After a COVID-related interruption last year, we are very excited to announce the return of the annual Summer Boat Cruise for Environmental, Health and Safety Professionals! This social and networking event is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, August 11, 2021 from 2:00 to 5:00 PM. Our cruise host is Paradise Charter Cruises and this year we will cruise beautiful Lake Minnetonka, departing from the Port of Excelsior. There will be beverages, light snacks, and a cash bar. One of the best ways to get back in gear after a pandemic is to spend a summer afternoon networking with other EHS Professionals and taking in the views of Lake Minnetonka.

The cruise is a combined offering for members of the ASSP Northwest Chapter, the Upper Midwest Section of AIHA, the North Star Chapter of AHMP, and the Minnesota Safety Council. We also extended an invitation to our friends at the MN Association of Occupational Health Nurses (MAOHN). Essentially, anyone involved in the world of environmental, health, safety and risk management is invited to attend this event!

We recognize that COVID-19 is not entirely in our rear-view mirror, so we are requesting that participants in this event are vaccinated.

The Northwest Chapter is pleased to announce the results of the Chapter Board Election!

Thank you to everyone who took the time to select the next Northwest Chapter Board Members.

Now, just because you are not on the Board, that does not mean you cannot be involved with the Chapter. We are always looking for members who can work on committees and fill important roles. Let any of the Board members know that you are interested in lending a hand to our Chapter success!

Vice President

Alanna Lee, CSP

Alanna sits on her Hermantown wooded acreage with her husband, two sons and their dogs, listening to the frogs sing and wind blow through the tall pine trees. Her days fly by as Cirrus Aircraft’s Environmental Compliance Specialist, as she has over ten years of hands-on experience in the Environmental Health and Safety Field. Alanna has ensured top notch safety for organizations such as NRRI, North Shore Mining, US Compliance, and Cambria. Alanna received her Masters Degree in Environmental Health and Safety from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 2011, and has successfully obtained her Certified Safety Professional designation in 2018. She currently holds a seat on the MN Safety Council Board representing the Northwest Chapter of ASSP.

Secretary

Jennifer Carlson, CSP

Prior to Jennifer’s 2017 relocation, she served in a variety of roles with the Northwest Chapter of the American Society of Safety Professionals. She has since relocated back to the Northwest Chapter territory and is excited to serve again. Jennifer has worked with 3M for twelve years, holding a variety of leadership and technical positions in manufacturing, research and development and pilot plant operations. She is currently the Health Care Business Group EHS Manager for the United States, Canada and Mexico manufacturing plants.

Member At Large

Jaspreet (Jesse) Narr, MS, CHMM, PMP

Jesse Narr is an EHS leader with proven success in shaping organizational priorities by implementing strategic initiatives that maximize business value through risk management in operations, new product introductions, R&D, facilities, and infrastructure asset management.

Her recent role includes leading the  Health, Safety, and Environmental function for Fortune 100 company manufacturing plants in Minnesota including Business Continuity during the health pandemic.  She has also led organizational culture transformation initiatives by deploying risk management software to multiple locations in North and Central America.  This breadth of responsibility is built on the foundation of influencing, communications, technical competency, relationship building, and talent management in a dynamic environment.

Carol Keyes, CSP

Carol is one of the principals and founders of Complete Health, Environmental & Safety Services, Inc. (CHESS), which has been in business since 1993. CHESS specializes in serving the safety and environmental needs of small business. Carol currently serves on the ASSP Finance Committee, and is Professional Development Chair for the ASSP Consultants Practice Specialty. She is also on the board of MetroIBA, an independent business alliance in the Twin Cities area and serves on the MN Occupational Safety & Health Advisory Council (MN Dept of Labor & Industry). She is a past secretary for the Northwest Chapter.

Fun fact: Carol loves doing almost anything in the air: skydive, hang-gliding, gliders, flying. But, not bungee jumping—that’s crazy.

Paul Gammelgaard, ASP

Paul Gammelgaard is an Associate Safety Professional with a B.S. in Operations Management and is currently employed by US LBM Holdings, LLC as its National Safety Partner. I began my career as a Residential Framing Carpenter and slowly, almost reluctantly at times, developed a passion for safety. While working for Carpentry Contractors Company I transition through several roles ending with Operations Manager. My safety responsibilities included safety program development and implementation, training development and execution, incident investigation, risk assessment, hazard mitigation.  While cultivating my safety skill set I developed a passion for fall protection in the residential segment. In partnership with MN OSHA, I was asked to co-present in a lunch and learn fall protection seminar hosted by the department of labor to address residential exposures and mitigation strategy. 

