AOS Top Women in Safety 2021

SPECIAL REPORT

Top Women in

SAFETY 2021

This special edition of Top Women in Safety celebrates the profession’s talented and committed leaders

CONTENTS

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Feature article ...................................................................

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Methodology .....................................................................

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Top Women in Safety 2021 .............................................

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Profile ................................................................................

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SPECIAL REPORT

TOP WOMEN IN SAFETY

ENSURING HEALTH AND SAFETY FOR ALL a male-dominated field, occupational safety has become more open and inclusive over the years – a welcome development for many women who wanted to get involved in the profession.

To highlight the achievements of women who have contributed their TRADITIONALLY

Empathetic leadership

talent and energy to this field, American Occupational Safety presents this special edition of Top Women in Safety. The professionals on this list are among the best and brightest in their field, bringing decades of experience, innovative ideas and enviable leadership skills to the table.

In conversations with women in occupational safety, one of the most common themes is the importance of effective leadership and mentorship.

Leadership is a key concern amid the pandemic as organizations prioritize the health and safety of employees.

TOP WOMEN IN SAFETY BY STATE

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“I have always had the ability to step into the shoes of others, aiming to understand their feelings and perspectives” Sonja Flanigan, Structural Technologies

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Ensuring health and safety in the workplace calls for strong leadership skills, as shown by the Top Women in Safety. There are many ways to be a good leader, although most safety pros will agree that passion and empathy are essential when it comes to building a strong safety culture.

“I have always had the ability to step into the shoes of others, aiming to understand their feelings and perspectives. I am able to use that to guide my actions. Empathy is an attitude and part of my daily life and I

use that to impact and improve the lives of everyone around me.

“A self-help and therapy culture encouraged me to look deep within myself. I discovered so many things, which guided me to [become interested] in the lives of others. I became passionate about the wellbeing and safety of employees and their families,” says Sonja Flanigan, corporate safety director at Structural Technologies and one of the awardees.

Leadership is also about understanding the value and importance of teamwork.

“The best part of being on the safety team is connecting people with the tools they need to stay safe whether it is technology, design, process, education, behavior modifications, and others. My favorite part of my current role is [working with an] incredibly talented and dedicated team focused on delivering a safe and sustainable energy source for the world,” says Morgan Hager, vice president for health,

and will continue to embrace is being able to provide the best technical guidance to my teams. I have had to spend extra time learning how to become a knowledgeable technical resource for my teams. Although I have been able to accomplish being a good technical resource throughout my career, it’s an evergreen process and constantly evolving,” says Flanigan.

Despite the willingness of many safety professionals to upgrade their knowledge and skills, the COVID-19 pandemic has been something of a wild card and has changed the game for many of them. Faced with a crisis that no one was taught to manage, even those with years of experience had been prompted to learn on the fly.

“I think for all health and safety professionals, it has been the same way. We were never trained to manage a virus outbreak, and also to deal with the mental fatigue and mental health of [workers].

It has been quite a big challenge to

“My favorite part of my current role is [working with] a talented team focused on delivering a safe and sustainable energy source”

METHODOLOGY At the start of the research period, American Occupational Safety sent out a call via email and through its website asking OHS professionals to nominate the top women in the US health and safety sector. The process was also open to self-nominations. The AOS team received hundreds of nominations from across the country.

Nominators were asked to highlight the nominees’ professional accomplishments and initiatives as well as provide evidence of contributions to diversity and inclusion in the workplace and the entire health and safety sector. They were also asked to provide additional details on why the nominee should be considered for the distinction.

Each nomination was thoroughly vetted to ensure that it met the rigorous criteria. Thanks to the expert insights of AOS readers – many of whom are stalwarts of the OHS industry – and the dedication of the research team, this special report presents a list of America’s Top Women in Safety.

46% women in the US labor force

22% women who have earned the Certified Safety Professional designation

Morgan Hager, Chesapeake Energy environment and regulatory at Chesapeake Energy.

Continuous learning The best safety leaders are never afraid to admit that there are things they don’t know, and continuous learning is a key part of their professional growth.

“The biggest challenge I have faced

try to balance our day-to-day safety job with trying to manage and understand the COVID outbreak,” says Prithy Madhoo, risk and safety director at Evergreen Goodwill of Northwest Washington.

However, variety is something that most safety pros typically enjoy, with no two days looking the same – especially at the moment.

38% women in managerial positions regardless of industry

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), NIOSH

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SPECIAL REPORT

TOP WOMEN IN SAFETY

Women in Safety Summit

INJURIES, FATALITIES AND GENDER

52%

of injuries suffered by female workers are sprains and strains, carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis and other musculoskeletal disorders

40%

of all fatal occupational injuries to women are due to homicide

70%

of women are victims of injuries resulting from workplace assaults, mainly in service occupations

60%

of employed women cited stress as their number one problem at work, with stress-related illness twice as high for women as for men Source: NIOSH

“It has been a big challenge to try to balance our day-to-day safety job with trying to manage the COVID outbreak” Prithy Madhoo, Goodwill “Health and safety is not just a job.

It’s not just one field. It’s more about encompassing a lot of fields in one job.

At one time you are an investigator, at another time you are a psychologist, a counselor, an inspector, and then you might be a trainer or a manager or a leader. It’s really very interesting

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because you get to play many roles in one job. That’s why I love health and safety,” says Madhoo.

