Women in Safety Conference

As a silver sponsor your company will receive:

• Vendor table
• 1 event ticket
• Logo displayed at event
• 1/2 page ad

$650 Limited availability 
Click here to register

The Bronze Sponsor will receive: 

• Logo in program book
• Logo at event
• 1 ticket to the conference
• 1 ticket to the Pre-conference Happy Hour Networking Event

Cost: $250
Click here to register

Please email your logo to Jen.English@Keene.edu 

NEW! 

We will be holding a pre-conference Happy Hour Networking Event this year.

Sponsorships include:
logo on marketing materials
logo at the event
logo at the conference
One ticket to the conference
Two complimentary tickets to the pre-conference Happy Hour
$500

Click here to register

Ah, the elusive work-life balance.

In this session we’ll be talking about what it is, how to achieve it, and why it matters (or doesn’t!). The concept is not new, but it can be more important for women leaders due to societal expectations, family responsibilities, and self-imposed guilt that women seem to be more prone to. It is also more important for anyone aspiring to become a senior leader because the expectations of higher level positions require so much more.

For our time together, we’ll be exploring three themes:

1. There is no such thing as work-life balance. Does the binary nature of this concept force us to long for something we maybe cannot achieve?
2. Work-life balance is a process, not an end goal. We’ll talk about slicing up your life to make sure you are giving enough time to things that matter to you.
3. Quiet Quitting became a popular concept during the pandemic as many workers found that the need to work remotely provided them with an enticing lifestyle they may not have experienced before due to long commutes and/or long hours. Everyone was writing about it, but is it really new?

This will be an interactive session so come prepared to share and ask questions and learn from each other to create the life you want and need.

Pam Walaski, CSP, FASSP has been a dedicated OSH professional for nearly 30 years. She is Senior Program Director with Specialty Technical Consultants, Inc., and an adjunct faculty member at Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Safety Sciences Program, the University of Alabama/Birmingham’s Advanced Safety Engineering Program, and the University of Maryland’s Global Campus Environment and Safety Management Program. She was awarded the Honor of Fellow from the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) in 2022, is currently serving as ASSP’s President Pam is a member of the ANSI/ASSP Z16.1. Committee as well as both management systems committees – ISO TC 283 (ISO 45001) and ANSI/ASSP Z10. She also spends much of her professional time working with and supporting women on occupational safety and health through mentoring, coaching, and running peer-to-peer mentorship groups.

Topic: For Women in Safety: Guarding Against Vocational Stress and Burnout.

It is widely known that burnout plagues women in high-stressed, fast-pace, performance-driven jobs at a higher rate than their male counterpart. This does not come as a surprise as women, according to a 2022 Gallup State of the Global Workplace report, continue to juggle work with having to undertake the majority of domestic and childcare responsibilities. Exacerbating this experience are narratives centering gender, what it means to be successful, and personal ambitions. The need to establish a viable plan of action to protect one’s mental health and well-being is an absolute necessity and one that women simply cannot afford to negate.

This presentation is designed to foster literacy and increase awareness regarding mental health and steps that can be taken to mitigate vocational stress and burnout.

By the end of this presentation, participants will be able to:

• Differentiate between basic mental health terminologies
• Recognize signs and symptoms associated with burnout
• Identify a plan of action to prevent burnout, including boundary setting and self-care
• Employ their values to influence how they engage work
• Identify available mental health resources, including distinguishing between providers

Georgia Bryce-Hutchinson has a unique blend of qualifications, including licensure as a mental health clinician and certification as a professional life coach, that enables her to approach mental health challenges holistically. Leveraging her Environmental Engineering background, she brings a distinctive perspective to coaching practices that resonates in diverse environments, fostering positive change and growth. Georgia’s multifaceted approach encompasses providing extensive guidance to organizations in mental health literacy, crisis response, and intervention. Her expertise extends to the formulation of proactive strategies designed to elevate workforce productivity, engagement, and retention.

