Each year we secure a dynamic lineup of 80-100 breakout sessions taught by 50+ first-class speakers from around the country. Whether our attendees are front line supervisors, trade workers, or safety directors overseeing hundreds of employees, they’ll find training for every level designed to strengthen safety cultures, improve safety communication and build leadership skills.

Interested in being a speaker for the 2024 Conference? Check back in June when we have our speaker application form available.

Here is the fantastic speaker lineup we had in 2023.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Wednesday Keynote – Scott Bloom – Comedian & TV Personality

Comedian and television personality, Scott Bloom will be our keynote on the 1st day of our Conference (Wednesday, Feb. 22).  Scott has hosted hundreds of events over two decades for companies such as FedEx, Ford, IBM, MetLife and Pfizer. Scott has also hosted his own weekly VH1 series and recently co-hosted a national simulcast of the Grammy Awards from the Palace Theater. Scott draws from his professional and personal world to deliver a hilarious and insightful talk that illustrates the importance of connecting. He will show us how to rise above the challenge and reanimate meaningful connections by scratching below the surface, by pulling out the details, by getting personal and by making life fun.

Thursday Keynote – Jim Craig – “Miracle on Ice”

“Miracle on Ice” goalie Jim Craig will be our keynote speaker on Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023. Gold-medal goalie Jim Craig will inspire and motivate the crowd nearly 43 years to the day after leading Team USA to a gold medal in the “Miracle on Ice.” Craig is best known as the backbone of the 1980 Olympic Gold Medal hockey team, whose ‘Miracle’ win was voted by Sports Illustrated as the greatest moment in sports history in the 21st century. Over the past 40 years, Craig has carefully studied the expert leadership tactics of 1980 ‘Miracle’ team coach, Herb Brooks, and learned how what happened that day in 1980 was no ‘Miracle’ at all, but rather the result of powerful leadership, careful strategy, hard work, and seamless execution. Craig experienced how a group of people from incredibly different backgrounds were able to come together in pursuit of a bigger dream, and Craig has a passion for inspiring others to do the same.

Friday Keynote – Lauren Sisler – Emmy Winning ESPN Sportscaster

Addiction Prevention Advocate, Lauren Sisler will close out our 50th Annual Conference. Sisler, a two-time Emmy award-winning Sports Broadcaster for ESPN and the SEC Network, is a sideline reporter for college football and gymnastics. On Friday, Feb. 24, 2023, Lauren will share her story in hopes of inspiring others to embrace their own story. She’s passionate about sports, but even more passionate about telling the story of coaches, athletes and fans who make it more than a game.

Her life was not always defined by victories. In 2003, as a freshman at Rutgers University, tragedy struck her world when she unexpectedly lost both parents within hours of each other to their concealed battle with prescription drug addiction. On her journey through grief, Lauren bravely emerged from the shadows of shame, embraced her story, and found hope again.

SESSION SPEAKERS

Mike Adams

Michael is an industrial oil and gas professional with a history of managing teams through mentoring, training, observation and interaction. His strong safety and technical training background includes serving as a petroleum service technician instructor, operations maintenance lead, and safety training manager.

Michael is a true safety leader who is never afraid to stop an unsafe act or intervene in situations that need attention. Michael has acquired numerous trainer credentials throughout his professional career including PEC certified instructor for SafeLandUSA Basic Orientation, Core Compliance, H2S Clear, and Core Compliance Refreshers. He is also an NDSC Authorized Instructor for fire extinguisher, hazcom, lockout/tagout, silica, trenching, and more.

Kam Alipour

Kam Alipour is the National Manager for Protective Apparel and Safety in the Direct Sales division for Cintas. He has over 16 years of experience with Cintas and has a solid working knowledge of regulations and standards related to the care and maintenance of protective apparel and PPE. Kam’s professional experience with NFPA 70E lies in nearly every industry with customers ranging from local, regional and Fortune 500 companies. His passion is around helping companies with solutions around PPE and Protective clothing and helping to understand what’s out there and available to help keep your employees safe

Joshua Anderson

Trooper Joshua Anderson has over 18 years of service with the North Dakota Highway Patrol, the last 14 years as a MCSAP Trooper. He is an Associate Instructor for FMCSA’s National Training Center, certified to instruct North American Standard Part A and Part B, General Hazardous Materials, Cargo Tank Inspection, and Advanced Roadside Hazardous Materials.

