23rd Annual
Greater St. Louis
Safety and Health
Conference
PRESENTERS
Brandon Anderson, Vice President of Safety at AGC of Missouri will present "Legacy Leadership, who holds the Key to Unlocking Legacy? " Brandon Anderson, Vice President of Safety at AGC of Missouri; has 27 years of experience in construction holding various positions from leadership to senior safety and senior employee development specialist. Mr. Anderson is a lifelong construction safety professional/advocate with a focus on total worker wellbeing; Mental Health, Suicide and Substance Misuse in construction. His passion and personal experience runs deep; his impact is recognized throughout the Midwest and Nationally.
Chris Archer, Partner, Archer & Lassa LLC is a panelist on “Turning up the Heat: Today's Hottest Challenges."
Chris is a principle of Archer & Lassa LLC. He has defended Missouri employers for 35 years in the field of workers’ compensation.
He is an editor/author of the Missouri Bar's lawyer desk reference book on Missouri workers' compensation and has been an author of the Missouri Bar's monthly “Courts and CLE Bulletin” summarizing workers’ compensation cases for attorneys statewide. He is a guest lecturer for St Louis University School of Law.
He has served as an advising attorney for business lobbying groups with the Missouri Legislature and was the recipient of Distinguished Lawyer of the Year Award in 2012 as voted by Kids’ Chance of Missouri and Bar Association of Metropolitan St Louis.
Mark Bagby, MS, CEM, President, Emergency Planning Solutions, LLC, will present “Drills, Training & Exercises: Why Are They Necessary as Part of Emergency Planning.” Mark is a nationally recognized and sought out expert in the field of emergency management and mass notification systems after spending 13 years at Washington University in St. Louis leading their emergency management and crisis management programs. He is the President of Emergency Planning Solutions LLC specializing in emergency management, mass notification systems, crisis man-agement, training and exercise design/facilitation.
Mark’s experience as a certified emergency manager, firefighter, a subject matter expert for FEMA and an executive consultant has provided him with invaluable se-curity, crisis management, emergency/mass notification system and emergency management acumen that he has leveraged to drive successful programs for busi-nesses, universities and healthcare systems.
Mark is a subject matter expert for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) both as a reviewer of training content and course delivery of their Multi-Hazard Emergency Management for Higher Ed course, Emergency Management Academy, Emergency Planning for Campus Executives and Integrated Emergency Management Courses.
Mark holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M University and a Master’s in Biosecurity & Disaster Preparedness from Saint Louis University. He is a Certified Emergency Manager with the International Association of Emergency Managers and the States of IL & MO.
Dan Bembower,CSP, ARM, CPCU, CFPS, Risk Control Consultant, USI Insurance Services will be a panelist on “Turning up the Heat: Today's Hottest Challenges." Dan provides clients with safety management guidance such as safety program assessments, site audits, training assistance, program development, and accident investigations. He manages the relationship with carrier personnel to support client safety efforts and reduce their cost of insurance.
Dan joined USI in 2011 and has more than 10 years of risk management consulting experience with business owners, directors, safety directors, and front line managers. Dan earned his Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering from the University of Missouri – Columbia.
Larry Berry, President, Dangergone, will provide a Machine Guarding Presentation.
Shae Birkey, MS, CSP, Safety Leadership Adviser, Caterpillar will
co-present “The Components of a Resilient Safety Culture: From Theory to Practice."
Shae Birkey, MS, CSP is a Safety Leadership Adviser, speaker, and culture strategist with more than 21 years of experience helping organizations reduce risk while building stronger teams. Drawing on experience from frontline operations to corporate leadership roles at Caterpillar, Shae works with leaders across construction, manufacturing, mining, and transportation industries to strengthen employee engagement, improve leadership effectiveness, and create sustainable safety cultures.
A passionate advocate for people-centered leadership, Shae is known for delivering practical insights, relatable stories, and actionable strategies that help leaders earn trust, inspire ownership, and improve organizational performance. His expertise includes safety leadership, safety culture, employee engagement, serious injury and fatality prevention, human behavior, and sustainability.
When he's not working with organizations, Shae enjoys serving as a youth baseball coach, spending time with his family, and pursuing his passion for outdoor recreation and conservation. His mission is to leave a legacy of care—for people, communities, and the planet.
