#77: The Women of Safety Partners, Inc.

Jill:

This is the Accidental Safety Pro, brought to you by HSI. This episode was recorded on July 12th, 2021. My name is Jill James, HSI's Chief Safety Officer. And today I'm joined by Jennifer Riley, president and COO of Safety Partners. Jennifer is joining us today from the Greater Boston area. Welcome to the show.

Jennifer:

Thank you. Good morning.

Jill:

Good morning. Yeah, we're recording this pretty early for our producer's time zone, but here we are. Here we are. So Jen, really excited to hear about your journey in safety and how you've gotten to be the president and CEO of Safety Partners. But I know you didn't jump in right there, so what's your journey to health and safety?

Jennifer:

Yeah, I think like many safety professionals, it's never a straight path, but I've always really loved science and knew that I wanted to do something in science. And out of undergrad, I studied biology and was really considering and more aggressively, I guess, pursuing a clinical role. I wanted to help people, talk with people, have a lot of interaction, but I did find myself after graduation in a research lab, at an academic research lab. And that was sort of a mixed experience for me. I think when you're first starting out in your career path, it's always good to learn what you really enjoy doing and learn those tasks and things that you don't necessarily care for. So that was pretty pivotal and thinking, I'm not sure that research is really for me, but I loved the science piece of it.

Jill:

How long did you do that?

Jennifer:

Just for two years in the academic setting. And so then I decided to take a step into industry and started as a researcher in a small startup, so about 20 people, just a very different experience. I had great mentorship. I had great colleagues and it was an opportunity at a startup to wear many different hats. So one of those hats was the onsite biosafety officer, as well as almost doing some lab management operational type of responsibilities, and then doing the research. And that role really resonated with me, and I felt like I was really hitting my stride. I liked doing a lot of different things and I loved being connected to the science. And so I worked at a couple of other companies after that in similar roles, but the last company I worked for before joining Safety Partners, I was really indoctrinated into the safety.

Again, another startup really small at the time, and we needed someone to help manage the lab operationally, help get the permits and all the safety program up and running, as well as do some of the research, because again, small startup, you're doing a bunch of different things, and it was really getting into that safety piece. And learning early on the job how much I loved it, how much I loved enabling the science, making things run more efficiently and just felt like, this is really where I want to be. And there was a point that as we were growing pretty aggressively, that I had to make a decision, do I want to continue doing research? Or do I want to focus on the safety and the lab management and the operations? So it was an easy answer for me. So I was really lucky. And I said, I definitely want the, I guess, middle management role track at that point.

Jill:

So when you're making that decision in your head, like you said, you were really kind of finding your stride in that piece of it, what was it about it? And then when you're developing yourself, I mean, I don't know if you're a developing yourself, but when you're finding who you are as a manager and kind of defining that for yourself, did you have mentors along the way that were advising and guiding you on that? Or how did you develop yourself into that management role? Because that's a thing.

Jennifer:

Yeah, it's definitely a thing. I had some great colleagues, but I'd have to say it wasn't until I would say really in my current role that I have realized the value of having your own, everyone says your own personal advisory board or your own group of colleagues and that you can be truly authentic with and put yourself out there and ask for advice and ask for help. So I had a few of those individuals along the way that I would bounce ideas off of, especially just managing other people in the lab and it wasn't a direct line management, but it was how do you get them to follow the safety procedures and that influence without authority. So I definitely would bounce things off of fellow colleagues that I respected and finding my own type of mentorship in those roles. And what do you think of this? This is what I'm thinking of saying, and this is what I'm thinking of doing. Feeling comfortable to do that, I think, is really valid.

Jill:

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Interesting. Yeah. So what happened next? It sounds like kind of you like startups and you were kind of honing your craft in operations and management and kind of leaving that research piece behind a little bit. Was that hard to do?

Jennifer:

It was hard in some sense, because I think it's always scary to make a decision and wonder am I reaching a point of no return? Like if I make this decision and I decided I don't really like this path, can I go back and is the technology in the lab going to change so much? Am I going to forget how to do what I was doing? Kind of natural questions. So I definitely went through that in my head, but at the time I was also I had two small children, so I gotten married and was raising my family and wanted more work-life balance. I was going in to work on the weekends at Fairmont. So it just seemed like a natural progression that helped make that decision. So then I had the good fortune of at this point, I was part-time and I was going to take the summer off.