Since the onset of 2021, Georgia assumed the role of a distinguished technical presenter and keynote speaker, contributing to regional and national conferences organized by prestigious institutions such as the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), National Safety Council (NSC), and the Georgia Safety Conference. Within the ASSP’s SafetyFOCUS immersive education program, Georgia actively participates in shaping the education and training of safety professionals, ensuring they are equipped to navigate the complex landscape of mental health in the workplace. Notably, in 2022, she played a pivotal role in delivering mental health literacy and crisis response and intervention training sessions to L’Oreal’s emergency response team.

Recognizing the importance of media as a platform for education and awareness, Georgia routinely engages in both traditional and social media interviews. These opportunities allow her to share valuable insights on mental health, contributing to a broader discourse on the subject. By doing so, she aims to reduce stigma, increase understanding, and promote proactive approaches to mental well-being.

Why Being A Leader In Safety Matters!

Rena Harrington became a strong workplace safety advocate after the loss of her son, Justin Harrington in January 2018 due to a construction incident. Rena started volunteering for USMWF in 2020 after seeing a post about a worker killed and is a strong voice for change and prevention of occupational incidents, illnesses and diseases. Through sharing her story of the workplace incident that took her son’s life she will reiterate the importance of safety leadership in the workplace and how growing femal leadership matters. 

Rena has been interviewed by NBC News twice, have done in person and virtual presentations at several area OSHA offices including all of Massachusetts OSHA offices, Orlando Fl , Tampa, FL, Ft. Lauderdale , FL and St Paul Minn. I’ve presented at the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Fl and was the Keynote speaker at the UWUA annual Gas Unions conference in Orlando, FL.  Rena attended the Dept. of Labor’s Worker Memorial Ceremony in Washington, DC this past April and to also resign our Alliance with OSHA.  She has been in Human Resources since 2006 in healthcare, recruitment/hiring Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical Nurses, Certified Nursing Assistants for Home Care, Hospitals, Long term Care Facilities and Group Homes. Rena currently works for the largest hospice agency in Massachusetts as their Talent Acquisition Business Partner and resides in  Topsfield, Massachusetts.

Learning from Complacency and Moving Forward with Intention

Tiffany shares a personal story of her father’s workplace incident that changed everything she thought she knew about safety. Join her in a journey of figuring out how to define, anticipate, identify and control complacency not only with worker safety and health but all areas of life. Complacency can happen anytime and anywhere, learn to move forward with intention.

Tiffany Rice is an Assistant Professor with West Virginia University and serves as the Director of the National Resource Center, OSHA Training Institute Education Center. Tiffany received her bachelor’s degree from Mountain State University in Occupational Safety and Health and her master’s degree from West Virginia University in Safety Management. She has 19 years of safety and health experience, with the last 13 focusing on oil and gas safety leadership, orientation programs, training young workers, and job safety analysis. Tiffany co-authored the OSHA ATV/UTV e-tool for oil and gas workers and has served as Co-Investigator of several OSHA Susan Harwood Training grants. She additionally serves as an advising board member of the Appalachian STEPS Network. Most of all, Tiffany enjoys spending time on her family farm with husband Tyler, and sons Townes and Tobias.

How to Become Your Own CEO

Ever thought about going to work for yourself? Katie will share tips and advice for building your own safety consulting business.

Katie Frederick, aka “Safety Lady Katie”, is the President & CEO of Applied Solutions Consulting (ASC) which was founded in April of 2016. Katie holds several Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) designations; Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Construction Health & Safety Technician (CHST), Occupational Hygiene & Safety Technician (OHST) and earned the Public Sector Safety & Health Fundamentals Certification issued by the Department of Labor.

Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) compliance is a complicated task that catches many employers off-guard. ASC specializes in creating Safety & Health Plans that are tailored to each client, saving the Employer time and resources when attempting to develop their own Safety Program that complies with the ever-changing OSHA regulations. Katie is a top-rated Occupational Safety Trainer offering OSHA 10 and 30-Hour Courses for both Construction and General Industry, and she often travels to construction jobsites to conduct does hands-on employee safety training. What she loves most is seeing a drop in workplace injuries due to increased safety awareness & effective safety training; this saves clients’ money on workers’ comp rates and medical fees, plus, boosts the morale of the entire workforce. When employees feel their employer cares for their safety, the employer often experiences less turnover helping them stay competitive in their industry.

