Heather MacDougall, a lawyer and advisory board member, was in Washington, D.C., when an offer to join the National Labor Relations Board under the Bush Administration changed her career trajectory forever.

A lawyer? On a safety and leadership podcast? It makes perfect sense, just trust us.

While she didn’t get that position, she did shortly thereafter become the Chief Counsel to the Chairman at the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, eventually becoming Commissioner of the Council before joining Amazon as the Chief Safety Officer.

See, we told you it would start to make sense.

From labor lawyer to leading safety at one of the world’s largest companies, Heather has shaped a powerful perspective on what it takes to lead in safety today and how innovation and technology are useful tools in reducing incidents. Tune into this episode of My Big Safety Challenge as Heather shares why she believes safety is never a finished product and why the constant pursuit of improvement is one of the field’s greatest strengths.

One of the more admirable, yet often overlooked, qualities of the safety profession is the spirit of camaraderie that exists even among industry competitors. As Marty Lalick, CSP, Associate Director at ESPN, shares in this episode of My Big Safety Challenge: “There are no trade secrets [in safety].”

This mindset of partnership is woven throughout the conversation, as Marty discusses the tremendous value of openly sharing safety best practices with other broadcast studios—a lesson he has carried through his 27 years of experience spanning environmental cleanup, rapid response, construction, manufacturing, and now television broadcasting.

How does someone with dreams of becoming a teacher find themselves leading remediation efforts at Ground Zero after 9/11? Tune in to Marty’s episode to hear his incredible story and explore how an educator’s perspective can transform the way we see the safety profession.

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 safety, it’s the way the safety industry treats employees like people, with humanity, that drew him to the profession.

Looking for a different perspective on how to approach safety? One that incorporates ideas like invisible PPE and tells us that the most important person to change when it comes to safety is yourself? Tune into this episode of My Big Safety Challenge and find out why Will says being nice and non-confrontational isn’t always the right approach, and how working in the realm of stories and interpretation is essential to safety.

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 with iPads to keep everyone connected and informed.

Additionally, you’ll hear Alaina shed light on why safety often lives in the gray areas and how strong leadership requires employees at every level to get out in the field and “trust but verify” how work is being done.

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 approach to safety, and challenges us to rethink what it really means to understand the work. Tune in to hear how a shift in perspective can elevate safety for everyone on the team.

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 leads, mentors, and empowers others.

Join us for this episode to hear how that unexpected pivot has led to a remarkable career, why Sammy thinks understanding the business side of safety is crucial, and why he trains his employees to one day take his job.

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!

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 within the safety industry itself—a field he feels sometimes pushes rules and expectations that don’t always make sense.

In this episode of My Big Safety Challenge, Michael shares the twists and turns of his professional journey, from studying to be a pharmacist in college to leading safety initiatives for an international corporation. Along the way, he’s learned to frame safety in a way where each person should treat themselves as the CEO of their own wellbeing.

And don’t miss the captivating story of how he used a jar of marbles to illustrate the dangers of distracted driving.

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 affectionally as Safety Sandy—shares how experiencing a workplace fatality shaped her hands-on approach to safety.

Join us as Sandra expounds upon the power of building personal relationships, breaking down the “we’ve always done it this way” mindset, and navigating the emotional rollercoaster that is the safety profession.

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 at Xylem, Autumn is in the business of preventing those types of accidents. A self-described “continual learner,” she views every experience as a stepping stone toward becoming the safety professional she aspires to be.

In this episode of My Big Safety Challenge, Autumn shares how that desire to continually learn led her to the oil and gas industry—one she admits she knew nothing about—but became a formative learning experience. You’ll also hear why she believes influence begins with trust, why strong relationships are key, and how clear communication can transform safety practices.