David Callies, CSP, CHST Safety & Technology Director, Kelpe Contracting, inc. CMSP, Safety and Training Consultant is a panelist on “Fleet Safety.” David Callies is a safety professional, coffee enthusiast, and unofficial ambassador of common sense. Known for translating regulations into practical solutions, David helps teams improve hazard recognition, jobsite culture, and risk management while keeping safety engaging and relatable. When not walking jobsites or reviewing safety plans, David enjoys coffee, organizing things by level of risk, and reminding everyone to wear their PPE.
Tony Coco, Owner, Archview Services will demo "Confined Space Entry."
Todd Cook, Vice President of Risk & Safety, Guarantee Electrical Company, joins us as a panelist on “Turning up the Heat: Today's Hottest Challenges.” Todd leads safety, risk management, fleet, and claims strategies across complex construction operations. With more than 20 years of experience in occupational health and safety, Todd is passionate about helping organizations build strong safety cultures that protect people and drive performance.
Known for blending practical field experience with strategic leadership, Todd focuses on turning safety from a requirement into a business advantage. Todd enjoys sharing real-world lessons learned, innovative risk management approaches, and the occasional reminder that the best safety metric is everyone going home with the same number of fingers they arrived with!
AJ Gajdosik, Senior Loss Control Representative, Acuity Insurance, present "Excavation Safety Fundamentals and will moderate the "Fleet Safety" panel. Born and raised in St. Louis, MO, after graduating from Central Missouri State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Safety Management. Currently he serves as a consultant for Nationwide Insurance in the Loss Control Technical Organization which supports the field Loss Control professionals serving Nationwide’s members. AJ has earned a certificate in Human Performance Improvement through the American Society for Training and Development. He has also earned the Certified Safety Professional (CSP) designation conferred by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals and the Associate in Risk Management (ARM) designation with Public Entity (-P) certification from the Insurance Institute of America. AJ teaches a variety of OSHA Training Institute courses. He is an OSHA Authorized Construction and General Industry Outreach Trainer. He is an active member of the St. Louis Chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers serving on the executive board
Jill Guetersloh, EHS & Compliance Manager, Haleon, Inc. will join us as a panelist on "Turning Up the Heat: Today's Hottest Chalenges."
Throughout her career, Jill has held key leadership roles, including serving as Safety Manager for Amoco and Anheuser-Busch, where she developed and implemented comprehensive safety programs, led compliance initiatives, and fostered strong cultures of employee engagement and risk prevention. Her work focused on protecting employees, ensuring regulatory compliance, and driving continuous improvement across complex operations.
Today, Jill serves as EHS & Compliance Manager for Haleon, a global consumer health company. In this role, she leads environmental, health, safety, and compliance efforts that support safe operations, employee well-being, and sustainable business practices. She is recognized for her collaborative leadership style, practical problem-solving abilities, and commitment to creating safer workplaces while supporting organizational performance and growth.
With decades of experience and a passion for protecting people and the environment, Jill continues to be a trusted leader and advocate for excellence in environmental, health, safety, and compliance management.
Michelle Hamilton, AI Adoption anc Change Management, AnswerRocket will present "Learning AI Safely."
Russell Hinds, President /CEO of Mid-America Safety & Environmental will co-present "Lockout/Tagout: Managing Hazardous Energy Safely." Since 2019, Russell Hinds has been Mid-America Safety & Environmental’s President and CEO. Russ brings an experienced management perspective to our operations, leading our development of safety programs for businesses of all sizes and industries. Russ has over 20 years of experience in the Safety Industry with extensive experience in Manufacturing, Warehousing, and Construction. With over 250 active clients across 25 states, safety management and OSHA compliance are his areas of expertise. His experience with large group training and teamwork enhancement techniques allow him to build better programs to support your business. In his spare time, Russell enjoys golfing and travelling with his wife.
Scott Honer, Senior Loss Representative, One Digital Insurance, will join the Panel on "Fleet Safety." Scott is a Sr. Loss Control Representative with OneDigital in the St. Louis, Missouri location. Scott has over 25 years of Safety and Loss Control industry experience and has been with OneDigital since 2023.
Scott, has over 25 years in Construction, General Industry to include Insurance Loss Control experience. He has been intricate in lowering Accident & Injury Rates, Experience Modification and OSHA, MSHA & EPA citations.
