Editor's Note: How does she manage?

As we prepare to send this issue of Safety+Health to the printer, I’m reading over the notes Managing Editor Jennifer Yario left me to make sure I haven’t missed any steps.

It’s a rare occasion when Jen isn’t in the office on a day we upload files – the last time it happened, she was on maternity leave. I’m fortunate to have worked with Jen for 10 years. She is, hands down, the best managing editor I know – level-headed, forward-thinking and organized to a degree that puts me, a former managing editor myself, to shame.

Because the managing editor position is a behind-the-scenes role here at the National Safety Council, Jen doesn’t get nearly the credit and appreciation she deserves for the part she plays in putting this publication in your hands every month. In addition to being a member of our editing team, she oversees the scheduling and production of S+H, our sister magazine Family Safety & Health, and numerous newsletters in print and online. It’s a formidable task, as not a day goes by in which we’re not in production on multiple publications. She also works closely with Online Content Manager Amy Bellinger and Assistant Editor Tracy Haas Depa to post and maintain content on the S+H website – responsibilities that didn’t exist when I was in Jen’s role.

If you’re a person who enjoys displaying a bit of temper or making a scene, the managing editor job isn’t for you. Jen balances rock-solid dependability with genuine kindness and a great sense of humor. As I write this, she’s on a well-deserved vacation with family. (True to form, she let me know about it nearly a year in advance.) I’m really glad she went. But I admit, I’ll also be really glad when she comes back. We need her.

The opinions expressed in “Editor’s Note” do not necessarily reflect those of the National Safety Council or affiliated local Chapters.