Madison Sehn, CSP, Recipient of Dotson Emerging Professionals Award

BCSP and Kyle B. Dotson, CSP, CIH, BCEE, founder of Dotson Group, LLC, an EHS Safety Services organization, are pleased to announce the 2025 recipient of the Dotson Emerging Professionals Award—a monetary grant that seeks to recognize and encourage early career professionals who have displayed excellence and leadership in the EHS profession.. 

Madison Sehn, CSP, OHST, is a dynamic safety professional working full-time in the chemical industry and part-time as a firefighter and emergency medical technician (EMT). She is passionately working to improve the health and safety initiatives within the industry and for first responders, and she plans to focus her doctoral dissertation on research related to the health, safety, and mental wellness of first responders. 

In her former position, Sehn formed a county-wide first responder wellness committee designed to create health, safety, and overall wellness resources and spaces for first responders. She also volunteers for the Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) team in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, which mobilizes peer support and counseling groups for law enforcement, EMS, and firefighters following dangerous or fatal events. 

"Growing up in emergency services, I quickly identified the need for increased mental wellness, health, and safety initiatives for first responders," said Sehn. "We must support the wellness of our community's helpers in order to improve the system as a whole, retain first responders and volunteers, and see improved health and safety outcomes."

With this award, Sehn hopes to create a fixed, sustainable health and safety program at the county or state level for first responders—a venture she plans to incorporate into her upcoming doctoral dissertation. In addition to her pursuit of a DrPH in Epidemiology, Sehn holds Public Health and Infection Prevention degrees from the University of South Florida and a Master of Public Health from Drexel University. She holds the Certified Safety Professional (CSP) and the Occupational Hygiene and Safety Technician (OHST) from BCSP. Additionally, she holds credentials from the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), the United States Lifesaving Association, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. 

In addition to receiving the monetary award, Sehn will be recognized at the biennial BCSP Research & Innovation Summit in 2025 and at the 2026 BCSP Awards of Excellence Ceremony. BCSP and Kyle Dotson are proud to present this award to an exceptional individual whose tireless work to advance the mental and physical wellbeing of first responders truly reflects the passion, dedication, and spirit this award was created to honor.