And in my current role, the founder and CEO of Safety Partners, she caught wind that I was taking the summer off, and so I should back up and say, I had met her when I was working at the first industry role that I had, and she was just starting Safety Partners.

Jill:

Yeah, let's talk about, if you don't mind so people, I'm sure they can look up your company name, but what is Safety Partners? Yeah, let's talk about that.

Jennifer:

Yeah, Safety Partners is a professional services firm that we go in when there's hazardous materials, hazardous processes, hazardous equipment, and we want to wrap a workplace safety program around those hazards. So we really cut our teeth, and in a consulting role, we call ourselves consulting safety officers, but essentially we're EHS managers on a consulting basis. And so we're going in there working with companies that have this need, and maybe they don't have the need for a full-time role, so we can go in on a part-time basis, and make sure that safety is happening. And from the more obvious, do you have the right permits in place and the right written materials and training and then developing from there. So we have a repertoire of about 200 plus clients that we serve each month with our 65 employees.

Jill:

Wow. Wow. Wonderful. And so you met the founder when she was starting up. You had worked together somewhere else. I mean, this is part of your progression in your history, so interesting to hear this part. Yeah.

Jennifer:

Yeah. So it was really great because she would ping me every once in a while and say, "Are you ready to join?" And to me, I was very risk averse and I felt like here's this small consulting company, is this going to be a steady income for me? Just feeling nervous about making that commitment. But clearly recognizing that somewhere down in my future, I could see myself working at Safety Partners, because I know that I'm really starting to enjoy that work, so that I checked the box of am I going to like that career pivot? But it was more about stability, and for some in my mind, working at a startup was less risky than working at this small consulting firm, which people would probably disagree.

Jill:

Well, right. That's also part of our profession, right? I mean, we are just by nature of the work that we do, risk averse, and then you throw in like a startup in a consulting firm and you really have to weigh in your mind, which one's less risky?

Jennifer:

Exactly. So I went through that, and so just kept in touch over the years. And as I had progressed at other positions until I found myself at, again, this inflection point of, I think I'm going to work part time, take the summer off, spend some time with the family, and then decide in the fall what was next. And so at that point, a little birdie whispered in her ear and she called me and said, "Well, I have this contract. It's one day a week. Would you like to come on board?" And then I thought, one day a week? That sounds pretty good.

Jill:

Not as risky.

Jennifer:

Yeah. I could still have lots of fun summertime and then work one day a week. And I loved it. I loved the company I was assigned to work and support. I really just loved the work. I loved that looking at what they need and how could I enable them to do it safely and put processes in place, and I think that's that operational piece, you're building a safety program. And so to me, I found a lot of job satisfaction in that and getting them to a place where I felt as though they could work efficiently partly because they had good procedures in place to do things safely, and to enable the science that they were getting done.

Jill:

Yeah. And when you were first starting out with this, it's primarily in lab settings, yes?

Jennifer:

Yes, it's always been in lab settings.

Jill:

Yeah.

Jennifer:

Exactly. So through Safety Partners, we really strive to grow the business organically and promote from within, and I've had a lot of great opportunities to continue to take more responsibilities as I learned more of the business side of things, as well as the safety aspects. There's regulations are always changing. So it's definitely a very dynamic environment. And so now I can happy to say that through the years, again, taking increased responsibilities in my role now, I've been here 14 years, and don't look back.

Jill:

Mm-hmm (affirmative). Well, and there's something pretty unique about where you're at right now. So do you want to share that with the audience?

Jennifer:

Tell me a little more.

Jill:

Yeah. Right. Well, you live it every day, so maybe it doesn't seem as unique to you, but when I heard that you are at a woman founder, woman owned business in safety, in STEM, I'm like, oh wow, I have to talk to this person. So tell us what that's like.

