, ‘Everyone Returning Home.’ This course teaches effective communication skills, conflict resolution and positive reinforcement. Currently, 80 leaders have attended this training, with 300 more by the end of the year.”
	Joshua Franklin 35 Senior Master Sergeant Eleventh Air Force Joint-Base Elmendorf-Richardson Anchorage, AK
“While deployed to Manas, Kyrgyzstan, Josh first noticed the high amount of sports-related injuries incurred by soldiers and airmen during basketball games, as well as non-UL-certified appliances in the base’s living quarters. He researched ways to reduce ankle injuries and found an ongoing Air Force study regarding ankle braces. Josh procured several hundred braces and designed an educational flyer to encourage the use of the braces during all organized games. Through consistent application and encouragement among the athletes, ankle injuries during games were reduced 57 percent over the next five months. … Josh invigorated the replacement of all non-UL appliances throughout the base.”
	Aldo Gomez 36 EHS Engineer Delphi Westfield, IN
“Aldo has been leading one of the most important and ambitious initiatives Delphi has ever undertaken in the EH&S arena. He and a global team of technical experts are constructing a common global EH&S operating system that will allow for certification to both ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 international standards. … Aldo and the team have made significant progress on this special assignment while maintaining their regular responsibilities, and hope to have a pilot program initiated within the next 12 months.”
	Shawn Galloway 36 President and COO ProAct Safety The Woodlands, TX
“Shawn developed a program to address contractor safety for a major client. It not only targeted obvious safety issues, but included steps to bring the contractors into the client site’s safety culture and include them in the safety activities during their project time onsite. The process included creating project safety plans, contractor orientation materials and a video from the CEO of the firm explaining the importance of safety to the organization. The process was rolled out to the client’s 172 sites through a train-the-trainer model and was coordinated with an outside firm that qualifies contractors’ eligibility to do project work.”
	Keith Greer 38 Site Safety and Health Manager RMA Land Construction Inc. Kaneohe, HI
“Performing as the HSE Manager for the $38 million Tactical Equipment Maintenance Facility project encompassing 21.5 acres at Schofield Barracks, HI, Mr. Greer has the overall responsibility for initiating and implementing a safety program to ensure the safety of over 750 individuals who have worked onsite. At 686 days into the project, there have been over 250,000 man-hours and 70,000 equipment hours logged with no lost-time accidents. As part of the safety program, Mr. Greer requires all workers to complete a safety indoctrination course to ensure they understand the safety expectations. He also conducts daily safety briefings with field personnel and subcontractors, along with competent-person inspections to engage foremen and superintendents. His recognition program is also leveraged to promote individual accountability and motivate workers.”

	Ron Gantt 33 Vice President Safety Compliance Management San Ramon, CA
“Ron served as project leader for one of the largest safety assessments ever done in the history of the state of California. In his leadership role, Ron led a team of staff members who conducted meetings, performed onsite assessments of physical facilities and operations, reviewed all written compliance programs, and evaluated the training programs that were provided. Ron is currently finalizing the process by developing an implementation plan that has been adopted by the organization and which is transforming it from one of simple compliance with safety regulations to one with real risk reduction measures and positive safety culture.”
	Jason Griffin 36 Construction Safety Consultant Michigan OSHA, CET Division Lansing, MI
“Jason facilitates the ‘Safety for Construction’ project. A CD is being developed that will be distributed free to Michigan employers. It will be an interactive training course that incorporates MIOSHA construction standards. Working with an outside vendor, Jason is providing direction, reviewing scripts both individually as well as with his construction peers, and arranging video shoots to illustrate the rules.”
	Christopher Gruber 35 Safety and Training Coordinator Lake County Division of Transportation Libertyville, IL
“Chris produces and leads the monthly training, which may be job specific or organization-wide. Because of him, our maintenance staff are current on flagger training, forklift operations and seasonal environmental dangers. All staff is trained on First Aid, CPR, AED and emergency preparedness. During this same time, Chris served three tours of duty with the Wisconsin National Guard, being deployed to Kuwait, Iraq and Kosovo. Chris led people of various backgrounds and disciplines. While in Kuwait, he was charged with the duties of Environmental Compliance and Safety Officer, in which he used his degree in Occupational Health and Safety to directly contribute to keeping his unit within 100 percent compliance.”
