The Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association (VPPPA) announced on Friday that J.A. Rodriguez Jr., who achieved the Certified Safety Professional (CSP) and Associate Safety Professional (ASP) certifications from the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP), has been elected as the new Chairman of the VPPPA Board of Directors. He replaces Mike Guillory of The Brock Group.
The new Board was announced during the Closing General Session of the annual Safety+ Symposium, presented by VPPPA and the Tennessee Safety & Health Conference at the Gaylord Opryland Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee. The new board consists of Rodriguez; Rob Henson, Vice-Chair; Terry Schulte, Secretary; Chris Adolfson, Treasurer; Jack Griffith, Director from a Site with a Collective Bargaining Agent; Richard McConnell, Director from a Site without a Collective Bargaining Agent; Jamie Robey, Director from a VPP Contractor/Construction Site; Stacy Thursby, Director from a DOE-VPP Site; and Directors-at-Large, Kimberly Watson, Dan Lazorcak, Kristyn Grow, Sean Horne and Alice Tatro. Each board member serves the Association for two (2) years.
Rodriguez has served on the VPPPA Board of Directors as a Director-at-Large for the last seven (7) years. As the Global Senior Leader of Environmental, Health, Safety, and Sustainability (EHSS) for Raytheon Company in Dulles, Virginia, Rodriguez is the leader of an EHSS organization supporting 16,000+ employees at 550+ sites in 100 countries for a 6+ billion-dollar business.
Running on a campaign of “Transforming Tomorrow Together,” Rodriguez felt privileged to be voted in by his peers in the safety and health industry. “In the long history of our Association, only a few people have been granted the responsibility of Chairperson. I am truly honored to serve our members in this regard. Our Association is on the verge of breakthrough growth. We will be in a continuous mode of reinvention as a matter of course, and our focus on demonstrating value, growing our strategic partnerships, enhancing our global presence, and being a resource for safety management system excellence is absolute. We collaboratively bring stakeholders together for the protection of their most valuable resource… their people, our members. Progressive leadership transforms lives. Our Association helps save them.”
BCSP and VPPPA joined as part of a partnership last year and continue to collaborate to improve occupational safety and health at workplaces throughout the United States.