Jennifer:

Yeah, that's really amazing, because again, for the last 14 years, I've had the great support system of a woman owned and woman run company, just working in the field supporting STEM. So it just gives you a very different view when you're talking with colleagues who are struggling with maybe inequity in the workplace. And here I have this opportunity to live it every day and I do feel incredibly lucky that it's been acceptable to say I have to go pick, I have to be the mom. Whereas, that isn't always necessarily accepted in all work environments. So that work-life balance has definitely been a real positive influence. And so as we look to recruit and hire more great consultants, I'm always looking for that that younger demographic, I guess, that they're looking to make their next career pivot, and I want to show them how great it is to work for this company.

Jill:

Yeah. Right. Yeah. I mean, in addition to work-life balance in what you've identified with being a woman-owned company, what other gifts do you think that has brought?

Jennifer:

So it's also just a very collaborative environment. I find that there isn't the competition that maybe you would imagine. So part of that, just collegial environment, everyone's trying to learn and kind of pull everyone else up along the way. So I find that that's been pretty amazing.

Jill:

Yeah. Interesting. In a really good way. So because of what it is that you all do, and because you're a woman-owned, you have the ability to maybe really promote women in STEM. Can you talk about how that works in your company and do you do things outside of Safety Partners to help women realize this career path?

Jennifer:

Yes. Yes. It's actually been about a year now, last July, I joined the Board of WEST. So WEST is Women in the Enterprise of Science and Technology. So it's a learning organization supporting women early in their careers, early to mid-level careers. And so by participating in that board, it's all about networking, it's about what types of seminars and webinars and tools can we add to the toolbox of these young women professionals to help them in science and technology careers? So that's been really amazing to see, there's various mentorship roles and to see someone go from coming to these networking events, being pretty shy and how they kind of turn on their extroversion and learn how to network better, and see them get the next role that they're looking for, or learn how to advocate for themselves in a better way self advocation in the workplace.

Jennifer:

And so that for me, personally, has been a really exciting role. You had asked earlier about along the way as I've taken these pivots and did I have mentors? And I truly wish when I was at that point in my career was involved with WEST more. So the ability to increase our membership with the younger demographic, just starting out in their career is really amazing.

Jill:

Yeah. Yeah. If it's appropriate, Jen, let's include a link to WEST in the show notes so that people can find it if they want to.

Jennifer:

Yeah, that would be great.

Jill:

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, WEST is an organization I've not heard of before, so tell us more about, how did it get going and who is it for? Is it for people who are just new in their careers or is it all ages? Or how does it work?

Jennifer:

Yeah. I mean, it is for all ages, but it's really meant to be a learning organization. So what are the various tools and things that people need to know and just a safe place, I guess you could say for women, but it's not just exclusively women, but early career stage, to learn those characteristics, I guess, that are going to help them be successful. So it's again, that we provide a lot of programming that's focused on early professionals in STEM environments, but also tenured professionals that are looking for a pivot. They're looking to stay within science, but take a different role or they're between opportunities and how we can support that process as well.

Jill:

And/or I suppose many of us have a difficult time or not knowing how to ask for a wage increase or negotiate a salary, that kind of stuff. Is that some of the things that WEST helps people with as well?

Jennifer:

Yeah, that's exactly a great... It's that career advice piece, how can you take the next step in career advancement or look at alternative career options and build your leadership skills? So really that skill development is a large piece, and how you can do that in a networking setting just empowering women to really reach their full potential.

Jill:

Mm-hmm (affirmative). Love it. It sounds like an amazing organization. Thanks for sharing that.

Jennifer:

Oh, you're welcome.

Jill:

Yeah. I know you have some feelings about that a career isn't just a job. Do you want to talk about what that is, or what that means to you?

Jennifer:

Yeah, so I think we all spend so much time at work and why have it be just a job, as you say. So just really enjoying what you do and having that positive feedback loop of that you really making an impact. And I think part of working in safety, everyone will say, "Of course, you want people to be safe and you want people to follow the rules." And that's part of it, but it's also, as we look at our client base, they're this innovative group of incredibly smart scientists who are taking these ideas and making the next COVID vaccine and the next drug for Alzheimer's. So just to really be part of that enabling science is very gratifying. So definitely Safety Partners and it really the safety industry. It's supporting, it's a customer service type of role. But I've found that even though I'm not doing the science physically, I'm really enjoying the positive outcomes of seeing these companies succeed, and how that makes it feel much more like a career. And you're taking the next steps, versus just a job that you clock in at every day.

