A webinar in partnership with the National Safety Council
Safety and Inclusion: Does Safety See All People? Or, Only Some?
For decades, safety and health leaders made it their mission to keep everyone – regardless of backgrounds, ethnicities, genders and orientations – free from harm. Over this time, the long-standing approach of “color blindness,” or treating everyone the same, served as a mantra of sorts for those seeking to ensure that their workforce was fairly protected.
Yet as thinking in diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) evolves and our understanding of bias and the need for equity, not just equality, becomes more apparent, many safety leaders struggle to understand why or how they may need to adjust their mindsets and strategies. Some push back at the notion that DE&I is a safety issue at all, and the increasing politicization surrounding virtually any social issue adds fuel to an already fiery conversation.
On Thursday, August 25, 2022, representatives from the National Safety Council, WMFDP | FDP Global and corporate EHS leaders shared their perspectives on whether DE&I belongs in the safety and health conversation, what they’ve learned about in-field application of DE&I principles and what organizations can do to meet the needs of the workforce of the future.
Guests
Lorraine M. Martin serves as President and CEO of the National Safety Council (NSC): America’s leading nonprofit safety advocate for over 100 years with a mission to save lives, from the workplace to anyplace. In this role, she helps guide the nation’s employers on strategies to eliminate the leading causes of preventable death and injury. Since taking the reins in 2019, Martin has elevated the Council’s voice nationally on its focus areas of workplace safety, roadway safety and impairment. She has significantly advanced the organization’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, both internally and externally. She also serves as chair of the Road to Zero Coalition, the nation’s largest traffic safety coalition working to eliminate traffic deaths by 2050.
Amy May is currently Senior Director, BCA Fabrication Quality. She was most recently General Manager of Boeing Canada Winnipeg, which manufactures complex composite parts for every airplane that Boeing Commercial Airplanes produces. Amy started her Boeing career as an industrial ergonomist supporting Fabrication, 737 and 757 programs. She supported the 787 new airplane design, where she and her teammates received a patent for a “method for managing ergonomic risk exposure in manufacturing.” She later led corporate and commercial fabrication and final assembly environment and safety teams, responsible for multi-site, global integration. She was Senior Director of Workplace Safety, when the company marked the 5-year anniversary of “Go for Zero” with recognition of the National Safety Council’s most prestigious honor, the Robert W. Campbell Award.
Amy is committed to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion having participated on an organizational team that won a national and company award, and two teams that defined the DEI policies for non-profit organizations. A graduate of Harvard University’s General Management Program, Amy holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Industrial Engineering from Kansas State University and West Virginia University, respectively. Amy currently serves on the National Safety Council’s Campbell Institute Steering Committee, where she serves as the committee chair for the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee, and the Kansas State University’s Industrial Engineering Advisory Council.
Sam Clark continues the Clark lineage as president, being the fourth to serve over the firm’s more than 65 years. He grew up in the Grand Ledge area and graduated from Grand Ledge High School in 1987. He served in the U. S. Army from 1991 to 1994 and was stationed in Fort Lewis, Washington. Upon his honorable discharge, Sam enrolled in Northern Michigan University where he obtained a B. S. in Building Construction Management. He joined Clark Construction Company as a Project Manager in 1996. During his 17-year career, Sam has been involved in many market sectors and is most notably known for his expertise in casino, resort venues.
Wayne Pignolet heads WMFDP | FDP Global’s operations following a thirty-year career in a variety of leadership roles with small and larger companies in an array of different industries. Wayne grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and received his BA in Economics from Ohio Wesleyan University in 1982 and a Masters of Business from Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management in 1988.
Wayne spent five years as a senior consultant for Balmert Consulting, and for three years as a consultant and facilitator for WMFDP. In Wayne’s role as Head of Operations he is responsible for finance, HR, Client Services, and Business Development.