Letter from the President Continued
Gulf Coast Chapter Newsletter
April 29, 2015
Contents
2015/2016 Gulf Coast Chapter of ASSE
Executive Committee Nominees Announcement
The following candidates on pages two and three are running uncontested for
elected Gulf Coast Chapter of ASSE Executive Committee positions for the chapter
year of 2015-2016. In accordance with our Chapter bylaws (Article VI Section 6), we
will take a vote at our monthly General Chapter meeting in May.
Page 1
2015/2016 ASSE GCC
Nominees
Page 2
Nominees Continued
Page 3
Nominees Continued
Page 4
Upcoming General and
Section Meetings
Page 5
Chapter Information /
Volunteer Opportunity
Page 6
FREE TxDOT Drug
Impairment Training for
Texas Employers
Page 7
FREE OSHA training
Meeting Information:
Date:
Time:
Place:
Thursday, May 7th, 2015
11:30am-1:00pm
Brady’s Landing
505 Cypress St Houston, TX 77012
Only members who are currently in good standing will be allowed to vote. Results
will be announced at our Awards and Honors Ceremony on June 4th.
In the event we do not have quorum at our General Chapter meeting we will email
an electronic ballot to all Gulf Coast Chapter members in good standing.
Please contact Carrie Atkins at [email protected] if you have any questions about
the election process.
Continued on page 2 and 3
Announcement
Mailing Address
ASSE Gulf Coast Chapter
P.O. Box 1090
Deer Park, TX 77536
The North Section has started to meet again. See page 4 for details.
Spring 2016
2015/2016 GCC of ASSE Executive Committee Nominees
Nominee for President / Delegate – Gena Fendley
Gena Fendley is the HSE Manager at Pentagon Freight Services, an International Freight Forwarding company primarily for the Oil &
Gas Industry. She develops strategy to proactively manage the health, safety, environmental and compliance and performance
responsibilities for her site, which one of the largest in the company.
Gena has nearly 10 years of experience in the occupational health and safety field. Other work in the field included ProAct Safety, a
firm renown for providing Safety Excellence Strategy and Execution. Her passion for safety has also led her to serve on the Executive
Committee of the Gulf Coast Chapter of American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) as Programs Chair, Vice President, Senior Vice
President and Senior Vice President of Communications.
Nominee for Senior Vice President of Communications / Delegate #2 – William Gonzales
William is HSE Director for The Brock Group. He is currently serving as a Vice President of Member Services. William is a
Professional Member of ASSE, and has 18 years’ experience in HSE and Security. He is a CSP, and has a Bachelor of Science from the
University of Houston. William participates in a number of industry associations including the Houston Business Roundtable’s HSE
committee, and is active in OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program, overseeing 15 Star sites. He previously served as the Chapter
Historian, three years as a delegate and chaired the ASP/CSP prep committee for two years. William is also a veteran of the US Army.
Nominee for Vice President of Member Services / Delegate #3 – Cameron Isaacs
Cameron Isaacs is an HSE Professional with a background in petro/chemical manufacturing and large-scale international construction
projects. Roles have included technical and leadership positions involving the creation/strengthening of various management systems,
leading incident investigations, finding incident prevention strategies & improving behavior-based safety cultures. Cameron has been
working for ExxonMobil over the last 6 years and had previously worked for Lyondell Basell Industries. Cameron is a Certified Safety
Professional (CSP) and Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM) and has a Master’s Degree in Environmental Science from
Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi.
Nominee for Secretary / Delegate #4 – Daniel Bravard
Dan Bravard is a senior safety leader with over 25 years of safety experience. Dan has held several vice president and directors roles
with several large international companies. Dan currently serves as the System Director – Occupational Health and Safety –
Workplace Safety Officer for the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System. Dan has a Bachelors Degree in Business from Indiana State
University and a Master’s Degree in Safety from University of Central Missouri. Dan has served as a volunteer firefighter for the
Spring VFD, as well as Special Government Employee (SGE) for OSHA’s VPP program.
2
Spring 2016
2015/2016 GCC of ASSE Executive Committee Nominees
Nominee for Treasurer / Delegate #5 – James Charo
James has over 16 years specialized experience in the Health, Safety, Environment field. His experience includes both foreign and
domestic assignments working for industry leading organizations.
Nominee for Program Chair / Delegate #6 – Jovan Lora
Jovan Lora is currently an EHS Specialist at Reichhold-Houston Plant, a chemical resin manufacturing facility. His responsibilities
include managing and implementing the site’s EHS-based programs. Prior to, he worked as a Safety Supervisor and Specialist at a
large-scale fertilizer chemical plant in Florida. His experience also includes EHS-consulting and has honorably served in the U.S. Air
Force as a Bioenvironmental Engineering Technician.
Jovan has been in the EHS field for 12 years. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Safety and Health from
Columbia Southern University, and is actively pursuing a Master of Engineering degree in Advanced Safety Engineering and
Management from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is a Board-Certified Safety Professional (CSP) and an Occupational
Safety and Health Technologist (OHST).
Jovan joined the ASSE in 2009 and has served on the Executive Committee as the Treasurer and Vice President for the West Florida
Chapter of the ASSE.
Newsletter Chair / Delegate #7 – Brittany Francis
Brittany Francis is Senior ES&H Manager for Arkema, Inc. – Clear Lake. She is currently serving in the capacity as Public Relations
Chair. Brittany has over 13 year of experience that spans various industries such as chemicals, petrochemicals, manufacturing,
cosmetics and oil & gas. Throughout her career she has seen ES&H from many perspectives both domestically and internationally.