	Erin Hoffer 35 Environmental Health and Safety Manager Carlisle Interconnect Technologies St. Augustine, FL
“When Erin started with the company nine months ago, she enthusiastically assumed responsibility of a lackluster employee safety committee that was operating with little guidance or purpose. She coached the group to identify potential safety discrepancies and generate solutions on their own. As a result, the safety committee has doubled in size and vision. Safety committee members perform plant-wide risk assessments. These assessments have led to the installation of machine guards, elimination of slip/trip hazards and development of hazmat storage processes that have significantly increased the work quality of life of our employees. Safety committee members are empowered as they see they actually have some teeth in the game when it comes to ideas and implementation of those ideas.”
	Garrett Gumfory 39 Vice President, Risk and HSE FTS International Fort Worth, TX
“Garrett built a successful corporate HSE program from scratch. He influenced management to fully support his HSE vision and provide financial support to accomplish substantial improvements. Garrett selected and mentored a team of HSE professionals who achieved exemplary levels of performance. The HSE team, under Garrett’s leadership, created an HSE program that includes safety training, Department of Transportation compliance, drug and alcohol testing, risk management, and environmental compliance.”
	J.D. Horst 31 Environmental and Safety Compliance Administrator Federal Bureau of Prisons – USP Leavenworth. Leavenworth, KS
“J.D. implemented an OSHA 10- and 30-hour outreach program to inmates in late 2010. Since its implementation three years ago, over 1,100 inmates have completed the program. He covers all of the required OSHA topics, but challenges the inmates to return to their worksite and make it a safer place. … Not only do inmates learn how to identify, avoid and report deficiencies while incarcerated, they are learning valuable skills they can utilize upon release.”
	Shane Harris 37 Drilling Manager ExxonMobil Development Company Calgary, Alberta
“He expects every hurt, no matter how minor, to be reported and assessed for potential learning in order to drive continuous improvement. This includes minor hurts such as scratches and bruises that may not require treatment, as well as first aids and recordable incidents. Shane’s scrutiny of minor incidents mitigates the risks and prevents more significant events from occurring.”
	Michael Jorda 34 NYC/NJ Operations Safety Manager Posillico Inc. College Point, NY
“When Michael started at Posillico almost two years ago, he saw that more task-specific safety training was needed with personnel out in the field. Posillico personnel were given 10- and 30-hour OSHA training by the safety department, but no task-specific training was conducted at the time during winter training sessions. Michael led a safety initiative to deliver task-specific training to field personnel. New training conducted included confined space, certified signaler and certified rigger training. All three tasks are a major part of Posillico operations."
	Jeffrey Kozub 39 EH&S Expertise Manager The Dow Chemical Company Philadelphia, PA
“Jeff provided safety leadership during the cleanup and startup of Dow’s Chemical facility in Soma, Japan, following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Jeff spent three weeks in Japan assisting the facility by providing day-to-day safety expertise. Jeff rolled up his sleeves and worked side-by-side with the employees and contractors to ensure the recovery effort was done safely. Jeff quickly adapted to the situation, and supported the “triage” approach to addressing and prioritizing the safety system corrections. He was able to articulate and demonstrate that safety is No. 1. Through Jeff’s leadership, technical knowledge and his hands-on approach, Jeff quickly understood the safety issues and delivered workable solutions for a safe recovery effort.”
	Brian Lazarchick 29 Occupational Safety Compliance Manager Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative Hughesville, MD
“Brian introduced a new method to track and trend injury data to easily identify the top reoccurring injuries year over year. Once this benchmark was developed it was easy to see where our efforts would bring the best results to lower injury rates. From this data, he strengthened our slip, trip and fall safety program to include a comprehensive training program also stressing the need to incorporate constant awareness into everyday work activities. A section specific for slip, trip and fall hazards was added to each job briefing session held before the start of work. These actions led to a drastic decline in slip, trip and fall injuries from being the No. 1 category of injury down to not having a single incident so far in 2013.”

