I recently returned from the ASSP Safety 2026 conference, where over 6,000 occupational health and safety professionals gathered for networking, benchmarking, and professional development. It was an incredible week of giving back to the profession and advancing the industry's best practices.
Here are a few highlights from my participation and leadership roles at this year’s event:
Leading the ASSP Consultants Practice Specialty (CPS)
This conference marked the completion of my first year serving as the Administrator for the ASSP Consultants Practice Specialty (CPS) group. It has been a true privilege to lead this talented team of volunteers as their elected Administrator, working together to strengthen safety consulting practices nationwide.
One of my favorite leadership moments of the conference was celebrating our selection of the CPS Safety Professional of the Year. As the leader of the group that chose the winner, it was an honor to personally congratulate him for his outstanding dedication to the profession and to our Practice Specialty.
Co-Facilitating a Standing-Room-Only Industry Roundtable
A major highlight was co-facilitating a packed industry roundtable discussion alongside the Black Safety Professionals (BSP) Common Interest Group.
Our session, "Industry Roundtable: Becoming a Trusted Advisor: Communicating Safety to Non-Safety Leadership" (Session 5058), completely filled the room. We addressed a critical challenge that many safety professionals face: how to better align safety initiatives with broader business leadership goals. We discussed actionable strategies for effectively communicating risk, demonstrating ROI, and gaining executive buy-in by showing how safety and business objectives work hand-in-hand.
Advancing the Profession: CSP Exam Preparation
Ahead of the main event, from Friday through Sunday, I also helped co-teach an intensive preparation course for professionals working to achieve their Certified Safety Professional (CSP) designation.
The CSP is a professional, well-recognized, and highly respected certification. Helping others achieve this milestone is important to me because the designation does so much more than just check a box—it formally recognizes an individual's deep knowledge and experience. Furthermore, it encourages and supports ongoing learning, professionalism, continuous relevance, and strict conformance to ethical requirements in our field.
Whether you need guidance on communicating risk to your executive team, implementing structured occupational health and safety management systems, or bringing a trusted advisor to your facility, Sixth Sense Safety Solutions is here to help. Contact me today to discuss your organization's safety goals.