How many people is it acceptable to hurt at work? That’s a question Will Hewett, Co-Founder & Director of Genii Earth LLC, learned from a colleague and incorporated into his own consultations. In 20 years of safety leadership consulting, where he reshapes the way people think about safety leadership, he’s never heard any other answer than zero. That idea drew Will to safety leadership consulting more than 23 years ago. He says that, while he never intended to become involved in the world of ...
Jun 23, 2025•50 min•Season 5Ep. 4
Alaina Ziegler, CSP, wants you to become a listener. In this episode of My Big Safety Challenge, Alaina, Vice President of Safety & Human Performance at Lewis Services, unpacks why listening is much more effective when you’re listening to understand, not to respond. Overseeing the safety of a dispersed, multilingual workforce across multiple states, Alaina faces communication challenges daily. That’s why her team leans into creative tech solutions like video messaging and equipping trucks wi...
Jun 09, 2025•51 min•Season 5Ep. 3
In this episode of My Big Safety Challenge, we sit down with Lisa Brooks, Principal at NexusHSE and a pioneer in the field of ergonomics, to explore what she calls “operational intelligence.” For Lisa, it’s not just a buzzword, it’s a philosophy that bridges leadership and the front-line worker through active listening, relationship-building, and a willingness to get your boots dirty. Lisa shares stories from her groundbreaking work in ergonomics, reveals how mathematics and sports shaped her ap...
May 27, 2025•49 min•Season 5Ep. 2
To begin the season, we sit down with Sammy Davis, PhD, CSP, Gr.IOSH—Vice President of Safety & Security at Papa John’s International. Like many safety professionals, Sammy’s path to safety wasn’t a straight line. Originally setting out to become a trauma surgeon before working as a paramedic and eventually in the construction industry, Sammy received a letter from Indiana University’s safety program that launched a career completely different than the one he intended and reshaped how he lea...
May 12, 2025•47 min•Season 5Ep. 1
Get ready—My Big Safety Challenge returns Monday, May 12! Host Merle Heckman is back, joined this season by new co-host John Fischer. Together, they’ll dive into fresh conversations with inspiring guests, tackling real leadership challenges and the lessons they’ve learned along the way. Don’t miss a moment—subscribe now and be part of the journey!
May 08, 2025•5 min•Season 5Ep. 1
For Michael Langston, Vice President of ES&H at Clean Earth, safety boils down to one simple premise: Make sure the employees know the rules. Make sure the rules make sense. Make sure they’re applicable. It seems easy enough, but as Michael quickly discovered as a young Industrial Hygienist at a steel factory, updating policies and procedures designed to protect the worker isn’t always met with acceptance. Change can be difficult, but Michael suspects some of the resistance to change lies wi...
Jan 31, 2025•46 min•Season 4Ep. 7
Would a workplace tragedy fundamentally alter your perspective on your career? For Sandra Merritt, CSP, ASP, a workplace fatality became a pivotal moment that redefined her career—and her purpose. In this episode of My Big Safety Challenge, Sandra recounts how the loss of a colleague, which left a four-year-old child fatherless, stirred her to shift her career from environmental management and compliance to the world of safety. Now the Global Health & Safety Manager at Moog, Sandra—known aff...
Jan 17, 2025•43 min•Season 4Ep. 6
For most people, witnessing a chemical spill would be a harrowing experience—but for others, it ignites a passion. We tend to call those people safety professionals. Autumn Crum is one such person who, after witnessing a lab spill while shadowing a safety professional at West Virginia University, instantly knew she had found her calling. The intricacies of managing risk and protecting people captivated her, setting her on a career she never knew she wanted. Today, as the Director of Global EHS a...
Jan 03, 2025•42 min•Season 4Ep. 5
Communication. Its importance is a common theme in the safety industry, but how to properly communicate eludes so many of us—on and off the job. Michelle Gladieux is here to fix that. Founder of Gladieux Consulting and author of Communicate with Courage, Michelle is the go-to communication expert for everyone from NFL players to C-suite executives who want to improve how they communicate. In this episode of My Big Safety Challenge, Michelle shares her insightful journey toward recognizing the cr...
Dec 20, 2024•40 min•Season 4Ep. 4
What does it take to thrive across industries as diverse as healthcare, automotive, and food service? For Andrew Wehr, CSP, it’s all about building—whether it’s safety departments, cultures, or relationships. In this episode of My Big Safety Challenge, Andrew shares the twists and turns of a career he never planned for but has come to love. Starting with his pivot in college from a medical path to environmental sciences, Andrew takes us on a journey through his roles at a refinery, in retail saf...