He also performs roadside inspections and conduct Safety Investigations for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), as well as conducting training with enforcement and industry. He is the Chair of the CVSA Hazardous Materials Committee.

Peter Batrowny

Peter is an industry-leading global environmental health, safety, and physical security executive. Leveraging on the lessons from his extensive career, Peter is a highly regarded speaker in EHS&S. His Six Sigma Green Belt improves his ability to discuss complex subjects.

He’s a bilingual speaker who can culturally connect with employees on a deeper level and understand their needs. Peter has been featured as a speaker at NSC conferences, Campbell Symposiums, and the SafeStart Human Factors Conference. Peter serves on the Advisory Board for the Center of Visual Expertise (COVE) and is actively involved in the National Safety Council (NSC).

Bill Belongea

Bill has over 20 years’ experience in the Safety field. He is a graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater with a B.S.E. in Occupational Safety. With experience in the Printing, Injection Molding, Aerospace, Construction, and Press industries, it has brought him to facilities and factories all over the world, with such places as Europe, Australia, China, and Mexico.

Chris Carlsen

As Roco Rescue’s Director of Training, Chris Carlsen is responsible for all aspects of the training segment of the business. At a high level, Chris’ focus is on ensuring that Roco’s courses meet customer needs and exceed their expectations. Chris oversees the development and evolution of the entire curriculum, and is also charged with making sure Roco courses are taught by a world-class team of instructors.

Chris is a self-proclaimed “technical rescue geek.” In addition to graduating from the National Fire Academy’s Special Operations Program Management course, he also is SPRAT Level II certified, an ITRA qualified instructor and assessor, technical rescue trainer for a National Lab, and has taught fire science at Central New Mexico Community College.

Kenna Carlsen

Kenna Carlsen is a Research Associate with the National Safety Council’s Work to Zero initiative. Prior to joining NSC, she served as a research consultant for some of the largest Fortune 500 retailers, addressing topics such as workplace violence and active shooter mitigation, crime prevention strategies, and the role of technology in safety and security. Kenna holds a Master’s degree in Criminology, Law & Society from the University of Florida.

Sara Cote

Sara Cote has worked in the Policyholder Services division of Workforce Safety & Insurance (WSI) for over 10 years. In her role as Underwriting Supervisor, Sara coaches, trains, and mentors her team of underwriters. As a presenter for WSI, she also works with employers throughout the state to educate them on workers’ compensation requirements and laws in North Dakota.

Sara joined WSI with 8 years of prior insurance experience, beginning her career as a property and casualty underwriter in Columbus, Ohio. She has also worked as an insurance agent in Williston, North Dakota. Sara holds a CWCP, Certified Workers’ Compensation Professional designation, a ND insurance license, as well as an AINS, Associate in General Insurance designation.

Gordon Court

Gordon Court is an experienced sales and marketing professional with 30+ years of successful sales and account management experience in medical, technical, manufacturing, retail, and business to business sales as well as customer focused service.

Gordon has an extensive background in sales analysis, managerial processes, coaching and training. He has trained many different levels of personnel in processes, planning, and computer skills, and photography, and is adept at written and verbal communications including presenting to large groups. He also has experience in developing and implementing training programs.

John Drebinger

John Drebinger, acclaimed international safety speaker and author, has been delivering his dynamic safety presentations worldwide for the past 32 years. John is known for injecting humor and passion to engage audiences to help people work safely. John will help motivate you to take personal responsibility for their safety.