Scott is an active member of the St. Louis Chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers serving on the executive board as President in 2013 and 2014. In 2013, Scott was named Safety Professional of the Year, by St. Louis ASSE Chapter.
Jen Horstmann, Safety Director, Schnucks Markets Inc. will join the panel discussion “How to Grow a Safety Manager.” Jen Horstmann is the Safety Director at Schnucks, where she’s been for over 20 years. Jen grew up in the Schnucks company and brings an incredible wealth of knowledge to the organization and to the safety field. Faced with unique challenges in retail grocery, she manages all aspects of Safety in stores, warehousing, bakery plant manufacturing, and logistics and distribution, including fleet safety and management. Jen is an incredibly passionate individual, leading the retail safety industry by storm! Jen’s priority is for teammates to go home from work in the same manner they arrived.
Jen has a very unique background in marketing and safety, and an MBA, making her incredibly poised to lead a productive and successful safety team. Jen serves in various professional organizations and leads several committees within these, including ASSP and FMI. Jen is from St. Louis, went to Kirkwood High School, has a bachelor's degree from Missouri State University, and an MBA. She loves spending time with family and friends, and absolutely loves dogs. If she could live anywhere, she’d pick the beach or the mountains.
Kasey Kaiser, Vice President of Safety, Security and Crisis Management for Ameren, will be presenting "Creating Safe Workspaces: Confronting Domestic Violence, Stalking, and Harassment.” Executive Director of Crime Victim Center. “Kasey Kaiser brings both lived experience and executive leadership to the intersection of safety and advocacy. As a single mother who has personally navigated the court system, she understands firsthand the emotional and systemic complexities survivors face. Now serving as Executive Director of Crime Victim Center, Kasey leads an organization dedicated to supporting survivors of crime, including domestic violence and sexual assault, through advocacy, counseling, and legal services. Her background in development and operations, combined with deep roots in the St. Louis legal and civic community, gives her a grounded, real-world perspective on why workplace safety policies aren't just good practice. They are essential to keeping survivors employed, supported, and safe.”
Billie A. Kizer, MPH,CSP, Regional Administrator, OSHA, - Kansas City Region will provide an " OSHA Overview." Ms. Kizer leads the Federal OSHA program in the Kansas City Region, covering Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska. She also serves as the Acting Regional Administrator in the Denver region leading Federal operations in Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. Previously, she served as Deputy Regional Administrator for Enforcement Programs in OSHA, Region IV, overseeing Area Directors in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi. She also brings extensive experience in emergency response and recordkeeping.
Ms. Kizer began her career as an OSHA compliance officer, transitioned to a safety manager role in private industry, and later returned to OSHA as a Senior Safety Engineer in the Office of Enforcement Programs. Eventually, she became a Supervisory Safety Engineer and Assistant Regional Administrator in the same office. Billie holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering from Vanderbilt University and a Master of Public Health in Environmental and Occupational Health from Emory University, along with the Certified Safety Professional (CSP) credential.
Mark Kurkowski, Owner, Kurkowski Consulting and Training, LLC, will be presenting "Creating Safe Workspaces: Confronting Domestic Violence, Stalking, and Harassment.” Mark Kurkowski is a retired law enforcement officer with over 33 years of experience and training as a subject matter expert in intimate partner violence, stalking, harassment, and sexual assault. He is the Owner of Kurkowski Consulting and Training, LLC, and provides awareness and prevention workshops on domestic violence, stalking, harassment, and workplace issues. He serves as an instructor with the National Sheriffs Association and is an independent consultant to the Stalking Prevention, Awareness, and Resource Center through Aequitas. He has previously worked with the Stalking Resource Center and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. He is a consultant for the United States Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime-Training and Technical Assistance Center. He appears as a consultant in the episode "Extreme Best Friends" of the Netflix documentary "I Am a Stalker."
Bill McDonald, CSP, OSHA Area Director, St. Louis will participate on our Panel to "Turning Up the Heat: Today's Hottest Challenges." Bill has served with distinction as Area Director in St. Louis Area since 2001. Throughout his career with OSHA, Bill has been tasked to serve on many national and regional task forces and serve in numerous leadership positions Nationwide. He has earned many leadership honors locally, regionally and nationally to include the Department of Labor’s National Leadership Award. He has also been fortunate to see his office earn the Area Office of the Year on two separate occasions. Bill has also been recognized for his work in promoting private/public partnerships in the reduction of injuries, illnesses, and fatalities by the National Home Builders Association. Bill was privileged to serve in the US Air Force and has also earned the distinction of Certified Safety Professional (CSP ). Bill loves to hunt and fish as well as cheer on his favorite sports teams. He is proud husband and father to seven children and two grandchildren.