Dec 06, 2024•49 min•Season 4Ep. 3
On this episode of My Big Safety Challenge, we are thrilled to welcome our first international guest—Becky Hickman. Becky serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA)—one of the United Kingdom’s oldest charity organizations dedicated to safeguarding lives and preventing serious injuries both on and off the job. With over 20 years of experience in occupational health and safety, Becky is a champion of the idea that good work is good for people...
Nov 22, 2024•46 min•Season 4Ep. 2
Like many safety professionals, John Fischer, CSP, sort of fell into the field. When first approached about a safety role and asked about lockout/tagout (LOTO), he wondered what the lottery had to do with safety. Now, 25 years later, John is the Director of Environmental Strategy and Corporate EHS at the Duke Energy Corporation. John has spent those 25 years between consulting and the energy sectors, gaining valuable experience and insights into the safety profession and the proper ways to get b...
Nov 08, 2024•49 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Season 4 of My Big Safety Challenge is here! Joining host Merle Heckman this season is Jay Harf, Vice President of EHS&S at Xylem. Listen to the trailer and get a sneak peek of what to expect from season 4.
Nov 01, 2024•7 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Join Merle Heckman, Master Trainer at Dale Carnegie, and all three guest hosts from seasons one, two, and three of the “My Big Safety Challenge” podcast. The team will talk through some of the inspiring guests and stories covered through the podcast. You'll walk away from this episode with valuable leadership and influence lessons that you can implement in your daily work.
Sep 27, 2024•57 min0
Have you ever thought about how well you listen to others? Keith Mercurio is back for the second part of episode eight of My Big Safety Challenge, where he reveals how something as simple as being a generous listener can have a profound effect on how we perceive and how we are perceived. Keith illustrates this through his father, an English teacher of 35 years, detailing how in all those years, he never once complained about a student. His father saw what his students were capable of, saw them a...
Sep 06, 2024•40 min•Season 3Ep. 9
Have you ever purchased a new car, only to suddenly notice the same make and model is everywhere on the road? There hasn’t been a sudden influx in the number of people driving the same car—it’s a natural cognitive response resulting from how we focus. In this episode of My Big Safety Challenge, Keith Mercurio, CEO & Founder of Ethical Influence Global, delves into the science behind how what we focus on grows bigger, and eventually, we become what we focus on. Keith’s expertise spans speakin...
Aug 30, 2024•51 min•Season 3Ep. 8
Perry Logan, Ph.D., seemed destined to be a leader in the safety industry. Growing up in the Florida Keys during the 1970s and 80s, Perry often accompanied his father, an underwater welder—a job known for its extreme danger—to work, seeing firsthand at a young age the dangers of the profession. He recalls his dad attending diving school in preparation for the job with 8 other divers, and within a decade, half of them had tragically lost their lives on the job. Perry credits his father’s acute se...
Aug 16, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 3Ep. 7
As the Vice President of Health and Safety at Mortenson, a leading construction company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Marni Hogen has worked to create a safety culture that emphasizes personal connections, open communication, and employee empowerment. Marni believes that everyone in an organization, regardless of role or job title, has a responsibility for safety, and to truly create an effective safety culture, you must “make safety personal.” In this episode of My Big Safety Challenge, Marn...
Aug 02, 2024•45 min•Season 3Ep. 6
Tyler Lorenzen, CEO of Puris—a plant-based food company dedicated to restoring knowledge, control, and trust within the food system—believes that in order to save people, we have to save food. If his name sounds familiar, it’s because Tyler spent his Saturdays in college playing quarterback for the University of Connecticut before joining the New Orleans Saints, winning a Superbowl with the team in 2009. Tyler uses the leadership skills he learned on the field to hone his role as CEO, emphasizin...
Jul 26, 2024•42 min•Season 3Ep. 5
As a keynote speaker, leadership advisor, sales expert, author, and speaker coach, Rene Rodriguez and his company Volentum have trained more than 100,000 people in applying behavioral psychology and neuroleadership methodologies to solve some of the toughest challenges in leadership, sales, and change. So, what does Rene and his company have to do with safety? On this episode of My Big Safety Challenge, you’ll learn how Rene has become a trusted advisor to the leadership teams at 3M and Cargill,...