She holds a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Health Sciences from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
3
Upcoming General and Section Meetings
Gulf
Spring 2016
Coast General Chapter Meeting
Date:
Time:
Location:
Speakers:
Topic:
Thursday, May 7, 2015
11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Brady’s Landing, 8505 Cypress Street, Houston, TX
Scott Patlovich, DrPH, CBSP, CHMM - UTHealth
Global Health Security for Safety Professionals
A series of global factors are combining to make the risk of infectious disease perhaps the world’s most significant health and
safety threat. The five risk factors include:
1. emergence and spread of new microbes
2. globalization of travel and food supply
3. rise of drug-resistant pathogens
4. acceleration of biological science capabilities and risk that these capabilities may cause inadvertent or intentional release
of pathogens continued concerns about the acquisition, development, and use of biological agents by state or non-state
actors
Given these risk trends, a new international initiative called “Global Health Security” has been launched by the White House in
February 2014 that consists of strategies for the prevention, detection, and response to infectious disease outbreaks. This
presentation will describe the Global Health Security initiative and what aspects every safety professional should be aware of,
not only for the protection of their organizations, but also for the protection of themselves, their loved ones, and society as a
whole.
Speaker Bio:
Scott is the Director of Environmental, Health, & Safety at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
(UTHealth). He holds a Doctorate of Public Health in Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences from the University of
Texas School of Public Health and a Master of Public Health in Occupational and Environmental Health Sciences. Scott is a
Certified Biological Safety Professional, a Specialist Microbiologist in Biological Safety Microbiology, and a Certified Hazardous
Materials Manager. Previously, Scott served as a safety manager at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute, a small private nonprofit research institution in San Antonio, Texas which has the only privately operated BSL-4 laboratory in the country. He also
previously worked as a Senior Safety and Health Manager in the Office of Safety, Health, and Environment at the National
University of Singapore.
Cost:
North
$22 (for buffet lunch)
Section
Date:
Time:
Location:
Speakers:
Topic:
Speaker Bio:
Section Meetings, like the General Chapter
Meeting, are open to anyone.
Members are encouraged to bring co-workers,
management, vendors, and other guests.
(NEW!)
Thursday, May 21, 2015
12:00-1:00 PM Presentation
Southwestern Energy
10000 Energy Drive | Spring, TX 77389-4954 (Directions)
Joel Tietjens –Tietjens and Tietjens
TBA in email invite, please send Saul an email to be added to the email list
Joel holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Safety from the University of Central Missouri, board
certification as a safety professional through the Board of Certified Safety Professionals, and is a Certified Safety & Health
Manager granted through the Institute for Safety & Health Management. He develops and delivers safety presentations that are
motivational, humorous, and yet informative and "real world" based. His safety knowledge base comes from his experience in
safety management positions in the insurance, energy, industrial services, and food and beverage industries before beginning his
own company. His professional memberships include the American Society of Safety Engineers and National Safety
Management Society. He is a "Society Fellow" of ASSE. He has been the two-time recipient of the “Safety Professional of the
Year” award for the Gulf Coast Chapter, as well as, Region III of the American Society of Safety Engineers. Joel has been
recognized by ISHN (Industrial Safety & Hygiene News) "Power 101" of who moves and shakes the safety world!
Cost:
Contact:
Free (SWN’s Market Café Opens at 11:30 AM to purchase food or bring your own lunch)
Saul Medina [email protected]
4
Chapter Information/ Volunteer Opportunity Spring 2016
It is with great pleasure to let you know that the Gulf Coast
Chapter will be recognized at the Chapter Recognition Luncheon
as a Gold Level Chapter. The chapter awards will be given out at
the Chapter Recognition Luncheon on Monday, June 8, 2015, at
Safety 2015, ASSE’s Professional Development Conference in
Dallas Texas.
GCC ASSE Executive Committee and Chairs for 2014 - 2015
Position
Name
Email
Delegate/President
Luke J. Albrecht, CSP
[email protected]
Delegate/Sr. Vice President
Gena Fendley
[email protected]
Delegate/Vice President
William Gonzales
[email protected]
Delegate/Treasurer
Paul Hernandez, CSP
[email protected]
Delegate/Secretary
James Charo
[email protected]
Past President / Nominations
Carrie Atkins
[email protected]
Delegate / Program Chair
Cameron Isaacs
[email protected]
Delegate / Newsletter Chair
Cristal Shie
[email protected]
5
Volunteer
Opportunities for
Safety 2015
Join ASSE and the thousands of Safety 2015
attendees June 7-10, 2015 in Dallas, Texas. Be a
part of the excitement and volunteer some of
your time to help make Safety 2015 a success.
Volunteer opportunities will include hotel
Greeters and convention center Greeters. In
addition, we are always looking for some
smiling faces to assist with directing attendees
to the lunches and general sessions.
ASSE’s Greet Team Coordinator will contact
you to let you know how you can help at the
Safety 2015 PDC & Expo!
Link to volunteer form:
http://sgiz.mobi/s3/Safety-2015-GreeterVolunteer-Form
YOU MUST BE AN ASSE MEMBER AND A
CONFERENCE REGISTRANT TO
PARTICIPATE.
Oil & Gas Safety Training
In English and Spanish
What: Fall Protection Training (1.5 hr)
and/or On-Site Motorized
Vehicle Safety Training (1.5 hr)
Where: We’ll come to you! You name the time and
place; we will work to accommodate your requests.
CONTACT US TODAY!
866.906.9190 or [email protected]
Funded by:
U.S. DOL, OSHA, Susan B. Harwood Training Grant Program
866.906.9190 | uta.edu/ded