2024 BGC Board of Directors
Comprised of 12 Diplomates and one public member, each Diplomate Director serves a four-year term supporting Board duties. The Board also supports the needs of the various AIHA Local Sections. Contact our office to provide feedback or request a presentation or Local Section update.
For more information on joining the BGC Board of Directors, please visit BGC Board of Directors Nomination Process.
Joseph (Joe) Cotier, CPEA, BGC Chair is a Director of The Elm Consulting Group International LLC. Mr. Cotier’s responsibilities have included providing health, safety and environmental compliance and auditing services to a broad range of industrial clients for almost 30 years. During his career, Mr. Cotier has managed and led more than 750 multi-media HSE regulatory compliance and management systems audits at facilities in more than 35 States and more than 50 countries. Mr. Cotier has a B.S. in Engineering from Western New England College and is a CPEA as issued by BEAC which now operates as part of the Board for Global EHS Credentialing (BGC). He served eight years on the Board of Directors of the Auditing Roundtable having held the elected offices of Secretary, Vice President and President. He currently sits on the BEAC Committee having served as Chair-Elect and Chair for five of the previous six years.
Robert (Bob) Skoglund, PhD, DABT, CIH, CPPS, BGC Vice-Chair is the Head of Product Safety and Regulatory Affairs for Covestro LLC, a world-leading manufacturer of high-tech, durable polymer materials. With over 30 years of experience in the EHS field, he has developed a strong background in regulatory and applied toxicology, environmental chemistry, industrial hygiene, and chemical management regulations. Dr. Skoglund serves as an adjunct professor in the Schools of Public Health at the University of Minnesota and Indiana University and has served as an advisor to the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and the National Academy of Science. In addition, he has published a number of peer reviewed abstracts, articles, and book chapters and is active in a number of relevant professional and trade organizations. Dr. Skoglund earned his M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota and is board certified in toxicology and industrial hygiene.
Subena Colligan, CIH, CSP, BGC Past Chair is the Principal Coach and Consultant at S. Colligan Coaching. She is an Air Force Veteran and (Vice-Chair) Director for the Board for Global EHS Credentialing. Subena is a member of the AIHA minority special interest group, Women in IH, and the Total Worker Health Advisory Group. She has dedicated her efforts to the belief that occupational environmental health and safety professionals impact the world by providing safe and healthy environments for people to innovate and thrive in. She has funneled her passion for the profession through leadership and community outreach, well-being, and equity related to occupational health and safety. Her most recent presentations include Mitigating Burnout using Industrial Hygiene Principles. In addition to delivering content in person, she is a blogger at SubenaColligan.com, a blog designed to relate industrial hygiene to daily activities.
Tehzin Chadwick, MHSc, CRSP, CIH, ROH, is the Senior Vice President of Safety at United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI). In this role, she is responsible for setting the strategic vision and direction for UNFI’s Environmental Health & Safety (EHS), Food Safety & Quality Assurance (FSQA), and Fleet Safety & Compliance programs. She has over 20 years of experience developing safety management systems and leading diverse high performing teams for a wide range of global, public, and private sector organizations. Tehzin previously served as a Board Governor for the Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals (BCRSP). Tehzin holds an MHSc specializing in Occupational and Environmental Health and Safety from the University of Toronto as well as a BSc in Kinesiology from Waterloo University. In addition, she has earned a Certificate in Leadership and Inclusion from Centennial College. In her spare time, Tehzin enjoys volunteering, traveling, and cheering on the Toronto Raptors!
Kelly Fernandes, MSc, CIH is an Occupational Hygienist at Workplace Safety and Prevention Services, a not-for-profit health and safety organization in Ontario, Canada. She has over 15 years of experience as a health and safety professional, providing her expertise in a variety of occupational hygiene projects including airborne exposure assessments, indoor air quality and mold assessments, noise assessments and respiratory fit testing. Kelly has been a speaker for a range of health and safety topics including health and safety concerns in the cannabis industry, personal protective equipment in industrial settings and pandemic response. Kelly was previously a board member for a women’s networking group and is happy to serve her term on the BGC Board of Directors. (Kelly is grateful to live and work as a settler in the territory of the Anishinabewaki, Attiwonderonk (Neutral) and Haudenosaunee First Nations.)
Shawn Gibbs, PhD, MBA, CIH, is Dean of the Texas A&M University School of Public Health. Shawn has over a hundred articles in industrial hygiene and environmental exposure assessment, focusing on disrupting transmission of high consequence infectious diseases. He was a Member of USEPA Board of Scientific Counselors for Homeland Security and the with Southeastern Conference (SEC) Medical Task Force on COVID-19. He was a U.S. Faculty Fulbright Scholar to Egypt and has been PI of three Fulbright Junior Faculty Development Programs (Egypt and Libya). He has received the American Industrial Hygiene Association’s Edward J. Baier Technical Achievement Award, the Board for EHS Credentialing BGC Impact Award, and Southeastern Conference’s Michael L Slive Distinguished Service Award. His research has helped to determine national policies, procedures, and best practices for response to Ebola virus disease, COVID-19, and other high consequence infectious diseases. While with the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit, he actively led and worked on the aeromedical evacuation, ground transportation, and the safety and risk reduction involved in the subsequent treatment of confirmed and under investigation patients with Ebola virus disease in Nebraska and the United States.
Shawn has held roles in organizations, such as National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center, Hispanic Health Disparities Research Center, NIOSH funded Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health, Center for Population and Aging, and Director of Research for the CDC/DHHS funded Nebraska Biocontainment Unit. Shawn is involved in national worker training programs in Hazardous Materials Disaster Preparedness Training and Hazardous Waste Worker Training. He is a national leader in the research, training, and policy related to national and international responses to high consequence infectious diseases, including developing procedures for aeromedical evacuation isolation, waste management, decedent care, and occupational safety and health.