Jill:

Yeah. And the accomplishment that you can see your customers and clients succeed too, you know that you had a hand on that.

Jennifer:

Exactly. It's a small part, but it takes a lot of different support mechanisms to make that happen. So of course I can't take credit for that, but just-

Jill:

You're a piece of it.

Jennifer:

... knowing it's a piece of it. Exactly.

Jill:

Yeah. Right, right. Yeah. Yeah. I know you've also had mentioned to me when we spoke earlier about you framed safety as the stepchild.

Jennifer:

Yeah.

Jill:

Do you want to talk more about what that means?

Jennifer:

Well, the thing I love about this podcast and talking about the Accidental Safety Pro is the stereotype of the safety officer that comes into the lab with their lab coat glasses and clipboard, and the safety cop mentality. So I think everyone, they have just somewhat negative view of safety. So when you think about transitioning into a career in safety right from the get-go, you'd have maybe this visceral response of, I don't want to be the person that nobody wants to see when they walk in the lab. I want more of the social aspect of it. So that's why I tend to call it the stepchild, because again, they're sort of the forgotten and also the forgotten profession that in the number of people that we interview, so many of them say, "Geez, I never thought of this as a career."

They looking, they have advanced degrees and they're deciding to step away from actually the research, but how can I be involved with the science and be part of it? And they say, "I never thought about doing safety." But their background is a perfect way to... For us, at least, it's a sweet spot of someone who's worked at the bench understands the operational workings of the laboratory and how they can apply safety to that. And so we definitely want to think about that mind shift of, you're not the stepchild, it's actually a really rewarding career that you can get a lot of career advancement and satisfaction.

Jill:

Yeah. And I think that as health and safety professionals, we can get stuck in those personas, or maybe we make assumptions that you have to be that persona to be that person. Like you had mentioned safety cop, that's definitely a persona that's associated with our career path by many people that are observing from the outside. And then it also can be a place where sometimes some of us get stuck in that. I often talk with our team at HSI about the different personas that we may meet along the way when we're talking with health and safety professionals, and safety cop is one of those personas I talk about. And some people are kind of stuck in being that. I've been personally the literal safety cop because I worked for OSHA. So I had the badge and everything that went with it.

But in a non-enforcement role, that can be a person who's only sees things in shades of black or white and no shade of business gray. And sometimes that's limiting to your career if you're stuck in that.

Jennifer:

Right.

Jill:

And then there are others, I talk about people who are really, I frame it as an Anton Ego. Do you remember from the Pixar show?

Jennifer:

No, actually.

Jill:

Well, Pixar did this movie called Ratatouille and Anton Ego was the name of a character who was a restaurant critic.

Jennifer:

Oh, right. Okay.

Jill:

Yeah. And no one could do anything right for Anton. Everyone was beneath Anton, and you just had to excel to this highest and highest levels. And I think sometimes in pieces of our careers, we have people like that in our careers too, or maybe some of us have been that person, where like I know more than everybody else.

Jennifer:

Right.

Jill:

I can't be taught anything. And then I think there's also a persona where we've been drowning in our careers before, and there's so many things coming at us and we just need a lifeline and help. And I know I've spoken with other professionals and kind of talked about some of these personas, and I had one person actually from a university say, "I've been all those people in my career." And I'm like, which one are you right now? And he identified one and I'm like, and I'm this one, but I've been this one. And I think we kind of move around as we grow. But I think growing is the key there. You don't want to pigeon hole yourself in one persona.

Jennifer:

Well, it also feels the confidence in the role as well, that you don't have to justify your existence in this role, that it's a valuable role and you don't have to constantly feel like you're justifying the value. And so I think with time and tenure, you have that confidence and to, I don't know, pivot with how you make conversation with people that you need to influence their behavior and their safety behavior, and you try different techniques. So there's that professional growth as well of how you have those tricky conversations and those soft skills that you turn on and turn off and pivot around.