Katie is the OSHA 10hour instructor for the Vermont Works for Women Trailblazers Program that empowers females and gender expansive individuals to learn construction related tasks, such as carpentry, plumbing and electrical work.

Building Transferable Skills To Move Between Industries

Have you considered what your transferable environmental health and safety skills are?  Do you wonder if you are qualified to switch into a different industry with your experience?  Of course you can!  We will explore how to advocate for yourself to explore other industries highlighting your strengths while focusing on skills safety professionals have that are necessary in all industries.  Don’t get stuck in one industry, utilize your talents to keep growing and expanding your talents.

Holly began her career in health and safety in 1995 when she became a safety officer for a construction company.  From there she has worked in the insurance industry and ran a safety consulting program for 20 years.  Holly currently manages the Environmental Health, Safety, and Security Team at BETA Technologies-one of the first electric airplane manufacturers.  Holly holds her ARM and CRIS designations and a fun fact she was a Keene State OTI Instructor from 2000-2018.

How process safety elements help improve safety in any industry

Process safety management is required for businesses handling highly hazardous materials, above a specific threshold quantity, as defined by OSHA in their standard, 29 CFR 1910.119. While a full PSM program may be outside the reach of smaller or otherwise non-covered facilities, implementation of the most critical elements will help all businesses improve their process safety. In this interactive break out session Michelle will introduce the fourteen elements of OSHA’s PSM program, and begin a deeper discussion of the five critical elements that would improve process safety in any industry, process safety information, process hazards analysis, training, mechanical integrity, and compliance audits. Bring your process safety plan, questions or come to learn how to get started at your company.

Michelle R. Murphy is president of Mica, LLC. After starting her career as a process engineer, Ms. Murphy has been consulting in process safety and risk management for over 25 years. She started her own company, Mica, LLC, to collaborate with clients toward a safer manufacturing environment.

In a previous role, Michelle designed, built, and managed a process safety laboratory. Her wide-ranging technical experience comprises combustible dust testing, dust hazard analysis, reactive chemical evaluation, process safety and risk management program development, emergency relief system design, process hazard analysis, environmental, health and safety auditing, and training. Her process safety work has been conducted throughout the process industries, including food, agriculture, specialty chemical, metals, pharmaceutical, petrochemical, plastics, machining, and oil production and refining.

Michelle has a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth and an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Clarkson University. She is a Certified Process Safety Professional by the Center for Chemical Process Safety, is a committee member of NFPA 484, and is a senior member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

The Future is Female – Inspiring Women in Construction

JoEllen will share her journey and lessons she has learned from a Keene State College safety student to Dimeo construction. Including the importance of Mentorships and Advocates and how to attract and retain women in the construction industry, including a discussion women PPE.

JoEllen Racicot CHST graduated from Keene State College in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in Safety and Occupational Health Applied Sciences. In the summer of 2019, she completed an internship with Dimeo Construction in Boston, MA, but was provided the opportunity to remain working full-time for Dimeo during her senior year while completing her degree in the spring of 2020. JoEllen is an active member of the AGC of MA and a Building Women in Construction committee member (BWiC). She was recently awarded the 2024 Rising Star of the Year by the BWiC and AGC of MA. Additionally, JoEllen participates in the Zurich North American Construction Roundtable and the Zurich Women in Construction Roundtable that meets bi-annually throughout the United States. Lastly, she is currently working on a Women’s Construction PPE Program for the City of Boston that will help shape Boston and New England as a premier workplace for Women in Construction.

Kicking Ro-butt…..The Fundamentals of a Robotic Safety Program.

During this session we’ll discuss the different types of robots, cover the basics of a safety robotic program, and review the benefits and barriers to successful implementation.

Pam is currently the EHS manager at Amazon Robotics, located in North Reading, MA.  I have degrees in chem engineering, water & wastewater treatment, and safety.  Prior to robotics I’ve worked in printed circuit board, semiconductors, machining, and foundry facilities over a 30+ year career.  I live in a small, rural NH town with two cats and my husband who has been renovating our home for nearly 30 years.