Keynote Speaker: Steve Donahue
8:30 a.m. Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Sahara Desert adventurer, author, drummer, and storyteller Steve Donahue is a one person “tour de force.” He combines fast-paced humor with heart-stopping tales from his desert odyssey. He’s an expert at making people laugh while they learn. But he can move an audience with a touching story as well. A superb storyteller, he shares wisdom as old as humanity and is never more relevant than today. Steve’s book, “Shifting Sands: A Guidebook for Crossing the Deserts of Change” (Berrett-Koehler May 2004), is based on his harrowing journey across the Sahara. Shifting Sands outlines six “Rules of Desert Travel” to guide audiences through deserts of life and change. Soulful yet practical, it presents the desert as a metaphorical place of change, often debunking the popular mountain-climbing metaphor that focuses on goal setting and achievement over the journey itself. Steve has been a professional speaker since 1988. In 1994, Sharing Ideas Magazine named him a “Consummate Speaker of the Year,” along with Margaret Thatcher and author Tom Wolfe.
HealthCare Ergonomics Conference Keynote Speaker: William S. Marras, Ph.D., CPE
8:30 a.m.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
A national leader in the study of low back pain, William S. Marras, Ph.D., CPE, is a professor at the Ohio State University and holds the Honda Endowed Chair in the Department of Integrated Systems Engineering. He also is the director of the Biodynamics Laboratory and the Center for Occupational Health in Automobile Manufacturing and Executive Director of the Institute for Ergonomics. Marras will present “What We Know About Risk to the Low Back Due to Occupational Exposure and Patient Handling in Particular,” which will cover the current thinking about pathways to low back pain, specifically occupational-related low back pain. The presentation will pay particular attention to work performed in the laboratory that assess how patient handling tasks can lead to spine loads and how these risks can be effectively mediated. Marras’s findings have been published in over 185 peer-reviewed journal articles and numerous books and book chapters. He is a two-time winner (1993 and 2002) of the prestigious Swedish Volvo Award for Low Back Pain. He is also a fellow in numerous professional societies and currently serves as the Chair of the Committee on Human Systems Integration at the National Research Council (National Academy of Sciences).
Executive Summit
1:30 p.m.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
A one-hour moderated panel discussion featuring input from four Northwest business leaders on how they have successfully incorporated safety, health, and the environment into their business and human relations models. Senior management shares their perspective on the importance of safety, health, and the environment within their organizations and community and their expectations of the safety and health function in leadership, management, and the bottom line.
Sarah M. Heiner, plant manager
GE Security, Tualatin and Salem, Ore.
Sarah Heiner is currently a plant manager for the GE Security Tualatin and Salem operations. In April 2006, the Tualatin operation achieved VPP status and was the 10th business in Oregon to receive this award. Heiner earned a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering from Arizona State University. Before joining GE Security three years ago, Sarah worked for IBM, Intel, Sanmina-SCI, and Merix in various manufacturing, engineering, and materials management roles. Heiner is certified in lean manufacturing from ASU’s Center for Professional Development, and has been trained in several safety and environmental programs (DuPont, GE).
Daniel E. Johnson, vice president operations
Skanska USA, Beaverton
Daniel Johnson has worked in construction for 28 years and financed college by working in the carpentry trade. A graduate of the University of Washington, Johnson earned a Bachelor of Science in construction management and has been with Skanska for the past 18 years. Skanska is an industry leader in “injury-free work,” a grass roots effort led by Johnson.
Jenette E. Ramos, general manager
Boeing Portland
A business unit of Boeing Fabrication for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, Portland Jenette Ramos is general manager of Boeing Portland, a business unit of Boeing Fabrication for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The Gresham, Ore., operation employs about 1,675 people and serves as the manufacturing area of excellence for complex machining, gear systems, and pilot controls for all Boeing commercial airplane programs, including the 737, 747, 757, 767, 777, and the 787 Dreamliner. She is also the Boeing enterprise leader for the Machining Process Action Team (MPAT) leading process excellence, advancing manufacturing technology, and sharing best practices with industry partners.
Glenn Schulze, PMP, construction project management
Intel Corporation, Hillsboro
Glenn Schulze is a construction project manager with Intel Corporation. Schulze has 26 years of high tech semi conductor experience. He started his career at Intel with an associate degree in electronic engineering from Portland Community College and a Bachelor of Science in business and management from Marylhurst University. Schulze serves as the president of the Greater Portland Construction Partnership board of directors. Schulze is a Project Manager Professional (PMP) and asbestos inspector.
