Mr. Herron has over 13 years of experience as a practicing Ergonomist and Safety Professional. He has worked in a wide range of industries including healthcare, automotive, aerospace, as well as research and development. He is currently the Lead Safety Engineer for the Mechanical Engineering Division at Southwest Research Institute. Mr. Herron has expertise in building, managing, and auditing OHS management systems, applying occupational safety engineering, ergonomics/human factors, and industrial engineering principles to solve complex safety issues. Mr. Herron holds a Master of Science degree in Occupational Safety Engineering and Ergonomics from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from the University of West Georgia. Additionally, he is currently pursuing his MBA at Texas A&M University – Commerce. Furthermore, he is a Licensed Professional Engineer (PE) in Texas, and he has earned the designations and certifications of Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE), and Certified Safety and Health Official (CSHO) in both General Industry and Construction. Additionally, Mr. Herron is an Ambassador for the Board of Certified Safety Professionals in which he talks with various groups about Professional Safety Designations and Certifications. Mr. Herron is also a volunteer leader for the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), where he serves a Regional Vice President. In this role, he oversees 13 Chapters and 12 Student Sections within Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.
As an ASSP Leader, it is my vision to develop and improve systems and facilitate processes in order to foster better communication and sharing best practices amongst our Regions, and Society as a whole; in order to provide our members with the technical knowledge, skills, and insights needed to become successful Safety Professionals in their own organizations and to advance the safety profession. I want to serve as the Vice President for the Council on Regional Affairs, because I believe that in this role, I can have the greatest impact on improving the Regional Operations in order to add value to our member's experience. Some of the areas that I would like to strengthen and/or enhance: - Promote and foster better cross-collaboration amongst our Chapter’s Leadership Roles in order to share lessons learned and best practices (i.e., Communications chairs should be sharing marketing tips for posting information on social media.) - Utilize Society Resources to increase communications throughout the Regions (i.e., Society Calendar of Events, etc.) - Digitize our Region’s Awards and Honors Applications (e.g., Region SPY) to streamline the nomination process - Bolster current Student Sections and establish new Student Sections to create a leadership pipeline for our Chapters, Regions, and our Profession If I am elected Vice President of CoRA, I will leverage my professional network within Society and the profession, as well as use my leadership experience to provide guidance, support, and direction to our Regional Leaders to plan, develop, and implement processes and procedures that will enhance the value of our Member’s experience and enable them to become better Safety Professionals!