Real Leadership Stories From
Real Safety Professionals
My Big Safety Challenge- John Whalen, Microsoft
John Whalen, CSP, AMERS Regional EHS Assessment Manager at Microsoft, shares his journey from volunteer firefighter to safety professional—and how those early experiences shaped his people-centered approach to safety. In this episode of My B...
My Big Safety Challenge- Jim Frederick, Nexus HSE
With more than 30 years in health and safety, Jim Frederick of Nexus HSE has worked across industry and spent four years with OSHA, giving him a unique perspective on the shared responsibility of protecting workers. In this episode of My Big Safety Challenge, he discusses some of the most difficult situations safety professionals face, including workplace fatalities and serious in...
My Big Safety Challenge- Ty Farmer, Dycom Industries, Inc.
Ty Farmer, senior director of Corporate Safety at Dycom Industries, Inc. could have let being placed on a performance improvement plan (PIP) early in his career derail him completely. Instead, he turned a difficult moment into a powerful learning experience and an opportunity for growth.
Ty’s military background led him to his first role at General Electric (GE), where he...
My Big Safety Challenge- Matthew Compher, Quanta Services
From an Ohio farm to protecting tens of thousands of lives—this is safety leadership at its realest. In this episode of My Big Safety Challenge, Matthew Compher shares the hard-earned lessons that shaped his career, from steel mills and utilities to leading safety across high-risk industries. He challenges traditional safety thinking, introduces his “capacity model,” and expla...
My Big Safety Challenge- Wendy Brant, Dekra
From a landfill site in rural Vermont to helping protect more than 2 million employees at Walmart, Wendy Brant’s safety journey is any...
My Big Safety Challenge- Anthony Dohmann, OccuMedX Group, Inc.
Anthony Dohmann joins My Big Safety Challenge to share his unexpected journey into the safety profession and the experiences that shaped his leadership style. He discusses early career challenges, the shift from authority to influence, and how mentorship and relationships became central to his approach to safety.
My Big Safety Challenge- Shannon Overland, Dekra
Season 6 kicks off with hosts Merle Heckman and Shelly Baber as they talk with Shannon Overland, a seasoned safety leader whose journey began in the rugged forests of Western Canada. What started as a college job in tree planting evolved into co-owning a contracting company—and ultimately discovering what real safety leadersh...
My Big Safety Challenge- David Musgrave, Dekra
This week on My Big Safety Challenge, we sit down with David Musgrave. With a background in psychology, specifically in autism spectrum disorder and neurodiversity, David brings a human-centered lens to the safety world. Now serving as the Senior Vice President of DEKRA North America, he helps companies move beyond outdated thinking and platitudes to create lasting cultu...
My Big Safety Challenge- Shelley Baber, Eaton
Shelley Baber, CSP, began her career chasing perfection. She wanted to make an immediate impact and thought that if something wasn’t perfect, it wasn’t right. But after 25 years in the field, now serving as EHS Director for Eaton’s Electrical Engineering Services and Systems Division, she’s learned that real progress is made through bab...
My Big Safety Challenge- Heather MacDougall, Lawyer / Advisory Board Member, Trio Mobil
Heather MacDougall, a lawyer and advisory board member, was in Washington, D.C., when an offer to join the National Labor Relations Board under the Bush Administration changed her career trajectory forever.
A lawyer? On a safety and leadership podcast? It makes perfect sense, just trust us.
While she didn’t get that position, she did shortly thereafter become the...