Matt Dunlevy

Matt Dunlevy is the founder of SkySkopes, a nationally leading unmanned aircraft systems flight operations company based in North Dakota. SkySkopes is North Dakota’s first unmanned aircraft startup certified by the Federal Aviation Administration to fly commercially. Under Dunlevy’s leadership, the business grew from a group of four employees to an organization of national recognition in under three years.

Dunlevy studied mechanical engineering and history at the University of North Dakota before ultimately combining a lifelong passion for aviation with his drive for business to form SkySkopes. Dunlevy has taught numerous courses at the University of North Dakota, including UAS in Business, UAS in Engineering, and the Ethics of UAS.

Joel Ferguson

Joel Ferguson serves as a Field Safety Specialist for W.W. Grainger, Inc., and works as a trusted EHS partner to internal and external partners by finding solutions to mitigate risk to people, property, and the environment. He is a Certified Safety Professional and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Murray State University. Joel Ferguson is currently a member of the ASSP Northwest Chapter and currently resides in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Scott Gaddis

Scott Gaddis leads thought leadership and is Vice President and Global Practice Leader, Safety and Health, for Intelex Technologies in Toronto, Canada. Scott leads in building partnerships with key clients and other top influencers in EHS. He is responsible for the engagement of EHS professionals across the globe.

Before joining Intelex, Scott was VP, Global EHS for Coveris High-Performance Packaging Company in Chicago, Illinois. Before that, he spent five years as Executive Director of Global EHS for Bristol-Myers Squibb, and eighteen years with the Kimberly-Clark Corporation in various senior EHS leadership roles ending as the leader of Global Safety and Health. Scott holds a BS and a MS degree from Murray State in Occ Safety.

Lori Guasta

Dr. Guasta is a Research Manager at the National Safety Council. She has 20 years of experience in higher education, research, and safety programs across heavy industries. Her expertise is in organizational behavior, culture, and leadership. Prior to joining NSC, Lori worked for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and in safety consulting.

She is well published and has delivered numerous presentations at professional meetings and industry conferences. Dr. Guasta holds a Doctorate in leadership studies from Gonzaga University and a Master’s degree in clinical sociology from the University of Northern Colorado.

Sam Gubler

Sam Gubler, CSP is an Environmental Health and Safety professional who has worked for W.W. Grainger Inc., for the past 26 years. His focus is to provide knowledge and expertise to help improve safety programs, compliance and culture. He resides in Wellsville, Utah with his wife and two youngest children.

Rick Halldorson

Rick Halldorson has 14 years of experience in safety management including program design, auditing, incident investigations, back-to-work programs and process safety management auditing. At his previous position, Rick developed, organized and conducted training programs for 110 plant employees, including industrial forklift, respiratory protection, industrial ergonomics, industrial rail yard safety, lockout of hazardous energy, permit required confined spaces, fire and gas detection, behavior-based safety programs, and management of the Workers Comp program.

Rick’s teach credentials with the North Dakota Safety Council include MSHA Part 46, the NSC’s Advanced Safety Certificate Courses, Defensive Driving, CPR/AED/First Aid, and Lift Truck Operator, OTIEC OSHA 500, 501, 502, 503, 510 and 511 courses, OSHA Recordkeeping, Confined Spaces, Fall Protection, Lock Out/Tagout, Scaffolds, Supervisory Development, Trenching and Excavation, and many more.

Melissa Henke

Dr. Henke, Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine, serves as Heartview’s Medical Director. In that capacity, Dr. Henke participates in interdisciplinary case review, develops and oversees patient medical protocols, reviews nursing assessments for appropriate withdrawal management, and confers with the interdisciplinary team regarding patient care management. She also provides medical oversight to the Medication-Assisted Therapy program and ongoing care to individual patients. Dr. Henke serves on the Governor’s Counsel for Recovery Reinvented as well as the Medical Director of the North Dakota Professional Health Program.

Jedd Hill

Jedd Hill currently works as the Deputy Director of the OSHA Salt Lake Technical Center (SLTC) located in Sandy, UT. In his current role, Mr. Hill helps direct and oversee daily operations of the SLTC including OSHA’s industrial hygiene chemistry laboratory, technical expert teams, and emergency response resources.

