Real Leadership Stories From
Real Safety Professionals
My Big Safety Challenge- Sammy Davis, Papa Johns
To begin the season, we sit down with Sammy Davis, PhD, CSP, Gr.IOSH—Vice President of Safety & Security at Papa John’s International. Like many safety professionals, Sammy’s path to safety wasn’t a straight line. Originally setting out to become a trauma surgeon before working as a paramedic and eventually in the construction industry, Sammy received a letter from I...
My Big Safety Challenge- Michael Langston, Clean Earth
For Michael Langston, Vice President of ES&H at Clean Earth, safety boils down to one simple premise: Make sure the employees know the rules. Make sure the rules make sense. Make sure they’re applicable.
It seems easy enough, but as Michael quickly discovered as a young Industrial Hygienist at a steel factory, updating policies and procedures designed to protect the worker i...
My Big Safety Challenge- Sandra Merritt, Moog
Would a workplace tragedy fundamentally alter your perspective on your career? For Sandra Merritt, CSP, ASP, a workplace fatality became a pivotal moment that redefined her career—and her purpose.
In this episode of My Big Safety Challenge, Sandra recounts how the loss of a colleague, which left a four-year-old child fatherless, stirred her to shift her career from environmental...
My Big Safety Challenge- Autumn Crum, Xylem
For most people, witnessing a chemical spill would be a harrowing experience—but for others, it ignites a passion. We tend to call those people safety professionals. Autumn Crum is one such person who, after witnessing a lab spill while shadowing a safety professional at West Virginia University, instantly knew she had found her calling. The intricacies of managing risk and protecting peo...
My Big Safety Challenge- Michelle Gladieux, Gladieux Consulting
Communication. Its importance is a common theme in the safety industry, but how to properly communicate eludes so many of us—on and off the job. Michelle Gladieux is here to fix that. Founder of Gladieux Consulting and author of Communicate with Courage, Michelle is the go-to communication expert for everyone from NFL players to C-suite executives who want to improve how they communicate....
My Big Safety Challenge- Andrew Wehr, T. Marzetti
What does it take to thrive across industries as diverse as healthcare, automotive, and food service? For Andrew Wehr, CSP, it’s all about building—whether it’s safety departments, cultures, or relationships. In this episode of My Big Safety Challenge, A...
My Big Safety Challenge- Becky Hickman, RoSPA
On this episode of My Big Safety Challenge, we are thrilled to welcome our first international guest—Becky Hickman. Becky serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA)—one of the United Kingdom’s oldest charity organizations dedicated to safeguarding lives and preventing serious injuries both on and off the job.
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My Big Safety Challenge- John Fischer, Duke Energy
Like many safety professionals, John Fischer, CSP, sort of fell into the field. When first approached about a safety role and asked about lockout/tagout (LOTO), he wondered what the lottery had to do with safety.
Now, 25 years later, John is the Director of Environmental Strategy and Corporate EHS at the Duke Energy Corporation. John has spent those 25 years between consulting and the...
My Big Safety Challenge Bonus Episode- One Year of Safety Leadership Lessons
Join Merle Heckman, Master Trainer at Dale Carnegie, and all three guest hosts from seasons one, two, and three of the “My Big Safety Challenge” podcast. The team will talk through some of the inspiring guests and stories covered through the podcast. You'll walk away from this episode with valuable leadership and influence lessons that you can implement in your daily work.
My Big Safety Challenge- Keith Mercurio, Ethical Influence Global, Part 2
Have you ever thought about how well you listen to others?
Keith Mercurio is back for the second part of episode eight of My Big Safety Challenge, where he reveals how something as simple as being a generous listener can have a profound effect on how we perceive and how we are perceived.
Keith illustrates this through his father, an English teacher of 35 years, detailing how...