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AIHA NEWS AND NOTES
David Finch, Evy Poumpouras to Deliver AIHA Connect Keynotes AIHA has reached agreements with David Finch and Evy Poumpouras to deliver the keynote addresses at AIHA Connect 2025 in Kansas City, Missouri. At the opening session on May 19, Finch’s talk will draw from his personal experiences at Fortune 500 companies on managing and leveraging neurodiversity in the workplace, while Poumpouras’ May 21 closing keynote will share methods for harnessing solution-based thinking and filtering out noise to be an effective leader and problem-solver.
ABOUT DAVID FINCH Finch is a senior-level business development and content marketing professional, New York Times bestselling author and technical writer, principal and founder of a successful content marketing studio, and creative and technical consultant to Hollywood studios including Disney, Twentieth Century Fox, Sony Pictures Television, and Netflix. His unique career comprises semiconductor market development engineering, mass-market components distribution, firmware and software development, technical content marketing, neurodiversity consulting, and public speaking.
Finch’s book, The Journal of Best Practices: A Memoir of Marriage, Asperger Syndrome, and One Man’s Quest to Be a Better Husband, was featured in O, the Oprah Magazine; People; Elle; Marie Claire; The Chicago Tribune; and The New York Times, and on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” His work as a writer and consultant has been seen on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, NPR, SiriusXM, The New York Times, Rolling Stone, This American Life, The Howard Stern Show, Psychology Today, Slate, NBC.com, EETimes, EDN, Wireless Design, and the popular television series “Not Dead Yet” (ABC/Hulu) and “Atypical” (Netflix).
Finch’s company, Elevated Studio, creates and manages technical marketing strategies and campaigns for the semiconductor, electronics, and entertainment industries. Elevated Studio also produces podcasts, written-word, and other digital media for brands and individuals around the world including Disney, Twentieth Century Fox, Sony, Netflix, Comcast, STMicroelectronics, Arrow Electronics, and others.
ABOUT EVY POUMPOURAS For more than 12 years, Poumpouras served as a Secret Service special agent, responsible for protecting the world’s most high-value assets. In addition to safeguarding our nation’s heads of state, during her tenure in the Secret Service, Poumpouras worked complex criminal investigations, operated undercover, and was an interrogator for the agency’s elite polygraph unit specially trained in the art of lie detection, human behavior, and cognitive influence. She was among the first responders during the September 11 terror attacks on the World Trade Center and was honored with the United States Secret Service Valor Award in recognition of her heroic efforts.
Today, Poumpouras is a multimedia journalist, host, and producer. She appears regularly on “Today,” MSNBC, and “Good Morning America” to share her expertise on national security, law enforcement, and crime. In addition to her role as NBC’s law enforcement and national security analyst, she is the host of Bravo TV’s competition series “Spy Games.”
In her speeches, Poumpouras shares anecdotes from her experiences in the Secret Service, offering a rare behind-the-curtain look at one of the oldest elite security forces in the world and showing audiences how they can apply Secret Service principles of communication, leadership, psychology, and inclusion in their own pursuits.
Poumpouras is also an adjunct professor for The City University of New York, where she teaches criminal justice and criminology. She is the author of the bestselling book Becoming Bulletproof: Protect Yourself, Read People, Influence Situations, Live Fearlessly.
Register for AIHA Connect 2025 The advance registration deadline for AIHA Connect is March 16. For more information, visit the conference website.
Conference Committees Seek Applicants AIHA is now accepting applications for positions on the Continuing Education Committee (CEC) and the Conference Program Committee (CPC).
The CEC’s mission is to ensure the highest possible quality for AIHA training programs and educational opportunities for professionals in occupational and environmental health and safety. The CEC provides one of the levels of technical peer review of AIHA’s professional development courses, or PDCs. CEC members are also asked to audit new educational offerings.
The CPC is responsible for selecting education sessions for AIHA Connect. Its goals include developing an innovative program for AIHA Connect that meets the educational needs of the profession and long-range planning for continuous improvement of the technical quality of the annual conference. The committee is intended to be representative of the AIHA membership and the AIHA Connect audience.
Applications are due March 12 for the CEC and March 21 for the CPC. For more information, visit the AIHA website.