Jul 12, 2024•57 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Allison Montgomery, Vice President of EHS at Applied Materials, isn’t one to shy away from challenges. Upon graduating high school a year early, Allison enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps because, as she puts it, she’s a bit of a risk taker, and she wanted to choose the branch she thought would be an excellent challenge. Join us for Episode 3 of My Big Safety Challenge and hear how Allison uses her experience in the military to teach teamwork, perseverance, and patience. You’ll also learn how All...
Jun 28, 2024•48 min•Season 3Ep. 3
“When people know you care, they’re going to care too.” A bachelor’s degree in communications, a master’s in leadership education, and a doctorate in training and development may not sound like the traditional path to a 37-year career in logistics safety, but for Dr. John Holland, they were steps that would lead to a vocation that, as he puts it, “loves and gets him out of bed in the morning.” Now the Safety Director at Venture Logistics, John discovered his affinity for safety while on a course...
Jun 14, 2024•44 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Welcome to the Season 3 premiere of My Big Safety Challenge, produced by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) and Dale Carnegie (DC). In this episode, we are joined by Anthony Miller, CSP, Vice President of Sunbelt Rentals, Inc.—a leader in the equipment rental industry with over 1,200 locations, 18,000 team members, and 70 safety professionals. With more than 26 years of industry experience, Anthony speaks about the importance of consistency, using technology and data to predict r...
May 31, 2024•46 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Season 3 of My Big Safety Challenge is back! Host Merle Heckman is joined this season by Jason Kunz as co-host. This season will include more great guests who will share leadership challenges and lessons learned. Subscribe today so you don't miss an episode!
May 24, 2024•9 min•Season 3Ep. 1
“Identify what people are good at; find opportunities for them to engage and grow.” Eli Friedman, EHS leader for a worldwide technology company, offers insight from a sustainability and safety journey that has taken him from offshore rigs to the apparel industry and now high tech, with a law school stop along the way. He shares his passion for psychological safety and his experience with overcoming cultural barriers by emphasizing principles like empathy, trust, finding common ground, and taking...
Feb 16, 2024•46 min•Season 1Ep. 6
Since 2019 Steve Myers has been the Director, Risk & Safety at Amy’s Kitchen. Under Steve’s leadership, Amy’s has seen five straight years of improved safety performance. In 2023, the company attained its best safety record to date. Prior to specializing in safety, Steve was in private practice as a workers compensation defense attorney in California. His years of experience in workers compensation claims led to a deep understanding of the injuries that had the greatest impact on employees a...
Feb 02, 2024•46 min•Season 2Ep. 5
The fourth episode of My Big Safety Challenge Season 2 features insight from Sim Kaur, Program Director for Global Environmental Health and Safety at Netflix. A fast riser in the profession, Kaur outlines leadership communication principles for concisely sharing your message to maximize effect and understanding employee behavior by asking questions. She advises new professionals to be adaptable when the real world isn't exactly like the textbook and to experience the front lines by getting out f...
Jan 19, 2024•40 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Montrese is the Vice President Human Resources for Global CBS News & Operations and is based in Washington, DC. She has worked in the media/news industry for over 20 years, providing support on all facets of human resources. In that role and others that she has held within the healthcare, cosmetics, and automotive industries, she has found herself at the intersection of HR, health, and safety. In her various roles and organizations, she’s helped lead the charge of creating comprehensive bene...
Jan 05, 2024•45 min•Season 2Ep. 3
Jay is a value-based inspirational leader with a strong sense of purpose. His enthusiastic mindset fosters a collaborative culture of enablement. He serves as a role model, demonstrating the right behaviors to be successful as a business leader. Empathy is Jay's superpower and he is keen to mentor and coach other professionals. Jay considers everyone with kindness and his emotional intelligence endears him to all levels of organizations, from operations to executives. His sense of caring and "pe...
Dec 15, 2023•44 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Dr. Sharifa Batts currently serves as the Head of Environment & Sustainability at Ports America, the largest stevedore company in the U.S., operating in 33 ports in over 70 locations. She is an expert in risk mitigation and resiliency planning and oversees the company’s Environment & Sustainability programs. With almost 24 years at Ports America, she is an inspirational leader who is respected as a credible voice as she prepares boardroom material and provides strategic guidance and prof...
Dec 01, 2023•46 min•Season 2Ep. 1