The pandemic has had a huge impact on working women as they have to deal with a range of issues, from ill-fitting respirators and PPE to financial constraints. The Canadian Women’s

Foundation says that women – particularly those from racial and ethnic minority communities – have been more affected by economic stress during the pandemic. The reason for this, says the Foundation, is that women tend to work in industries that were hardest hit by restrictive measures.

These findings have also been echoed by the United Nations, which released a report saying that “across every sphere, from health to the economy, security to social protection, the impacts of COVID-19 are exacerbated for women and girls”.

This report aims not only to celebrate women’s accomplishments but also to draw attention to their experiences during an unprecedented period.

For two years now, Canadian Occupational Safety has hosted its highly successful Women in Safety event. The summit brings together safety professionals from around Canada to discuss the major issues affecting women in this profession.

From solving problems in PPE use to addressing questions around mentorship and leadership, there’s still much to be done.

That’s why in December, COS will be hosting its first ever Women in Safety North America summit, where safety professionals from all corners of the US will come together to highlight the importance of health and safety for all.

The summit will showcase top-tier talent – including some of the women on this report – who will be sharing their insights and expertise on hotbutton topics.

Expressing her enthusiasm for the event, Flanigan says, “I have a genuine eagerness to learn and I have a strong sense of curiosity. I’m super excited to hear and learn technical updates, new skills, new experiences with safety leaders, gaining knowledge, and the ability to boost my creativity.”

This is a sentiment echoed by Hager: “I’m looking forward to learning from women across diverse backgrounds and industries. As safety professionals, we have a unique opportunity to glean inspiration from all aspects of our global community and turn that into improvements for our own direct sphere of influence. I’m looking forward to the packed agenda of top talent sharing their best practices for making our workplaces safer.”

“I would like to hear from the [other] women in safety about what their struggles have been and how they have gotten their seat at the table, how they have made their voice heard and gone through all of the things that come with being a woman,” says Madhoo.

Top Women in Michelle Hernandez, PhD Associate director, occupational toxicology Merck & Co Website: merck.com Adrianne Anglin Regional safety manager Michigan Paving and Materials Adrianne Pearson Owner Evolving EHS Angela Cloud Senior safety engineer McCownGordon Construction Cecelia Gilligan Leto Project director New Jersey Work Environment Council Frieda E. Sanders Manager, EHS and biological safety Pfizer Jennifer Kopsie Construction safety and health specialist CD & Associates Jerica Etoch Complex health and safety manager Butterball Judith Green McKenzie Professor and division chief Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Laurie Knape Health and safety commission, professional, regulatory and industry relations Avetta

SAFETY 2021 Nicole Thunich Senior vice president, safety and quality Centuri Group Maude McGraw North America HSE ROT leader Cummins Monique Parker Vice president for environmental, health and safety Piedmont Lithium Morgan Hager Vice president for health, safety, environment and regulatory Chesapeake Energy Nicole Thunich Senior vice president, safety and quality Centuri Group Noelle Newton Director, campus safety communications The University of Texas at Austin Phyllis Felsinger Senior vice president, safety, environmental and DOT Wells Concrete Prithy Madhoo Risk and safety director Goodwill Qi Hommes Director, system safety engineering and analysis Zoox Sharon Tolson Manager, education and information resources International Safety Equipment Association Sonja Flanigan Corporate safety director Structural Technologies

Linda F. Martin Professor of the practice Embry Riddle Aeronautical University

Stephanie O’Melia HR/safety/risk management director Dunn Building Company

Lindsay Fountaine Director, safety and human resources Choice Transportation

Valerie Stone Safety director Thomas G Gallagher Company

Lolita Pearson Safety officer San Joaquin County, California

Wanda Minnick Associate professor Indiana University of Pennsylvania

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SPECIAL REPORT

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MICHELLE HERNANDEZ Associate director of occupational toxicology Merck & Co.

M

ichelle Hernandez’s interest in public health and safety was born during her undergraduate program at Montclair State University, where she was first introduced to exposure science. She then joined the Environmental Health Sciences graduate program at New York University and studied the health effects of dust from the World Trade Center site.

“Understanding the real-world impact of such an event left a lasting impression on me, such that I wanted to help keep people safe in their work environments.

Safety is not an easy task and it is almost a thankless job, but doing what is right is not always easy.”

Now the associate director of occupational toxicology at Merck & Co., Hernandez says that her favorite part of the job is ensuring that everyone across the business is able to go home safely.

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“I also thoroughly enjoy how my job requires me to be on the cutting edge of the personalized medicine revolution,” she says.

“This requires understanding the molecular functions of the chemicals and compounds that are handled and how they can adversely impact the health of workers.”

For her, safety is “an awareness mindset, informed by a matrix of everyday information which can be applied at home, work or social events.

“A safety mindset places the onus on us as individuals and expands out to the collective. This creates an environment of partnership and collaboration with our family, work team and business customers, aiding open dialogue and rapid communication.”

Her background in molecular biology, inhalation

toxicology and pharmaceuticals is rare in the occupational toxicology space.

“I recognize this is the future of personalized medicine,” she says, “and I encourage all exposure scientists to engage in this form of dynamic thinking, not only to overcome today’s challenges, but to develop tomorrow’s solutions”.

Hernandez says that she is not only proud to be recognized for her work as a scientist and D&I Change Ambassador, but also of the prolific work of her peers and their industry influence.

“This type of recognition inspires me as I know I’m standing on the shoulders of giants. I hope this award encourages and inspires other female EHS professionals to keep doing what they’re doing and advocate their own contributions to our industry.”

Top Women in

SAFETY 2021

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