New White Paper: Wearable Physiological Monitoring to Assess Heat Strain A white paper recently posted to the AIHA website educates OEHS professionals on the benefits and limitations of using wearable monitors to assess physiological strain in response to heat stress. The white paper notes that as extreme temperatures continue to rise, heat-related illnesses and fatalities are occurring at alarming rates despite the efforts of employers to manage heat hazards.
The white paper discusses the physiological effects of working in the heat; variables to consider when evaluating physiological heat strain, safety outcomes, and behavioral changes; the benefits and limitations of using wearable monitors to assess physiological strain in response to heat stress; and how to build an effective assessment team to help with data integration and interpretation.
Examining physiological measures using wearable monitoring systems can address the intra- and inter-individual variability among workers’ responses to the same heat load, the paper notes. Important variables to consider when assessing heat strain using wearable technology include core body temperature, heart rate, and physiological strain index.
The white paper “Wearable Physiological Monitoring to Assess Heat Strain in Response to Heat Exposure” is available as a PDF. To read more about issues related to wearable monitors and heat, read “Wearable Wisdom: The Promise and Challenge of Wearable Sensors for Heat Stress Management” in the April 2023 issue of The Synergist.
AIHA Comments on NIOSH Wildfire Smoke Exposure Document AIHA has delivered comments to NIOSH regarding the agency’s draft hazard review of wildland fire smoke exposure among farmworkers and other outdoor workers. The draft document presents the scientific rationale and current methodology regarding assessment and control of these hazards. In addition to farm workers, the document is intended to present evidence-based recommendations for protecting construction workers, oil and gas workers, park rangers, emergency responders, and others from the adverse health effects of occupational exposure to wildland fire smoke.
AIHA’s comments recommend that NIOSH include an explanation in the draft document of how available data about wildland firefighters and ambient air pollution can be used for farm workers. AIHA also asks NIOSH to discuss the limitations of using this data and to consider adding information about dioxin formation during low-temperature combustion.
In response to a question from NIOSH about exposure assessment methods for wildland fire smoke, AIHA states that if the agency plans to recommend exposure limits based on PM2.5, it should develop a validated PM2.5 personal sampling method. AIHA also asks that the NIOSH document address changes in the toxic constituents of smoke as temperatures cool.
To read AIHA’s comments, download the PDF from the AIHA website. The draft NIOSH document is available from the NIOSH website.
Prevention through Design Award Nominations The Prevention through Design (PtD) Award is distributed through a partnership among AIHA, NIOSH, the American Society of Safety Professionals, and the National Safety Council. The PtD Award recognizes individuals, teams, businesses, and other organizations that have eliminated or reduced hazards through design or redesign efforts or have contributed to the body of knowledge that enables PtD solutions. Nominations for the 2025 PtD Award are due March 3. Learn more on the NIOSH website.
Discounts Available for ACGIH TSCA Webinar Series AIHA members can access ACGIH webinars on EPA’s risk evaluations under the Toxic Substances Control Act for the same price as ACGIH subscribers. The series includes five on-demand webinars. To claim the discount, visit the ACGIH store and use the code AIHATSCA at checkout. The offer is available through March 14.
In Memoriam Colleen McCarthy, a former president of the Arizona Local Section, passed away Dec. 28, 2024, at the age of 70. She earned a Bachelor of Applied Science in microbiology from the University of Arizona and a Master of Arts in public health from the University of Utah College of Health. McCarthy worked as manager of the Phoenix office of Industrial Hygiene International for many years. She also worked as an adjunct professor at Gateway Community College where she taught classes in industrial hygiene. Read more about McCarthy in The Arizona Republic.
Browse the Vendor Directory AIHA's Vendor Directory for OEHS Professionals is the most comprehensive publication for sourcing industrial hygiene, safety, and environmental products and services. Visit the online Vendor Directory to search by product, company name, or industry.
Dates and Deadlines
Feb. 7–28 AIHA’s Board of Directors election. Voting instructions were emailed in late January. See the AIHA Candidates’ Forum for more information on the candidates.
Feb. 19 AIHA University Webinar: Innovative Modeling with IHMOD 2.0 and Monte Carlo Simulation Techniques.
March 3 Deadline to submit Prevention through Design Award nominations.
March 12 Applications due for the Continuing Education Committee.
March 12 Proposal deadline for AIHA Connect 2025 student posters and student presentations.
March 16 Advance registration deadline for AIHA Connect 2025.
March 21 Applications due for the Conference Program Committee.