“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 he thought would lead him to a career in Human Resources (HR). Join us for this episode and learn more about why John changed his plan to pursue HR, his thoughts on the importance of leading with positivity and through storytelling, and how he uses a personal tragedy to emphasize the importance of road safety to his drivers.

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 results, and transforming safety messaging from an email or PDF into a story that resonates. When deciding how best to teach employees about exposure risk, Anthony and his team created a Monday Night Football-style video series where two “commentators” provide professional insight as a worker performs a task with exposure risk. As Anthony puts it, “Everybody loves a story, and that’s all life is, it’s a story.” Join us for this episode and hear Anthony’s and Sunbelt’s safety story.

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!

“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 an interest in others.

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 as well as the solutions required to mitigate risks. Steve is a safety champion and works to foster a positive safety culture that is at the core of improving safety. Steve works tirelessly to engage management and employees, and focuses his time on prevention, recognition and coaching.

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 from behind the computer.

To learn more about the safety leadership course from BCSP + Dale Carnegie, click here.

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 benefits and health and safety plans that evaluate and support the physical, mental, and emotional needs of the employee populations she serves, understanding that HR has to help support the full individual through the various stages of their career.

Montrese and her team support 1200+ employees and freelancers across the globe. She has significant experience coaching managers and employees on a variety of employee related issues including performance management/evaluations, coaching & feedback, conflict resolution, and leadership development. She provides high quality HR consulting services in support of organizational goals and objectives.

Montrese holds a Masters in Applied Behavioral Science from Johns Hopkins University. She also has a Bachelor’s from Virginia Commonwealth University with a specialty in Human Resources Management and Industrial Relations.

She is from Severna Park, Maryland where she currently resides with her family. Montrese finds great joy in community service and spends her free time volunteering with various local and national organizations.

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 "people first" attitudes are indisputable, which facilitates a high level of trust, engagement, empowerment, and performance.

In this episode, Jay will share his insights on how to get past transactional leadership, finding your sweet spot, the importance of professional development, and much more.

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 professional expertise to various levels in the organization. She has extensive experience in project and people management and cross-enterprise collaboration to drive efficiency and compliance with Ports America’s goals and objectives.

Sharifa completed her Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Political Science with a minor in Psychology and Spanish at San Diego State University (SDSU). She later attained an MBA at Pepperdine

Graziadio School of Business & Management in August 2018, and she successfully completed her dissertation for the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) degree at Pepperdine Graziadio Business School, in July 2021. Her research focuses on the significance of diversity on organizational boards and the unique human and social capital minorities and women contribute, which impacts the company’s overall success. Sharifa is an educator and continues research with a Postdoctoral Fellow at Pepperdine to further research on diversity and equity.

Sharifa is a published author in the Group & Organization Management journal and a regular speaker at events that focus on diversity, inequality, systemic racism, and organizational leadership. She was appointed by the previous Mayor of Long Beach and serves on the Equity and Human Relations Commission. She serves as the President of Beta Pi Sigma Sorority, Tau Chapter, which is a nonprofit organization providing aid to the homeless and scholarships to the youth in the community of Long Beach. She is the Vice President of Athletics Fundraising on the Long Beach City College Foundation Executive Committee,

Vice President of Programs on the American Association of University Women (AAUW) board, she is the Programs & Special Events Committee Vice-Chair on the Fairfield Family YMCA Board, in addition to participating on the Long Beach City College Foundation Board

and the St. Mary Medical Center Hospital Community Board. She also sits on the North America Terminal and Stevedoring Services LLC (NATSS) board and is a member of the National Maritime Safety Association (NMSA) Technical Committee.

Sharifa believes the most significant asset for an organization is its people. This conviction springs from her deep corporate experience driving ESG initiatives fostering a safe, diverse, equitable, and inclusive work environment. As an All-American Olympic class athlete, Sharifa brings a high level of commitment and discipline to all her endeavors, as well as a dedication to team play.

Fresh off an enlightening and entertaining first season, the My Big Safety Challenge podcast is back for more. More leadership insight, more guidance for overcoming challenges, and more inspiration for the critical work you do each day.

Season 2 of the joint venture from the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) and Dale Carnegie (DC) features new guest host Tiffany Felix and another notable lineup of safety leaders. Representing industries ranging from entertainment to food manufacturing, they will each share their personal stories of navigating real-life obstacles.

Felix, the Senior Vice President for Environmental Health and Safety at Paramount Global, joins DC Master Trainer Dr. Merle Heckman behind the microphone. Together they will lead conversations delving into fundamental subjects including communication, generational differences, the business of safety, and much more.

If you haven't already, make sure to subscribe so you don't miss the new episodes. If you have not yet listened to Season 1, make sure to go back and check it out.