Julia McLaughlin joined 老王论坛 at the start of the summer as the College's new environmental health and safety manager. We recently caught up with McLaughlin to chat about her role.
What does an Environmental Health and Safety Manager do?
An environmental health and safety manager creates and implements programs that protect people from hazards. This includes regulatory compliance with workplace and environmental programs, safety training, and incident investigations. I鈥檓 the person who trains you on things like lab safety and fall protection. I make sure you are wearing your safety glasses and that you are ergonomically comfortable and all around safe while you are working or learning.
How did you get involved in your current career and do you have any advice for students who may be interested in this sort of work?
I have noticed that it is rare to find an EHS professional who has purposefully pursued this career early on. Typically, EHS professionals have worked in another field (chem, psychology, bio, etc.) before being introduced to this career path. This does seem to be changing, though, as universities and colleges have been advertising more EHS degrees and the workforce needs people to manage EHS tasks.
I began my career in EHS as an electro-mechanical engineer. My first day on the job as an engineer started by meeting the company safety rep. I had no clue what this meant or that it would change my life. We discussed trainings I needed and programs/policies the company had developed for worker safety. This conversation sparked my interest and after some research, I decided this was where I would aim my career. Some years later, I obtained my master鈥檚 degree in safety sciences and then became an associate safety professional as I worked in the field.
When I went to college, I had no idea what I wanted to be. I changed my major a dozen times, but sometimes that is what you need to do to figure out where you belong. If you are interested in a hands-on career that can branch into many specialties (industrial hygiene, human and organizational performance, environmental services, occupational safety, etc.) or are curious about my day to day, just send me an email or give me a call. I鈥檓 more than happy to help.
What sort of things are you interested in outside of work?
Outside of work I like to play basketball and guitar, read the latest safety book, or listen to anything classic rock, but typically my time is spent being a mom to my 5-year-old son, Jack. We love to bike, hike, fish, or spend time gardening, jumping in puddles, and watching TV. We are also anxiously preparing our family for a new addition, a baby girl due this October.
Environmental Health and Safety Office
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