In 2018 I earned Green Belt Certification from the Wisconsin School of Business Center for Professional development by completing the first of many safety-focused process improvement projects. As the National Safety Partner, I continue to drive loss control activities through practical application of operational safety with Lean tools. Additional responsibilities include managing the corporate safety program, managing partnerships with our  insurance partners, strategically planning and effectuating loss mitigation strategies, managing all OSHA, DOT, and EPA interactions, and managing the enterprise COVID-19 response.

House Delegate

Jeffrey Jarvela, CSP, OHST

Jeff is currently a Corporate Health & Safety Manager for Cleveland-Cliffs Inc., a U.S. iron ore mining and flat-rolled steel production company. He is responsible for providing guidance, support, oversight, and coordination to Cliffs’ five iron ore mines and taconite pellet production facilities in MI and MN. Jeff has been an ASSP Member since 1997 and a Professional Member since 2004. He is
currently serving in the Chapter House of Delegates, and he also serves as the UMD Student Section Liaison for the Northwest Chapter. Jeff has also served his local Chapter in Region V as Vice
President (2009-10) and as President-Elect for a short while before having to resign due to relocating to northern MN for a new opportunity. Jeff has also volunteered at the Society level as the Award & Honors Committee Chair for the Oil, Gas, Mining and Mineral Resources, where he remains an active member. As of July 2021, Jeff will also be joining the Board of Directors for the Minnesota Safety
Council.

Megan Rooney, CSP

Megan Rooney has been a safety and OSHA compliance professional for more than 20 years. She has driven OSHA compliance and injury reduction in Stores and Supply Chain at Target Corporation for the last 9 years and is known for collaboration among cross-functional groups from safety to operations to employee relations. She got her start at IEA, Inc., a local environmental, health and safety consulting organization where she worked in the field as a technician, managed client accounts, and finally led her own division of EHS professionals.

Megan joined ASSE in 2007 as a way to connect with other safety professionals in similar careers. She was Treasurer of the board for 2 years in 2008-2010, served on the PDC planning committee from 2012 to 2017, was a Member at Large 2016-2018, and has been a delegate for several years. She served as Co-Vice President and Co-President of the board of the Parent Teacher Student Organization for her children’s school from 2013-2017 and is currently involved with the Arthritis Foundation as a member of the Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis committee.

Megan lives in Woodbury with her husband of 18 years and her two kids, Taylor age 15 and Liam age 10. She most enjoys spending time with her family at the cabin, watching her kids play soccer, basketball, lacrosse, golf, curl, and downhill ski, and occasionally reading a book for fun. She really enjoys working with the Northwest Chapter and, if elected, is excited to continue in this role!

Once again, we are kicking off our season of Chapter Meetings with our annual OSHA update!

Mark your calendars for Tuesday, September 21, 2021 starting at 11:30 am.

This is a different date than our typical meeting time so as to not conflict with the ASSP Safety 21 in Austin Texas.

We will be having OSHA representatives from Minnesota and Federal OSHA.

In February of 2021, the Northwest Chapter opened the electronic member survey.  Thank you to all of the participants that responded!  These surveys are extremely valuable for the Chapter Board in guiding the approach to the programing year.  Some highlights from this year’s survey:

• More than half of respondents find the PDC and monthly meetings of greatest interest. 

• Members respond that Chapter email communications are sufficient.

• The Chapter website is used most to gain information about the chapter, while social media is not a significant means of getting information to members.

• Reasons for not attending the PDC or chapter meetings include time to travel to the meeting and the topics are not of interest.

• Lunch meetings are preferred within the middle of the week. 

Key takeaways for the board with these results. 

1. The monthly meetings and PDC will remain the priority focus for yearly planning and the board will aim to get a variety of topics. 
2.  As email and chapter website are preferred communication, less focus will be paid to social media accounts.
3. Recognizing that time and travel to meetings may be an impediment to member participation, the board will explore further virtual options as a supplement to in person programming.

Congratulations to Lucy Carlson, Steven Norris, and Kurt Kumlin who won the gift card drawing!See the full Member Survey Results here. 

The Northwest Chapter of the ASSP is pleased to announce that students may now apply for the 2021 Chapter Scholarship program. Multiple scholarships totaling $4000 are available for students pursuing a graduate degree, Master of Science in Risk Control, at University of Wisconsin-Stout, Master of Environmental Health & Safety, at the University of Minnesota-Duluth or Master or Doctorate in Public Health or an Occupational Safety, Health or Environmental field of study at the University of Minnesota.

Click here to download the application form!

Applications must either be postmarked by March 3, 2021 for applications sent by US Mail or be received by email no later than Friday March 5, 2021.

If you have questions, please contact Tim Flint at 763-528-8422 or Scholarship@northwest.assp.org.