Domini Montgomery, Safety Director, Saint Louis Zoo will moderate "How to Grow A Safety Manager" and "Turning Up the Heat: Today's Hottest Challenges.” Domini Montgomery is the Director of Safety & Risk Management for the Saint Louis Zoo, where she’s been since June of 2015. In this role, she manages all aspects of the Safety & Risk Management Department, as well as the First Aid Station. Domini works with all departments on training and record keeping, compliance, and maintains written policies and procedures. She is passionate about creating safe and enjoyable experiences for everyone; she works with both staff and guests every day and is focused on keeping safety a top priority and ensuring everyone goes home no worse for wear than when they arrived.
Domini has a background in biology, public health, and safety from which to draw experience, and has focused the last 9 years on guest and staff safety, disaster preparedness, biosecurity, and environmental health. 2020 brought with it new challenges for everyone, but an amazing Safety & Risk Management team and excellent dedication and commitment to safety across the organization meant that there was nothing that couldn’t be conquered!
Julie O'Keefe, Partner, Corporate Service Group, Armstrong Teasdale, LLP will particpate on our Panel " Ask the Safety Professional."
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Trey Patterson, Regional Safety Director with McCarthy Holdings, Inc. will co-present “The Components of a Resilient Safety Culture: From Theory to Practice."
Trey helps strengthen safety performance across operations by standardizing procedures, supporting incident response, developing safety talent, and turning field and operational learnings into practical, repeatable guidance.
Trey is committed to building safety cultures that are both rigorous and operationally effective—helping teams identify risk early, learn from incidents, and make safe work a shared responsibility. He holds the Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Construction Health and Safety Technician (CHST), and Occupational Health and Safety Technologist (OHST) credentials.
Dennis Pivin, Senior Health, Safety and Environmental Technical Advisor with Sak Construction,will present "Confined Space Awareness." and Demo "Confined Space Entry."
Dennis has over 30 years of professional experience in safety, health and environmental program development. He is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) and is a member of the Science and Technolgy Task Group for (SIRC), is the Chair of the Health and Safety Committee for NASSCO and is a Subject Matter Expert on Underground Infrastructure with NIOSH. His work has been published in The Jounal of Pipeline Systems, Trenchless Technologies, Underground Infrastructure and the NASSCO Pipeline.
Sheila Schmidt, CSP, ARM, Safety & Risk Services Regional Manager, Missouri Employers Mutual will present "Workers' Compensation & Return-to-Work: From Injury to Recovery." Sheila Schmidt, CSP, ARM, is a safety risk services manager for Missouri Employers Mutual. Specializing in risk management, she has more than 17 years of experience working in insurance. She enjoys worker’s compensation the most. Education, construction, healthcare, transportation and manufacturing are among the industries she has consulted closely with in her career. Working alongside a diverse customer base, Sheila provides control strategies to include foremost, injury prevention, workplace safety and productivity, claims management best practices, safety program recommendations and employee and management training.
Bo Solari, Sales Consultant with Midwestern Safety Equipment will present “Safe at Heights: Essential Fall Protection ABCs with Live Demo.” Bo grew up in the small-town of Sergeant Bluff, IA. After high school, he joined the Iowa Air National Guard in Sioux City, Iowa and went to University of Iowa for his undergraduate degree. During his time with Air National Guard, Bo worked in the Missouri River floods of 2010 and was involved with operations in Kuwait, Japan, Guam, Charleston, SC, and Savanah, GA. He also took a 2-year assignment with Midwest Counterdrug Training Center where he helped train federal, state, county, and local law enforcement officers in counter drug aspects. Bo joined Shur-Sales and Marketing in January of 2016 and became the rep for the state of Iowa and later moved to St Louis, MO to be the representative for Eastern Mo and Southern IL in December 2021. During his time with Shur-Sales and Marketing, Bo represented 3M DBI SALA fall protection as a fall protection specialist in his territory. He is a qualified trainer in fall protection and loves to help customers find the right fall protection solutions for all applications. Bo came to Midwestern Safety Equipment in January of this year to help new and existing customers in all facets of safety and PPE.
