Mentorship

Not accepting students at this time. 

DEOHS Students Mentored

Engagement

Equity, diversity and inclusion

Being an older white male, I find myself in a position of privilege. With that comes the moral responsibility of acting in line with my values by respecting others regardless of our differences or similarities. This responsibility covers not only the work I do, but also how I do the work.   

As the director of the Field Research and Consultation Group, I work directly with employers and, typically, their blue-collar workers. Our team’s services are critical for worker health and safety, and we find that most of the workers are Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) or other under-represented minorities. To deepen my understanding of the issues BIPOC face and how they relate to occupational health and safety, I have attended two UW School of Public Health anti-racism workshops. In addition, I have added a section to the Recognition of Hazards in Industry class (ENVH 564) I teach on equity and bias in the workplace.  

Community and research partnerships

As the department’s Assistant Chair for Stakeholder Engagement, I work to develop and maintain relationships between our department and various groups, including the UW offices of State Relations and Planning and Budget, the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, labor unions and a variety of large and small employers. I am also an unofficial liaison between the department and UW’s Environmental Health and Safety office. 

Teaching practices

I summarize my teaching philosophy as both practice-based and engagement-oriented. The classroom teaching that I conduct comes from my practice experience and helps students become health and safety practitioners themselves. I try to engage the students in the material in a manner that allows them to become self-engaged and self-directed in their learning. I apply both concepts to my mentoring with students. 

Service

I direct the Field Research and Consultation Group and oversee or coordinate with the other service-related groups in the department: the Environmental Health Laboratory, the Continuing Education Programs and the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Program. As assistant chair, I have the opportunity to see the larger picture of worker health and safety, which helps me coordinate these activities. 

The Field Group conducts workplace health and safety consultations free of charge throughout the state. These consultations are made at the request of the employers. We develop reports that evaluate and quantify potentially hazardous exposures and present recommendations for control. The recommendations will typically go further than the minimum requirements of the regulations and will identify best practices that can be implemented. The work we do doesn’t stop with the reports. We try to work with companies to implement the recommended changes and conduct evaluations to see if the changes have been successful. This work is done for the employers and employees in the state, but we also involve students, giving them practical experience so they can help future generations of workers and employers.  

I am also a member of many internal and external committees. 

Media Mentions