Mr. Hill has over 18 years of experience providing expert level guidance and support in worker exposure assessment, chemical sampling, industrial hygiene, incident investigation, workplace safety audit, and emergency response.

Mike Hutchens

Michael Hutchens, HSP, is an Occupational Safety Trainer and Consultant. Michael has a deep and diverse background in mine safety, occupational safety, and operating equipment. Michael cares deeply for people. He has unfortunately had the need to investigate numerous serious industrial incidents including fatalities. I have experienced, firsthand, how an industrial incident can forever change lives.

Travis Jacobson

Travis Jacobson is a 23 year veteran in law enforcement, with 18 of those years in a full-time capacity and now works part-time for the University of North Dakota Police Department after starting his career at Minnkota Power Cooperative in 2017 where he serves as the Physical Security Administrator.

Travis took a strong stance on alcohol and drug enforcement early on in his career as a Police Officer after his best friend from high school was killed by a drunk driver. In 2003 Travis was accepted into the Drug Recognition Expert Program (DRE) where he was certified as a DRE. A DRE receives training that is above and beyond what the average patrolman receives when it comes to the detection and apprehension of drug impaired individuals.

Andrea Jensen

Andrea Jensen is a safety professional from the Fargo, ND area. With over 15 years in the safety world, about half of that time spent building safety teams. Andrea has worked in the transportation, construction and manufacturing sectors as a safety professional.

Before entering the corporate safety world, she was in the Army for 7 years, part of that time she was her company’s safety officer. She has an MBA and MS in Occupational Health and Safety with an emphasis in ergonomics. Some of the professional certifications include SGE, SCP, CEAS I and II.

Diane Johnson

Diane Johnson is also a Loss Control Safety Consultant for North Dakota Workforce Safety & Insurance; she is based out of Fargo serving the southeast area of the state. Diane has 28 years of experience as a safety professional including 7 years at WSI. A large focus of her passion for safety has been in the manufacturing industry, however, she recently qualified as an OSHA-authorized outreach trainer for the construction industry as well.

Diane holds certifications from the Board of Certified Safety Professionals including the Certified Instructional Trainer (CIT®) for developing, designing & delivering EH&S training. When not working, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, hosting family & friend gatherings, reading, and attending sporting events.

David Kraft

David Kraft is a Loss Control Safety Consultant for North Dakota Workforce Safety and Insurance, serving the Devils Lake region for the past 7 years to improve employee health and safety. He has an Associates of Applied Science degree in Mechanical Engineering and had 15 years of experience managing environmental health and safety in manufacturing facilities prior to being a safety consultant. When away from work he enjoys spending time with his family, hunting, fishing, and boating.

Brian Liddell

Mr. Liddell has been employed with the U.S. Department of Labor’s OSHA Health Response Team in Sandy, UT since 2001. His areas of specialty include industrial hygiene, noise, emergency response, and process safety management. Prior to coming to OSHA, Mr. Liddell was employed as a consultant in both the engineering and industrial hygiene fields.

He has also worked as a facility safety and environmental engineer for a medical device manufacturing company. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering and a Master of Science in Public Health degree (industrial hygiene program), both from the University of Utah. Mr. Liddell is also a Certified Industrial Hygienist.

Erica MacDiarmid

Erica MacDiarmid has been serving the Bakken region for almost ten years working in HR, compliance, and safety. Her experience led her to be a safety trainer and has developed a variety of HSE and HR manuals for small companies. Before that, she has over 28 years of experience as an HR and MARCOM professional working in the Minneapolis and Chicago areas.

Currently, she helps businesses understand the importance of state and federal compliance while merging it with oil and gas expectations and regulations. Through her coaching on being “proactive”, she bridges the gap between field operations and administration. Her message helps both the leadership team and field operations understand how they are interconnected.