	Andrew Lampela 39 Supervisor – Health and Safety General Motors – Saginaw Metal Casting Operations Saginaw, MI
“Andy recognized that the follow-up to safety incidents was not as robust as it needed to be, so he instituted the safety ‘GO and SEE’ process at the plant. This required leadership and the work team (including the employee involved in the incident) to meet on the plant floor and review all causes and effects of the incident, then use the Hierarchy of Safety to implement high-level safety controls to reduce the potential for reoccurrence. As this process evolved, work teams and supervisors began to use the ‘GO and SEE’ process proactively to identify hazards and eliminate the potential for injuries before they could occur.”
	Zachary LeMasters 30 Safety Engineer II ATK Rocket Center, WV
“Zachary developed an intranet website to aid his fellow safety engineers, supervisors and operators on the facility with safety communication on the ABL facility. The safety intranet site provides safety forms and information for supervisors and employees to use, as well as reminders and training tools. With the increased use of the website, the safety engineers have seen administrative tasks and questions reduced by 30 percent, which has given them the ability to spend more time on the floor being proactive.”
	Nitelle Lau 27 Senior Environmental, Health and Safety Engineer Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems El Segundo, CA
“Nitelle led an initiative comparing completion of the voluntary computer risk assessment tool to injury data. The project demonstrated that employees who did not complete a computer risk assessment were 3 times more likely to experience an ergonomic-related injury than those who did. When presented with the data, executive management unanimously voted to make the assessment a mandatory annual requirement across the 11,000 employee business unit. Partnering with the training group, Nitelle developed an online interactive training program incorporating the computer risk assessment tool.”
	Jeremy Miller 36 Ground Safety Officer Marine Aircraft Group 24 Kaneohe Bay, HI
“Ground Safety Officer  Miller feels strongly that in order to unite people for a cause, the cause has to be engaging. To that end, he creates hands-on safety training that is engaging rather than sitting in a classroom reviewing PowerPoint slides. An example of this was his holiday safety stand-down, during which, through a series of nine stations, Marines and Sailors experienced first-hand the risk involved in different scenarios. He didn’t TELL them about how ladders can be dangerous; he set up ladders and demonstrated proper and improper usage. He actively engages personnel in his messages, thereby increasing awareness, which has led to a significant reduction in avoidable incidents. The end result of GySgt Miller’s approach is that Marines have bought into the safety culture and are keeping each other accountable, resulting in a heighte  ned safety posture and fewer safety-related incidents.”
	Raymond Ng 38 Safety and Loss Prevention Analyst Orange County Government – Risk Management Division Orlando, FL
“When Mr. Ng was assigned to oversee an agency under his jurisdiction, he noticed employees were provided limited safety training opportunities. He convinced senior management of the importance of safety smart employees and the benefits of increased productivity and lower workers’ compensation cost. Mr. Ng synchronized with the agency’s program coordinator and designed a safety-training program. His leadership ensured 109 supervisors and field technicians obtained their 10-hour Occupational Safety and Health Training Course in General Industry cards. The agency was the first county entity to establish such a safety-training milestone. Mr. Ng also instituted ongoing training sessions to maintain safety at the employees’ forefront.”
	Thakur Pherwani 33 National Manager – Safety Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd. Gurgaon, India
“Thakur has proactively guided a field team for 360-degree fool-proof machine guarding across 24 manufacturing plants. He also facilitated to establish fire detection system and fall protection hardware across 66 distribution centers. He established man-machine segregation for pedestrian safety across 90 locations. Thakur effectively seeks feedback and coaching for developing his own capability. He periodically takes feedback from 34 field safety resources via video conferencing, and gives equal opportunity to other associates to share safety-related initiatives and learning.”