Jill:

Yeah. Right. Exactly. Yeah. Those soft skills are so important. Is learning those skills something that organically happened for you? Or are there specific places that you went, authors that you followed the way that you've learned things?

Jennifer:

Yeah, I would say it's a little bit of both, because when I think about us, we're considering different people for the role, and really just when I think about myself, it's the attitude versus the aptitude, and someone can learn all the technical things. You can be shown the regulations or shown the technical pieces of how to do something as long as you have the aptitude to learn, but it's the attitude and how you approach it. So I think by nature, it's part of just how you approach things, but you always have to get better at it. I had the benefit of having an executive coach a few years ago, and that was really incredibly valuable to help frame how you approach things, how you develop your leadership skills. Also, just attending various seminars and webinars on developing soft skills, I think are really important because it's important to see just the other viewpoints to help frame how you're going to consider that situation.

So I think some of it is learned. I think if you ever meet someone who has really poor soft skills, it's hard to imagine them totally changing.

Jill:

Yeah. Yeah. And it's obvious too.

Jennifer:

Yeah. This is how they are wired, and we're really not going to change that. But I think there's enhancements that you can make and definitely a learning curve aspect of the soft skills piece. But in the safety profession, I feel like that's the most important successful trait, is how you can go in and have that tricky conversation and really get buy in.

Jill:

Yeah. Yeah. And I don't know that that's a skill that you've learned like, ooh, done and dusted, I've got that nailed. I feel like it's a progression, like you keep learning something new about yourself or a new way to connect with people.

Jennifer:

And I'm sure that's part of the safety personas that you were alluding to. It's as you learn more about yourself, you learn how you can connect with people in a different way to be more successful in just that influence and that it doesn't have to be adversarial in the safety role.

Jill:

Mm-hmm (affirmative). Absolutely. So you had mentioned that you had an executive coach.

Jennifer:

Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Jill:

That's maybe unique for people who are listening right now. Like, whoa, wait a minute, can I do that? Can we do that? What's that like? And how did you find that for yourself?

Jennifer:

So as I was stepping into more responsibilities at Safety Partners and I had been promoted to COO, if I recognized that sometimes in a work setting, people are prescribed executive coach as a punishment, like they're not doing something right.

Jill:

Right. Right. We got to fix you.

Jennifer:

We need a coach because we need to fix this. So I was lucky to fall into a different category and just an incredibly supportive environment and how can we help make me more successful in the role. And so outside of just colleagues that I have, that I go to for various personal advisory board type of questions, I really wanted just professional help. So I got a list of a few names and interviewed a few people and just who am I going to click with? So just going down that path, I felt incredibly lucky because it just really helped hone a lot of different skills and make me more aware of my behavior and that self-awareness piece. So yeah, that was a six to nine-month and kind of very goal-driven, and it also involved you have to definitely feel as though you're okay in your own skin. That's a 360 process of going, and the coach was interviewing my colleagues that I work with and supervise. So you have to be okay-

Jill:

Honorable. Wow.

Jennifer:

... with what you're going to hear. Exactly. So not everybody is going to, I don't know, be your biggest fan. And so you're in that-

Jill:

Yeah, you can't be loved by everyone.

Jennifer:

Yeah. So definitely humbling, but incredibly valuable. I think that coaching aspect comes in many different forms, but being able to seek out a coach and have that relationship was really valuable in getting to the next level for me.

Jill:

Yeah. What a great opportunity? And good on you for seeking that out for yourself.

Jennifer:

Yeah. Thank you.

Jill:

Yeah. That's so important to think about how we show up, how we show up for ourselves every day, but how we show up for others.

Jennifer:

Right.

Jill:

And it's that kind of coaching and professional development, wherever you can find it. And sometimes it's with your own personal advisory group that you find or with mentors or through specific authors or books. Yeah. I know I've done a combination of all.

Jennifer:

Well, and it makes a lot of sense. If you're a professionals in professional sports, there's a coach, there's someone helping you be your best. So why not apply that to being the best leader that you can be, or the best safety professional that you could be and sort of getting that guidance.