Justin Spraul,Commercial Building Inspector and Fire Investigator with the Fenton Fire Protection District will present and demo " Fire Extinguisher Training." Justin spent 25 years as a member of the Boles Fire Protection District with 20 of those years as a career firefighter making it to the rank of Assistant Chief, retiring from fire ground operations in 2023.
Currently He is a member of the Fenton Fire Protection District serving in the fire prevention bureau as a commercial building inspector and fire investigator.
Eric Thiessen, DOT and Compliance Manager with Emery Sapp & Sons will join the panel on "Fleet Safety."
Mike Toledo, Electrical Service Specialist with Guarantee Electrical Company will co-present "Lockout/Tagout: Managing Hazardous Energy Safely."
Matthew Turkovic, Safety Specialist/Technician with Bayer will join the panel "How to Grow A Safety Professional." Matt was in a Sales/Ergonomics role for many years and lost passion for the Sales side and found much more gratification from helping folks work healthier on the Ergonomics side. He decided to transition into a full time Safety role. I reached out to folks in his network, and got some guidance on a path to take and found the first step would be to get an ASP certification from the BCSP. Hecompleted that application process then enrolled in the Bowen EHS prep course and was able to pass the ASP exam on the first try. Shortly after he began sending out resumes and interviewed for several jobs. Through that process he discovered what roles he would be a best fit for and found it would be a Safety Specialist/Technician position so started applying exclusively for those and shortly thereafter interviewed with Bayer and really clicked with all the folks on the panel interview and landed the job! Since starting with Bayer he has grown exponentially by keeping an open mind and trying to assist on projects through all functions including Safety, Sustainability, Health and Environmental. He reports - It’s been all I’ve hoped for and more and the happiest I’ve been as a professional so far!
John Waite, Strategic Account Manager with Arc Safe will present and demo "Engaging and Disengaging Enegy."
Ryan Wehrle, Corporate Safety Director with Tarlton Corporation will join the panel "How to Grow A Safety Manager." Ryan has worked in the construction industry for 25 years, including 13 with Tarlton in roles of progressive responsibility from Safety Engineer and Corporate Safety Manager to his current position as Corporate Safety Director.
Ryan and his team support project teams in safety and risk management, employee training, regulatory compliance and incident investigation. He leads Tarlton’s Safety Committee, which reviews the corporate safety program, program initiatives and procedures and investigates ways to enhance Tarlton’s safety culture. Under Ryan’s leadership, the company has experienced fewer safety incidents, increased awareness of the importance of mental health in the construction industry and enhanced overall workplace safety.
A graduate of the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg, Ryan earned a Bachelor of Science degree in construction management and a minor in occupational safety and health management. He is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) and Construction Health and Safety Technician (CHST) through the Board of Certified Safety Professionals; a Construction Risk Insurance Specialist (CRIS) certified by the International Risk Management Institute; and a Safety Trained Supervisor- Construction (STSC).
Joe Wickenhauser, Safety Excellence with Wieland Rolled Products, North America will join the panel "How to Grow a Safety Manager."
J. Bradley Young, Partner, Harris Young Krayser will be presenting “Investigation Fails: What NOT To Do After a Work Accident." Brad has more than thirty years of experience in all aspects of workers compensation defense. Mr. Young has spoken before corporate organizations and at in-house client seminars for many years, and frequently lectures for nationally known seminar companies on topics relating to workers' compensation claims, employer liability, and third-party administration of claims.
He is a Top Contributor for multiple workers compensation LinkedIn Groups and is a regular columnist for both WorkersCompensation.com and InsuranceThoughtLeadership.com.
Mr. Young is also an on-air legal analyst for local radio station KMOX, Television station KTVI Channel 2, and writes monthly articles for journals and magazines on a wide variety of legal topics.
Brad Ziegler, CSP,SHMM, EMT-B, Environmental, Heath & Safety Manager at St. Louis Community College will present "Rethinking Safety Inspection: Lessons from the Playground." Brad Ziegler is the Environmental, Health, and Safety Manager at St. Louis Community College, where he develops and implements district-wide safety and environmental compliance programs. Brad brings more than two decades of experience spanning safety management, public safety, technical consulting, and education. His background includes service as a firefighter/EMT and fire inspector, along with more than 18 years in safety roles at Six Flags St. Louis.