Stephanie Maher

Stephanie Maher has worked in the Loss Control Division of Workforce Safety & Insurance since February 2022. In her role as Education Coordinator, Stephanie helps maintain, update and provide a variety of learning opportunities through webinars and the learning management system to provide safety training to employers and employees around the state.

Justin McElhattan

Justin McElhattan serves as Fortive vice president and group president, environmental health and safety (EHS), a position he’s held since 2021. In this role, he is responsible for building Fortive’s presence as a leader in EHS and other critical sustainability solutions. Under his leadership, Fortive has extended its strategic EHS capabilities with the acquisitions of Intelex, SAFER Systems and ehsAI. Justin came to Fortive through the 2017 acquisition of Industrial Scientific, where he had served as CEO since 2010.

Justin earned his Bachelor of Science in environmental resource management from Penn State University. He also holds an MBA from the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University.

Joe Melton

Joe is the Director of Operations for Master Builders of Iowa. As an experienced Director of Consulting Services he’s demonstrated a history of working in the managements consulting industry.

Don Moseman

Don is originally from Rapid City, SD. He served in the United States Air Force with his last assignment as a squadron safety officer. He obtained the highest security clearance in the Air Force, whichat that time which was for Critical Nuclear Weapon Design Information. Don was honorably discharged from the Air Force in 1990 and received the USAF Commendation Medal.

He then became a state police officer from 1991 to 2007 and has a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. He had many duties, including his role as a hand-to-hand combat and active shooter instructor. He began working in schools in 1996 as part of a federal anti-school violence program which placed police officers in schools. In 2003, he was recognized as the Law Enforcement Education Officer of the Year for the United States by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms for his work in combating school violence. He has been a certified instructor in more than 40 state, federal and National Safety Council programs.

In total, he has taught more than 1,000 law enforcement, safety and leadership courses and instructed over 50,000 people. Don has studied more than 100 school and workplace shootings and has responded to three active shooter events. Don is a practitioner for emergency risk assessments through the National Institute of Crime Prevention. Don previously worked for the National Safety Council and came to the NDSC in 2013.

Scott Overson

Scott Overson joined the Occupational Safety & Health Administration in February of 2003 as a compliance safety and health officer. Prior to joining OSHA, he spent five years in the construction industry as an industrial sandblaster and painter. He also served as a Fire Captain with 17 years in the fire service. He graduated from the University of North Dakota with a bachelors degree in Occupational Safety & Environmental Health.

Matt Patterson

Matt is the Jobsite Safety and Security Manager Trainer – Central Region for WernerCo.

Osten Richter

Osten Richter has been with ND Workforce Safety & Insurance since 2010 and currently serves in the role of Return to Work Services Director. He has oversight for nurse case management, vocational rehabilitation, on-site nurse case management, the Injured Worker Assistance Program, and the Preferred Worker Program.

Reyne Richter

Reyne Richter is a Claims Supervisor in the Injury Services Department at Workforce Safety & Insurance (WSI). Along with her 27 years of experience working in the Claims Department, she essentially is Injury Services primary provider of education and assistance to WSI’s external customers to aid them in their claims management and return to work programs emphasizing pro-activeness and involvement with injured workers.

Dale Robinson

Dale Robinson is the owner of HR Safety Consulting, LLC located in Erie, Colorado. He is an Independent Occupational Safety and Health Consultant and business owner since June 2002. He is an internationally renowned safety and health consultant, master instructor trainer and professional motivational speaker.

Dale holds Safety and Health Specialist Certificates in several disciplines and is recognized as Master Trainer Emeritus with Health and Safety Institute. Dale is an Adjunct Instructor of Mountain West Education Center’s OSHA Training Institute in Salt Lake City, UT. He brings 46 years of occupational work and safety experience from a diverse group of industries. His passion is educating people on how to stay safe at work.

Jennifer Rous

Jennifer Rous is the Regional Administrator for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Region VIII, in Denver CO.  Prior to her current role, Dr. Rous was the Director, Industrial Hygiene and Occupational Health in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Energy, Installations and Environment.  Dr. Rous has a Doctorate in Public Health and a Masters of Health Science in Industrial Hygiene from the Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health and Bachelor of Science in Environmental Toxicology from University of California, Davis.  She has been a Certified Industrial Hygienist since May 1999.