Jill:

Right. Right. You had mentioned a while ago that when you were sort of starting to shape your career path and which direction you were going to go, you were talking about how you thrive on making systems.

Jennifer:

Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Jill:

Yeah, can you talk more about that? Particularly maybe for our listeners who might be starting out or maybe are re-imagining their career, what were you noticing in yourself that made you go, this is what feels right to me? Particularly around systems, because so much of what this profession is, people like we just talked about in relationships, but then there's a system piece.

Jennifer:

So I think it's partly in my professional world, I wish I could say the same is true in my personal life, but I always wanted to be incredibly organized. So that organizational piece is something that is always come through in my professional life. I remember working in the lab and you have these particular consumable pieces, these little plastic pipette tips is what they're called and you use it to move liquid in different experiments. And so everyone in the lab had their own choice of what was their favorite, I guess. So here we were a small company trying to be budget conscious, but everybody was ordering their own different type of brand of these particular consumable products. And so I just looked at that and said, "That's so inefficient. Not only are we getting cases and cases and we don't have room to store it, it's just not cost effective." And to me, it was just something very natural to say, "How can we make this more efficient?"

And so that really spoke to me so that making efficiencies, I guess, operationally, then putting that in place and realizing, oh, see now everybody's happier. We're spending less time doing mundane ordering. We can get the science done that we want to do. And so for me, that was the positive feedback loop of realizing, I really like to do this. Like, that was a piece that resonated with me. And then you look at the bigger picture of, oh, it's how you make the lab operationally efficient. And so that operations piece and putting those systems in place was, I guess, where I was finding my stride and realizing I wanted to do more of that.

Jill:

Yeah. Yeah. So how did you resolve the pipette piece? Did you determine there was a certain number that was going to be the threshold that you'd ordered? Or did you migrate everybody to one kind?

Jennifer:

I was migrating to one kind.

Jill:

Wow.

Jennifer:

Yeah, which isn't easy, but it's-

Jill:

I'm sure it wasn't.

Jennifer:

But I guess the benefit of the startup environment is everyone realizes that even if it's a well-funded startup, you still need to be budget conscious because that's going to just increase the runway for all of our roles until the breakthrough happens. So if we can be more budget conscious here, so getting people on the same, and it made their life easier too. So I think that was also... Yeah. So maybe a seemingly kind of silly example, but it definitely resonated with me that I really liked to do this type of thing and that sort of that operations piece that I got that experience doing and realizing that I enjoyed.

Jill:

Yeah. Right. Yeah, I've done similar with, when you think about how can we make the complex simple, and give people some reassurance along the way that you're taking them into consideration and you're making decisions for specific reasons. Yeah. A number of jobs ago, I was working in a medical clinic setting where so many people are in offices or in a laboratory setting like you're talking about. And in those sort of settings, it's a really rich environment for musculoskeletal injuries and illnesses with regard to neck, shoulder, arm, hand, all that ergonomic stuff. And as I was looking around at all these workstations, at all of these different locations across the company, I was noticing like, gosh, it was just this mishmash of different kinds of office chairs and different kinds of equipment. And I'm like, where is all this stuff coming from?

And asking the questions like some people have something super nice, some people have something that looks nice, but isn't ergonomically well-designed, some people are sitting on things or using equipment that are duct taped together. And so I'm like, how did this come to be? And the answer was, well, just various manager's sort of guests, they have their budget and they just sort of guessed what they should buy and nobody really knew.

Jennifer:

Right.

Jill:

And I went to the CFO and I said, "Listen, I'm dealing with all these ergonomic things all the time. I want to be able to order specific items to do ergonomic improvements to all of these workstations, and I want to know what my budget is." And so he's like, "Well, can you do some research for me? Just like, what's the most expensive thing?" I'm like, "Well, chair's the most expensive." And he's like, "Can you get me some numbers? And what's the minimum it would take?" And so I did and worked with a company and then picked out a lot of just office chairs that would do the job. And then I had all of them as samples brought to the mothership clinic location, put them in a particular room, and had a week where people could vote on their favorites.

