DEPARTMENTS​
2019 AIHA ELECTION
Director (Two to be elected)
Lucinette Alvarado, CIH HSEQ Senior Specialist Covestro LLC Pittsburgh, Pa.
The most critical domain to achieve our mission and vision will be advancement and dissemination of knowledge. Currently, the AIHA membership is shifting. There are IH colleagues who have a lot of experience in the field and the “new” generation of IH professionals. We need to have a knowledge transfer between these two generations. The “new” generation needs to have the opportunity to learn from those who already have a lot of experience so that industrial hygiene continues to protect all workers and all are safe in the future. Also, the IH community is becoming more diverse. We need to disseminate the knowledge to those who don’t have the opportunity to get it. Many times this is only a matter of switching the language and/or understanding their culture and beliefs for them to comprehend IH concepts and accept them. We can accomplish these in different ways:
  1. Translating the AIHA documents/books into different languages. 
  2. Provide continuing education opportunities in different languages.
  3. Organizing events (face to face or virtual) and make sure to include colleagues from different generations and ethnic backgrounds.
  4. Study the AIHA membership demographics to better understand the needs of our members.
This will be a good start. Once we accept our differences and needs, the AIHA community will work together to achieve the mission and vision. 
Srinivas Durgam, CIH, CSP  Global EHS Manager  GE Additive Company  Albany, N.Y.
Understanding of IH/OHS risk and controls varies widely in emerging and mature economies but my experience has been that global OHS practitioners look to the United States for global standard of IH practice. Therefore, we need to adopt targeted strategies focused on advancing and disseminating IH/OHS knowledge so that OHS practitioners can continue to add value to their respective organizations and communities. Two strategies below, I believe, will enable AIHA to accomplish its vision and allow IH to continue to protect public health.
  1. Easy and global access to quality OHS content: Democratization of knowledge is critical to building foundational understanding of OHS risk management. AIHA should consider developing asynchronous e-learning modules on fundamentals of IH/OHS similar to Khan Academy content. AIHA member experts could develop and publish short video tutorials. This will engage OHS professionals early and enable AIHA to offer advanced OHS technical content as a service.
  2. Career beyond IH: With growing product regulations, there is opportunity to evolve our practice from EHS compliance to product regulatory compliance. Broadening the IH pathways to include professions such as product stewardship and sustainability will enable IHs to specialize in multiple scopes of practice for richer mid-late career opportunities. Project management and financial acumen are also core skills that can be made available through select partners.

Jacob Persky, MPH, CIH Principal RHP Risk Management Inc. Chicago, Ill.
To successfully advance the mission and vision of AIHA will require progress within all five of the domains addressed in the most recent Strategic Plan. I believe “awareness” is the most critical domain in which to focus organizational efforts. As a profession, we must become masters of communicating “what we do” so that we may effectively articulate the importance of “why” the field of industrial hygiene exists. This is not an easy task to master. In my experience, once that hurdle is overcome, people become genuinely interested in the services IHs have to offer, particularly as it relates to their individual application or needs. Along with that interest comes a raised self-awareness about “how” IH practitioners can help to improve a situation or meet a need. To help raise awareness about our profession, I am supportive of identifying new target markets and creating messaging that speaks to anticipated needs. Through a “brand refresh initiative” we may seek to identify, prioritize, and create materials and messaging for the audiences each of us serve. By doing so, each of us will assist in raising awareness and promote a thriving future for the profession.
Georgi Popov, PhD, QEP, ARM, SMS, CMC Professor University of Central Missouri Warrensburg, Mo.
When you look at the five domains, the first word that comes to mind is “synergy.” They are inseparable.  If I had to pick one, it would be advancement and dissemination of knowledge. With the transition of the OSH profession from a compliance-based to a risk-based approach, we must develop and disseminate educational content that addresses the new realities. Our profession is changing. We have generational changes as well. Therefore, AIHA will have to be proactive and address the changing environment. AIHA will have to address the challenges and explore new opportunities. We must actively pursue opportunities to integrate traditional IH programs into the Enterprise Risk Management model. We must be aware of all new standards applicable to U.S. employers, regardless of where their market is. Current job descriptions require the implementation of newer concepts like risk management, financial and non-financial benefits analysis, Lean Six Sigma, product stewardship and sustainability, in addition to the core IH practice. IHs will need to be more involved in addressing emerging risks related to big data security, new materials safety, automation and robotization, environmental risks, and international OSH issues due to globalization.  Being one of the authors of the IH Value Strategy and published risk assessment and risk management books, I can contribute to advancing and disseminating knowledge in all the areas mentioned above.