	Pramod Palat 34 Cummins Inc. Michigan OSHA, CET Division Columbus, IN
“Pramod recognized the need for a structured and common approach to the management of contractor safety. The cross-functional team, under Pramod’s leadership, introduced the industry-leading Global Contractor Safety Management Program in 2010. Widely accepted, it has been implemented successfully at all Cummins operating locations. The program mandated collective and active involvement of all internal functions during its implementation and maintenance, demanding big change in the traditional culture of contractor safety as solely the responsibility of the contractors and the safety department.”
	Chad Positano 36 Compliance Assistant Specialistt OSHA Toledo, OH
“Chad has led and initiated numerous safety projects. His most recent would be the creation of a technical publication for the bioethanol/biofuels industry. It’s a technical assistance publication for employers, workers and contractors in the biofuels industry to assure they have the information necessary to assess and protect employees from the various hazards posed when processing biofuels. This places the agency in the forefront to provide employers in the industry with the necessary information they need to properly assess the hazards and promote the agency’s mission. This was a self-initiated project – he found the partnership program, obtained permission to apply, was accepted, and conducted all the work to prepare and publish a technical paper for the sheer intent to promote safety.”
	Brittany Perry 29 Safety Manager L’Oreal USA Inc. Florence, KY
“Brittany created and implemented a supervisor notification process for all employee injuries that were called into the hospital injury hotline. Through her efforts, all staff supervisors, for an organization of 13,000-plus employees, were notified via the online injury management database within 24 hours of injuries that their direct reports had sustained. This notification process and Brittany’s efforts initiated important involvement and follow-up at the supervisory level, where safety changes to tasks, procedures, etc., are most impactful and have the greatest potential to be spread for organization-wide injury reduction. This notification process started a safety culture shift because it engaged front-line management in the process to understand and help mitigate safety hazards that caused staff injury or illness.”
	Zachary Remington 30 Corporate Health and Safety Manager Atlantic Testing Laboratories Clifton Park, NY
“Zach has been proactive toward improving overall safety culture through obtaining involvement from top-level management to the lowest-level technical personnel. He consistently evaluates improvements to safe work routines, implements training/orientation programs, and makes safety a part of everyone’s daily job. Zach works tirelessly to analyze daily hazard hunts for safety issues, and works with management and staff on daily review of safety performance and near miss incidents. This analysis leads to improved safety processes and performance, which are reported monthly on the company-wide management teleconferences. He also develops quarterly safety programs required for all field and office staff, and has undertaken job-specific task analysis to assist staff to work safely on each and every assignment.”

	Lori Schroth 29 Safety and Occupational Health Professional Concurrent Technologies Corp. Johnstown, PA
“I have personally witnessed Ms. Schroth building an entire safety program from the ground up at an organization that did not place a high value on safety. This effort included written safety programs, industrial hygiene monitoring, safety and health training, safety inspections of work areas, and the formation of a safety committee. Through her work at this particular organization, Ms. Schroth was successful in reducing injury and illness rates, introducing new hazard controls, creating a waste management and recycling program, and enhancing the overall safety culture.”
	Casey Stewart 34 Risk Control Technical Consultant Liberty Mutual Nolensville, TN
“Casey has been instrumental in the integration of observation techniques to guide the customer’s auto crash and injury prevention efforts at his locations. His efforts have resulted in a behavior-based safety program that observed and documented over 15 million behaviors in 2012. This upstream data has assisted his target operations in reducing risk and reinforcing safe working and driving methods. In addition, Casey has developed multiple validation assessments that identify training and knowledge gaps that are influencing behavioral risk. The processes he has implemented allow for predictive measures to be implemented making improvements in the injury and crash frequencies.”
	Chris Seider 31 Corporate Safety Specialist Foth Production Solutions LLC Green Bay, WI
“Chris creates clear goals within the organization containing both lagging and leading indicators and makes sure everyone knows how they impact those goals both positively and negatively. Chris actively promotes safety through ongoing communications, training, safety committees, audits, investigations, etc. He promotes overall safety, not just those areas that affect the jobs performed working to build an educated workforce that takes similar pride in safety the way he does. He also drives ‘Prevention through Design’ into our engineering practices to help us positively impact safety for our clients.”
