The 50 Most Influential EHS Leaders

Joseph A. (Joe) Main was nominated by President Obama as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health (MSHA) and confirmed by the Senate on Oct. 21, 2009. He is an internationally recognized expert in mine health and safety issues. For more than 40 years, he has worked to improve every aspect of miner health and safety, both in the United States and internationally. He spent most of his career with the United Mine Workers of America, eventually managing the international health and safety program of the UMWA. He faces a tough tenure, following the Big Branch South Mine disaster in April, which claimed the lives of 29 miners.

Hilda L. Solis was confirmed as Secretary of Labor on Feb. 24, 2009. Prior to confirmation as secretary, Solis represented the 32nd Congressional District in California, a position she held from 2001-2009. Under her watch, OSHA and DOL have increased pressure on employers with high injury rates, focused more attention on the safety of Hispanic workers, pushed an ambitious regulatory agenda and proposed new regulations, such as a proposed rule for Injury and Illness Prevention Programs. Meanwhile, MSHA has undertaken an inspection blitz of mines with high incident rates.

Ray LaHood, confirmed by the Senate as Secretary of Transportation on Jan. 23, 2009, has proposed a federal rule in an attempt to specifically prohibit texting by interstate commercial truck and bus drivers. Under his leadership, the U.S. Department of Transportation has launched pilot programs in Hartford, Conn., and Syracuse, N.Y., to test whether increased law enforcement efforts can get distracted drivers to put down their cell phones and focus on the road.

John Bresland is president and CEO of the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB). During Bresland's tenure, the board has expanded its investigation capability and has conducted important safety investigations of the dust explosion at Imperial Sugar, the natural gas explosion at ConAgra, the reactive chemical disaster at T2 Laboratories and the fire and explosion at the Tesoro refinery in Anacortes, Washington. With Bresland at the helm, CSB realized its greatest success in implementing recommendations; for example, with the Labor Department's recent commitment to develop a new comprehensive combustible dust standard for general industry.

THE GURUS

Dr. Thomas Krause is chairman of the board for BST, a consulting firm specializing in comprehensive safety solutions he founded BST in 1979. He is actively involved in leadership coaching and has authored several books and articles on safety and leadership. He is known as one of the founders of the behavioral safety movement.

Dr. E. Scott Geller is a founding partner and co-owner of Safety Performance Solutions and alumni distinguished professor at Virginia Tech and director of the Center for Applied Behavior Systems in the Department of Psychology. He has authored more than 300 research articles and over 50 books or chapters addressing the development and evaluation of behavior-change interventions to improve quality of life.

Dr. Richard D. Fulwiler, CIH, CSHM, is president of Cincinnati-based Technology Leadership Associates, a consulting firm specializing in increasing individual effectiveness and building organizational capability in the health, safety and environmental arena. He previously spent 28 years working with Procter & Gamble, where he retired as the company's director of health and safety worldwide. He is adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and course director for the Leadership and Management Course at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Terry Mathis, an internationally recognized expert in the application of safety culture and behavior-based safety strategies, founded ProAct Safety in 1993. Before founding ProAct, he was a director of training for Coca-Cola, where he developed several new innovative approaches to safety, and worked for two of the major safety consulting companies. Mathis is a veteran of over 700 safety improvement projects in 18 countries and 12 languages, has spoken at the American Society of Safety Engineers' annual conference, regional conferences and Seminar Fest, Industry Week's Best Plants Conference various other safety and training functions.

Frank White is senior vice president of ORC Worldwide, an international human resources firm that delivers customized consulting, networking and data resources to organizations around the world. White practiced law prior to joining ORC, representing industry clients in major federal and state occupational safety and health litigation and rulemaking proceedings. He also held several senior management positions in the U.S. Department of Labor, including the position of Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, where he was responsible for managing OSHA's activities in the development of safety and health standards and the implementation of enforcement policy.