Dr. Rous served as the Assistant Director, Risk Management at the University of Maryland College Park.  Her responsibilities included the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH), Insurance, Workers’ Compensation, Management of Minors, and Diving Safety Programs.

She is a retired U.S. Navy Industrial Hygiene Officer with assignments as a staff industrial hygienist, department head for industrial hygiene and occupational medicine, shipboard safety officer aboard USS CANOPUS (AS 34) and USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN (CVN 72), and Technical Authority Warrant for OSH Requirements and Regulations at Naval Sea Systems Command.  Dr. Rous also served as the OSH and Afloat Environmental Program Manager for Commander Naval Submarine Forces, U.S. Atlantic Fleet and as the OSH Division Head within the Afloat Division at the Naval Safety Center.  Dr. Rous’s final assignment with the Navy was as Assistant Professor and Program Director for the Masters in Occupational and Environmental Health at Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences (USU).

Joe Schommer

Joe Schommer has been involved in the electrical maintenance and testing industry for over 27 years. Starting as a field service technician and progressing through the disciplines, Joe has experienced the importance of maintenance and electrical testing and how these practices improve reliability and ultimately safety within your electrical distribution system. Joe brings practical application experience for improving the safety of your facility by adhering to NETA and the NFPA 70E and 70B guidelines, merging electrical safety with electrical maintenance which are both critical in regards to your electrical safety program.

Brandon Schroeder

Every day we make decisions that affect the likelihood we will pull in our driveway at the end of the day. How can we move the needle towards making better choices not only for ourselves, but for the companies we work for? Brandon Schroeder made a choice, a conscious decision, to take a shortcut. This one decision changed the course of his life forever. Believe In Safety tells you about the journey from the day of the accident through the agonizing recovery for Brandon and his family.

Jay Skarphol

Jay Skarphol is a former Senior Environmental Health and Safety Specialist with a wide range of experience in general industry, construction, and oil and gas safety. In his former positions, responsibilities included: safety management system reviews including: incident investigations, safety training, and on-site inspections, audits, and evaluations. With an associate’s degree from the University of North Dakota – Williston Center, Jay also has a background in HAZWOPER, Level 5 Hazardous Materials Incident Command and was a TapRooT Advanced Investigations Team Leader.

His credentials with the North Dakota Safety Council include NSC’s CPR/AED/First Aid, Defensive Driving and Lift Truck Operator. Jay also teaches Adverse Weather, School Bus Driver, OSHA 10 & 30 Hour Construction and General Industry, OSHA Recordkeeping, Confined Spaces HAZWOPER 8, 24 AND 40 Hour, Fall Protection H2S Awareness, Machine Guarding and Trenching & Excavation, among others.

Danny Smith

Danny has the ability to connect with any audience and to put them at ease. Over 25 years of EHS management experience in several industries provide him with a foundational knowledge that is applicable to all environments. He was among the first safety professionals to ever receive the BCSP Safety Management Specialist (SMS) designation. Danny is committed to continuous learning, remaining informed about the current developments in the EHS industry, and regularly expanding his area of expertise. He garners accolades from both conference organizers and his session attendees whenever he delivers a presentation.

Dennis Snodgrass

Dennis is a safety professional, former Police Chief and United States Marine veteran but the titles he cherishes most is being father and grandfather. In 2012, Dennis entered the world of public speaking. Since then, he has spoken at many events to thousands of people nationwide. From Bakersfield, CA to Newark, NJ, from Houston, TX to the great state of North Dakota and nearly everywhere in between, Dennis has delivered his message on the dangers of distracted driving. In April 2020, Dennis wrote and published his first book, “Passing Through the Storm,” which was featured on SiriusXM radio on the Road Dog channel.