	Peter Sullivan 38 Regional Safety Manager, Northeast and SH&E Training Director AECOM Chelmsford, MA
“Mr. Sullivan led a team that successfully developed and implemented a new electronic Task Hazard Analysis (THA) tool. Through coordination with technical staff, an electronic THA tool was developed that streamlines the creative process and allows all project team members to collaborate. Once deployed, employees and managers provided immediate comment that the new tool was much easier to use and it has resulted in THA being created in a more efficient manner. The time it takes to write a THA has been reduced by approximately 66 percent, resulting in more time to focus on completing job assignments.”
	Barry Spurlock 38 Adjunct Professor Indiana University Bloomington, IN
“From his early experience with safety measurement, Barry took a leadership role and designed, developed and delivered one of the first Safety Performance Measurement courses in the nation for Indiana University. He also collaborated with a colleague and developed the Leading Measures for Safety Performance as a two-day national course in 2006. He has taught this course at least twice a year since 2006, reaching hundreds of safety professionals.”
	Taylor Vogel 37 Superintendent/Site Safety Officer AHTNA Engineering Services Newington, VA
“Though Taylor is technically a superintendent by job title, he is a safety professional at heart. Whenever there is a call for presenters for safety, Taylor is the first to volunteer no matter what the subject or the audience. Taylor goes above and beyond to help the ‘little guy’ and his open-door policy and the fact that he believes in leading by example makes him a valuable asset to his company. Taylor is one of those people that even the more experienced superintendents and project managers call on when they have a safety question.”
	Branden Wilson 32 Safety Program Manager URS Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility Stockton, UT
“Branden’s approach to leadership and collaborative concepts for safety involvement have facilitated more than 100 managers, supervisors and employee leaders achieving the BSCP’s STS Certification. Branden personally coached each of these candidates through the process. Branden’s efforts have created a visible culture shift where supervisors now feel empowered and knowledgeable to be safety leaders for their employees.”
	Jennifer Williams 37 Industrial Hygiene and Environment Supervisor Jefferson Science Associates Newport News, VA
“During a facility upgrade, Jefferson Lab relocated its electro-chemical surface treatment research capability to a new building. Jennifer was a valued team member during the facility design and equipment relocation and/or procurement. She positively influenced the design of the new system by factoring in lessons learned from the previous two decades of operational history. ?Jennifer’s influence resulted in improved process efficiency (reduced waste stream), improved safety and reduced emergency management needs. Jennifer conducted a failure analysis of the new system, assisted in operational readiness reviews, developed the emergency response plan and provided staff training. This training resulted in the ability of the staff to respond quickly and efficiently to off-normal events. As a result, staff morale during startup was superior.”
	Bryan Wozny 33 ESH Coordinator Argonne National Laboratory – Energy Systems Division Lemont, IL
“ES Division’s experimental safety review process is recognized widely as one of Argonne’s best due to Bryan’s leadership. In 2006, Argonne started to formalize the institution’s work planning and control process (WPC) to ensure project/task hazards are identified and controlled. Bryan is a valuable resource to that ongoing effort and active contributor to the institution’s initiative. Within the ES Division, Bryan has led the integration of new Argonne WPC requirements into the ES Division’s process. Integrating Argonne WPC requirements involved Bryan testing the online system and providing feedback, authoring the ES Division’s WPC procedure, and working closely with researchers to implement the process.”
	Sean Zortman 33 Safety and Occupational Health Specialist 60th Medical Group Travis Air Force Base, CA
“Sean volunteered his off-duty time to educate 200-plus military members and families on fire prevention measures during Fire Prevention Week. He conducted 25 hands-on extinguisher and fire prevention training sessions for 450-plus staff. His efforts enhanced the hospital’s fire prevention program and instilled safety awareness amongst his peers.”