Joseph Muggli, CPEA, is an Associate Vice President with AECOM who partners with global clients to provide support for EHS audits and compliance assessments, general environmental compliance, air quality permitting, and sustainability needs. Joe is the West Region Strategy Leader for AECOM’s Air and Environmental, Health and Safety Practice, driving strategy and growth of his team across 31 states of the Central/Western U.S. His work has included the development, implementation, and assessment of EHS audit programs, policies, and procedures. Joe has performed over 100 audits for numerous industry sectors, including transportation, petroleum, chemical, nuclear power, and general manufacturing, and provided technical reviews of hundreds of EHS audits. He focuses on connecting technical experts across the globe and partnering with diverse teams to solve problems and implement sustainable solutions.
Cynthia Ozobu, CMIOSH, CMSA, COHC, CIH is an Occupational hygienist at Dangote Industries Limited, one of the most diversified business conglomerates in Africa. She has 11+ years of experience as an Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) professional with a core forte in Occupational Hygiene, ISO Management Systems Implementation, and auditing, OHS Data Analysis and Virtualization, and OHS Financial Model Implementation and Analysis.
In addition to her professional footprints, she is a certified member of the Association of Industrial Hygiene Nigeria (AIHN) and earned her MSc from the University of South Wales Cardiff, United Kingdom. Cynthia is a member of the IOSH (UK) council, piloting strategies for the council’s effectiveness steering group. Cynthia finds satisfaction in providing functional, strategic, and technical solutions in Occupational and Environmental health management, developing implementation strategies, capability building, mentoring, volunteering, and steering sustainable change management. For her leisure, Cynthia enjoys spending time with family, researching, and providing pro-bono technical advice to others.
Caitlin Prigge CSP, QEP, CCPSC is the United States and Canada Logistics, Fabrication & Facilities EHS Manager and Systems Lead at 3M. In 14+ years at 3M, she has held roles of increasing responsibility across multiple organizations ranging from EHS Engineer at manufacturing sites, Environmental Permitting Engineer for 3M Corporate, and Process Safety Management Engineer at a Business level. Caitlin has been a speaker and poster presenter at numerous professional EHS conferences and a QEP Procter in 2018 and 2021. She was chosen to use her skills in project management to benefit her community as a member of 3M’s Impact program.
Ujwal Ritwik QEP, CRSP is an award winning professional with multi-faceted capability encompassing Process Safety, Environmental Health & Safety, Quality Management System (QEHS), Risk Management and Performance Improvement. He has over thirty-five years of track-record championing successful PS and QEHS programs and processes at refineries, petrochemicals, oil & gas and related industries. Currently Ujwal is the Principal at Center for Professional Excellence in Risk and Sustainability, Arlington VA. Before this he was the EHS advisor for Kuwait National Petroleum Co. a company he served in many roles for 30 years. Ujwal has talent for directing paradigm shift in organisations’ EHS culture/operational excellence, leading and conducting superior risk-based PS, EHS and ISO certified audits, managing and imparting training, delivering management systems solutions, helping organizations improve performance, regulatory compliance, achieve certification, and increase profit. He is the founder President and current Advisory Board Member of ASSP Kuwait Chapter the largest international chapter. He has a BSc in Chemical Engineering and higher diplomas in management and environment. A purpose led influencer and thought leader, he has an active professional network with large following.
Paula Steven, MSE, RS/REHS, CIH, CSP is a Certified Industrial Hygienist, a Certified Safety Professional, and a Registered Sanitarian. She possesses 17 years’ experience as an environmental scientist and 17 years as an industrial hygienist. Paula has worked in a variety of public health settings ranging from Environmental Compliance, SUPERFUND cleanup, State Public Health Department, and Department of Defense Occupational Health Sciences. Paula has a Master’s Degree from Southern Methodist University School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). She works as a Defense Health Agency enterprise-level industrial hygienist assisting with staffing models, service level sampling data integrity, service level exposure assessment legal defensibility, competency alignment, and is leading change in Occupational Health and Safety staff development.
Donald (Don) Weekes, CIH, CSP, FAIHA has worked for forty-six years in the environmental and occupational health field in the US and Canada. His specialties include indoor air quality investigations; mould inspections, project designs, and remediation monitoring and post-remediation verification; asbestos and lead paint inspection, project specification, and abatement and post-abatement monitoring. He is an AIHA Fellow, a CIH, and a CSP who most recently worked for InAIR Environmental, Ltd. in Ottawa, ON. He has now retired and works on volunteer efforts full-time. Don attended New York University for his Masters in Occupational Safety and Health. Don is a former Chair of the AIHA IEQ Committee, a past Vice President for Practitioners for ISIAQ, and a Co-Editor of the AIHA Book entitled, ‘Recognition, Evaluation and Control of Indoor Mold’ published in 2008. He was on the ACGIH Board of Directors (2017-20). He is also the President of the Indoor Environmental Quality – Global Alliance (IEQ-GA) (2016-Present).
Phillip J. (Phil) Almeroth, BA, BGC Public Member is the Director of Capabilities for Logisolve, LLC, a leading management and technology consulting firm headquartered in Oakdale, Minnesota (www.logisolve.com). He has broad and deep experience across a wide variety of industries in helping organizations navigate through transformative change, while increasing their customer and partner satisfaction and engagement. He has presented his methods and learnings to a variety of industry, professional, and educational groups, and has served on multiple professional and non-profit boards and committees, where his expertise in program management and strategy implementation have helped them grow and improve their services.