John Sova

Trooper John Sova has over 21 years of service with the North Dakota Highway Patrol, the last 16 years in a MCSAP Trooper position. In 2018, he moved into the newly formed MCSAP Coordinator position. In his current position, he conducts DataQ reviews for ND, monitors regulation changes and identifies needed changes in ND’s program, identifies training needs for MCSAP personnel and conducts training with enforcement and industry.

He also continues to perform roadside inspections and conduct Safety Investigations for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). He is the Chair of the CVSA Vehicle Committee, Chair of the CVSA Level VIII (Electronic) Inspection ad hoc committee, and voting member of CVSA’s Enforcement and Industry Modernization Committee.

Andy Speidel

Andy Speidel is a North Dakota native residing in Bismarck, ND. He started his career 10 years ago with MSA, a global manufacturer of head/face/eye protection, portable gas detection, fall protection, and respiratory wear. He is responsible for managing sales activities for MSA’s connected worker platform.

Andy currently resides in Bismarck where he graduated from the University of Mary with a Business Administration Degree and Master’s in Management. When he’s not working or being a family man, you can find him out running on a trail, enjoying the river, or playing hockey.

Nicole Spoor

Nicole Spoor has worked in the Policyholder Services division of Workforce Safety & Insurance for 14 years. In her role as the Employer Compliance Specialist, Nicole provides individualized support to the various departments within the organization, assisting and educating both employers and WSI staff with understanding the workers’ compensation requirements in North Dakota.

Nicole joined WSI with a diverse background in business and finance working in various roles including credit analyst and commercial loan officer for Bremer Bank and Finance Director for the North Dakota Ballet Company. Nicole holds the CWCP, Certified Workers’ Compensation Professional designation, as well as an APA, Associate in Premium Auditing.

Bill Spreeman

Bill has spent more than 40 years in Environmental, Health and Safety compliance. Bill is dedicated to achieving the elimination or control of hazards and risks that could potentially injure employees. His awardwinning work across multiple industries makes him a must-see speaker.

Casey Spreeman

Casey has spent the past 15 years as progressing in the field of Environmental, Health, and Safety compliance. Casey has played a large role in driving initiatives and corrective actions to place organizations at the leading edge of Safety, Health, and Environmental performance. Casey has worked directly as an operations EHS professional as well as working extensively at client facilities promoting best in class safety performance. He also has a passion to educate and train and also serves as an adjunct faculty member in higher education and outreach.

Casey is dedicated to achieving elimination or control of hazards and risks that could potentially result in an injury to employees.

Casey has and continues to work closely and cooperatively with OSHA, US-EPA, MT-DEQ, Homeland Security, DOT and NFPA representatives to insure and accomplish organizational top performance.  His responsibilities/work includes multiple industries in many countries and states.

Dylan Staack

Dylan is the in-house industrial hygienist for REPSS. He specializes in helping health and safety professionals select and sample with the proper equipment for their monitoring needs. Dylan previously spent 3 years at the University of Arizona as a research project manager. His work focused on the respiratory protection of firefighters at various stages of fighting fires. Since Dylan has worked as an industrial hygiene consultant and has continued to support the University of Arizona with educational session on instrumentation and research equipment.

Eric Svendsen

Eric Svendsen is CEO of Safety Culture Pros (safetyBUILT-IN), a safety-culture development company. He has over 25 years of experience creating and executing outcomes-based leadership-development and culture-change initiatives aligned to safety goals, and he personally led the culture-change initiatives of several client companies that resulted in “best ever safety performance” years for those companies.

Eric routinely advises executive leadership teams on safety-culture development needs and his client base extends to companies on five continents. He has authored several dozen industry articles on safety-leadership and safety-culture topics. His facilitation style is engaging, and he regularly scores top ratings in his presentation

Art Thompson

Art Thompson is the director of North Dakota Workforce Safety & Insurance (WSI) with the responsibility of leading the sole provider and administrator of workers’ compensation services in North Dakota. Thompson was appointed director by Governor Doug Burgum in October 2022 and assumed his role November 1, 2022.