So they'd come into this room, they'd sit on all these chairs, they'd try them all out, and then I had a ballot box. And out of that, I narrowed it down to top three that would work for tall people, short people if they want. And those became the three that everybody ordered from. So the employees still had agency to make their own choice, but it fit within the budget that the CFO wanted.

Jennifer:

Yeah, that's perfect.

Jill:

It was a simple system, but gosh, it worked beautifully. Yeah.

Jennifer:

Yeah. I did even similar, even more simple system for safety glasses and just the Plano Safety Glasses. If they're not comfortable, no one's going to wear them, but it's hard to tell when you just open up a catalog and it's not always a one size fits all. So I was getting a bunch of samples, try them on, which one do you like, and trying to hone in on that. So you can put that process in place that it's, like you say, "Here's the three chairs you have to choose from."

Jill:

Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Jennifer:

Yeah.

Jill:

Yeah. In your work doing systems is like incredibly more complex, it's like when you're working with labs.

Jennifer:

Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Jill:

Yeah. Interesting. Yeah. Yeah. What else, Jen, would you like to share with our audience?

Jennifer:

So I think just it's really, again, the topic of the podcast and just thinking about the Accidental Safety Pro is just to remember that you don't have to have that straight line to a career in safety, but I think just getting the word out there that it's actually a career, and it's a really rewarding career. And even there's ways to specialize, for example, becoming an industrial hygienist and that's a field that's really waning and there's not as many people going into industrial hygiene. So how we can get the word out there is that safety is a career path that people should consider.

Jill:

Do you have any ideas on how we should be getting that word out as a group?

Jennifer:

I think more in the educational system and just at the college level, having these various occupational health and safety programs. At Safety Partners, we've done various guest lecturing at some various institutions, go in for a one night kind of lecture just to talk about careers in safety. And I think doing more of that outreach is also helpful because again, as you have someone and maybe they're studying biology or some other STEM field and thinking just all these traditional routes of how they could use that education, they don't think of safety. So I think having that at the college level when people are trying to decide a career path is helpful.

Jill:

That's a really good call to action for any of us. I mean, I've spoken about safety career in a construction management degree program, but that's obvious, like hat's an obvious one. And I've at a STEM conference for young girls about it. But gosh, for any of us who have a college that we went to, understanding that so many of us maybe have an undergrad degree that like you said, is in biology or something ancillary to science. I mean, to safety rather. Yeah, I could reach back to my university and my Bachelor's degree's in community health education, and I had one safety class. Like, why am I not going to that degree program at that campus and saying, "Hey."

Jennifer:

Right. Right.

Jill:

Yeah. Thanks. That's a good motivation, good inspiration.

Jennifer:

Oh, good. I know we've also used the opportunity to speak at various postdoc association. So again, this is Safety Partners really focuses in the life sciences. So as we look at postdocs deciding, do they want to run an academic lab or do they want to pivot and what's next? Pivoting into safety and how, again, we can provide that education of what a career in safety could look like has also been a really good avenue.

Jill:

Yeah. Yeah. Great idea. Great idea. Good advice. Yeah. Jen, anything else that you'd like to share with our audience as we close out our time today?

Jennifer:

Yeah, no, I don't think so. I've just really enjoyed our conversation, and I think this is a phenomenal podcast that you've put together.

Jill:

Oh, thank you. Well, I appreciate that. And thank you so much for coming here today and sharing your wisdom and leadership and some inspiration. I really appreciate it.

Jennifer:

Great. Thank you for having me.

Jill:

Mm-hmm (affirmative). Thank you all for spending your time listening today, and more importantly, thank you for your contribution toward the common good, making sure your workers, including your temporary workers, make it home safe every day. If you aren't subscribed and want to hear past and future episodes, you can subscribe in iTunes, the Apple Podcast app, or any other podcast player that you'd like. We'd love it if you could leave a rating and review us on iTunes. It really helps us connect the show with more and more safety and health professionals like Jen and I. Special thanks to [Naim Teresi 00:46:51], our podcast producer. And until next time, thanks for listening.