Prior to joining WSI, Thompson was the executive director of the North Dakota Concrete Council where he led all facets of the industry trade association, including lobbying, marketing, and promotion efforts.

In the first half of Thompson’s career, he served in various public relations and business development roles; spending more than a decade building, managing, and growing ready-mix concrete operations throughout central and western North Dakota. He also worked for WSI from 2000-2002 as the public information officer.

Thompson is a native of Washburn, North Dakota. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communications at Minnesota State University Moorhead and a master’s degree in management from the University of Mary in Bismarck.

Jason Uhlir

Born and raised in North Dakota, Jason grew up on a family farm outside of Grand Forks. He started working in the field of safety while attending UND,and went on to make safety his career. Jason led the safety programs at UND for many years, and for the last 10 years has been the Safety Manager for Minnkota Power. Jason is a firm believer that safety is about caring for people, and he hopes to share some of that energy with all people he interacts with.

Brad Warr

Brad Warr has been a career firefighter for 19 years with Nampa Fire Department in Nampa, Idaho where he has served as a Captain for the last 11 years. In addition, Brad is responsible for coordination and training of Nampa Fire’s Technical and Heavy Rescue Program. Nampa’s technical rescue responds regionally to technical rescues in the southwest corner of the state. They provide technical rescue for local industry as well as the mountain sports community.

Brad is a Chief Instructor for the Roco Rescue Corporation. He has been a member of the Roco instructor cadre since 2003 and a chief instructor since 2005. He teaches throughout the United States as well as internationally, specializing in Rope Rescue, Confined Space, Trench, and Structural Collapse. He is also a member of Roco’s Confined Space Rescue Team providing safety, compliance, and confined space rescue standby services for plants, refineries and other industrial complexes.

Randy Wegge

I have been employed with WSI for 21 years. I worked in the Return-to-Work Dept when I first started with WSI…and have been working in the Loss Control Dept for the last 14 years where I oversee the ergonomic grant program. My background is in Occupational Therapy…with a certification in ergonomics.

Edon Willis

Edon served for 17 years in the U.S. Marines specializing in security, safety, and equipment training. His true passion is coaching, mentoring, and teaching everyone about the importance of safety. Saving lives will save our future. Edon has been teaching part time for the NDSC since 2017 and just recently came on full time with the NDSC in May 2021. He has a passion for teaching, coaching and mentoring young adults.

John Woutat

John is a former EMS Training Program Coordinator and has more than 20 years of experience in training and emergency response. He was an EMS responder and flight paramedic for 18 years, a 9-1-1 dispatcher/educator/trainer for 8 years, and also served as a certified firefighter. John has an extensive training background, providing training for EMS responders, 911 communications staff, and the general public on topics such as CPR, first aid, ACLS, and AMLS.

All of these experiences have gained him extensive knowledge in emergency response planning, scene management, emergency medicine, cardiac care, and trauma management. John’s credentials with the North Dakota Safety Council include the NSC’s CPR/AED/First Aid, Workplace Trauma & Triage, Advanced First Aid/CPR/AED, Basic Life Support for Health Care and Professional Rescuers, and Bloodborne & Airborne Pathogens.

Aglae Young

Aglae has a Bachelor of Science in Computer Systems for Management from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey in Monterray, Mexico and a Master’s degree in Education from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. She has more than 20 years’ experience as a trainer in multiple areas. She has been a volunteer EMT with the New Salem Ambulance Service for more than 13 years and has been a Spanish interpreter for the ND Court System since 2009.

John Young

John Young is a safety professional with almost 30 years of experience. He retired from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) having spent 20 years with OSHA conducting or reviewing investigations as both a Compliance Safety and Health Officer or Assistant Area Director. John spent over eight years in private industry managing safety in manufacturing environments with responsibility for multiple manufacturing plants nationally and internationally.

He has a Masters of Science in Industrial Management from the College of Engineering at South Dakota State University and a Masters of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle Pennsylvania. His certifications include the CSP, CHMM, OHST, CHST, CIT.

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