AIHA Named Awards

This award is the highest tribute paid to an AIHA member or team for distinguished and exemplary services in advancing the OEHS profession and unique technical and professional contributions made to support and advance the mission and vision of AIHA National.

This year’s recipients are the Grand Challenges Team for their work on Grand Challenges for Worker Health, Safety, and Well-Being, including four papers and executive summaries.

Team members include:

• Deborah Imel Nelson, Ph.D., MPH, CIH , FAIHA: Project Chair;
• Chris Laszcz-Davis, MS, CIH, FAIHA, FAIC;
• Denese Deeds, CIH, FAIHA;
• Tom Grumbles MS, CIH (Retired), CPPS, FAIHA;
• Don Weekes, CIH, CSP, FAIHA;
• Ashton Alban, CIH, CSP, REHS/RS, MS, MPH;
• Kent A. Candee, MS, CIH, CSP, ARM, CPCU;
• Jennifer M. Cavallari, ScD, CIH;
• Kristen Cramer, CIH, CSP, CHMM;
• Natalie Fox, CIH, CSP;
• Stephen Gutmann, MS, CPE, CIH (Ret.), FAIHA;
• Devan Hawkins, PhD;
• Stephen Hemperly, MS, CIH (Retired), CSP Retired, CLSO, FAIHA;
• Andrea Hiddinga-Schipper;
• Steven D. Jahn, CIH, MBA, FAIHA;
• Michael Larranaga, PhD, PE, CIH, FAIHA;
• Aurora Le, PhD, MPH, CIH, CSP, CPH;
• Marianne Levitsky MES, CIH, ROH, FAIHA;
• Francis Pleban, Ph.D., MS, MA;
• Preethi Pratap, PhD;
• Jodi Quam, CIH;
• Marie-Anne S. Rosemberg, PhD, MN, RN, FAAOHN;
• Eugene A. Satrun, CIH, CSP, FAIHA;
• Marisa Watkins, MS, CIH;
• Augusta Williams, ScD, MPH;
• Michael J. Wright

Georgi I. Popov, PhD, QEP, CSP, ARM, SMS, CMC, FAIHA
Nominated by Tsvetan Ivanov Popov, PhD, CIH, CSP

Dr. Popov has made significant contributions in the past 30 years that have impacted the occupational risk, health, safety, and environmental profession. During his career, he has served as an Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) officer for the United Nations (UN) mission in Cambodia; defense EHS research analyst; Lab and Consulting director; and chair and professor of the prominent Occupational Risk and Safety Sciences department at University of Central Missouri. In addition, he helps organizations reduce EHS risks through his consulting practice. He is a noted author of textbooks and peer-reviewed articles that center around risk-based standards and technical reports such as ANSI/ASSP/ISO 31000, ANSI/ASSP Z590.3, and ASSP TR-31010.

The Edward J. Baier Technical Achievement Award recognizes an individual or individuals whose technical accomplishments have made substantial, leading-edge contributions to the field of OEHS through technical expertise, innovations, research, scientific advancements, and interaction with or influence on other scientific disciplines.

Donald M. Weekes, CIH, CSP, FAIHA
Nominated by Deborah Imel Nelson PhD, MPH, CIH, FAIHA; Donna M. Doganiero, CIH, FAIHA; Tom Grumbles, MS, CIH (Retired), CPPS, FAIHA; Donna S. Heidel, CIH, FAIHA; Steven D. Jahn, CIH, MBA, FAIHA; Alan Leibowitz, CIH, CSP, FAIHA; Nancy P. Orr, CIH, CSP,FAIHA; Nancy M McClellan, MPH., CIH, CHMM; FAIHA; John R. Mulhausen, PhD, CIH.

Mr. Weekes has 50 years of outstanding contributions to the knowledge and practice of industrial hygiene. He is widely recognized and appreciated for his work
in promoting active collaboration through alliances and partnerships, particularly in indoor air quality. By virtue of his concurrent membership in several professional societies, he has often served as an informal liaison between them. He clearly understands the importance of collaboration and cooperation between AIHA and various IAQ organizations and has worked tirelessly to strengthen these relationships.

In addition to his professional practice in industrial hygiene, safety, indoor air quality, and environmental health, he has devoted countless hours to volunteer service in AIHA, ACGIH, ASHRAE, Indoor Air Quality Association (IAQA), the Board of Global EHS Credentialing (BGC), the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), the Indoor Environmental Quality – Global Alliance (IEQ-GA), the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate (ISIAQ), and the Integrated Bioscience and Built Environment Consortium (IBEC) Scientific Advisory Board. Weekes has actively participated in multiple work groups that have created tools applicable beyond the OEHS profession. He also worked on publications designed for consumers on mold, indoor air quality, and total particulates; two videos on mold developed for consumers, and the AIHA Body of Knowledge project on Indoor Air Quality.

The Donald E. Cummings Memorial Award for Outstanding OEHS Practice recognizes individuals who make outstanding contributions to the knowledge and practice of the OEHS profession through demonstrating practical application of OEHS knowledge, advancing the practice of Total Worker Health, expanding the profession through active collaboration via alliances and partnerships, and creating tools applicable beyond the OEHS profession.

Mary J. Erio, CIH, CSP, PE
Nominated by J. Thomas Pierce, MBBS(MD), PhD, FAIHA

Ms. Erio has contributed to both global and community-based public service (USAID – Peace Corps and university-based occupational health leadership in Nicaragua and other Central American locations) and through two non-traditional social forums (the Alice Hamilton Institute’s Ground Zero efforts and Safety First™ - Heartland Labor Forum, KKFI radio, Kansas City, Missouri). In addition, she has successfully operated an occupational and environmental engineering and industrial hygiene practice in Kansas City, Missouri, for the past thirty-five years.

The Alice Hamilton Award for Social Responsibility distinguishes individuals who recognized and addressed the diverse needs of the workforce by developing and advancing the practice of social welfare and responsibility through public service, community service, and non-traditional social reform, thereby making a major impact on, and improvement of, public welfare.

Rayna D. Brown, MS, CIH, CSP
Nominated by Georgi I. Popov, PhD, QEP, CSP, ARM, SMS, CMC, FAIHA

As the current Director of Environmental, Health, Safety, and Sustainability at Catalent Pharmaceutical and an active Adjunct Professor in the Occupational Risk and Safety Sciences Department of the University of Central Missouri (UCM), Brown’s contributions to the field of EHS and commitment to students within the profession are simply outstanding. She actively serves on the American Board of Engineering Technology (ABET) Industry Advisory Council, working to provide ABET leadership with the perspectives of major employers on accreditation policy issues, acting as an advocate for the meaning and value of ABET accreditation to major technical employers and other key ABET stakeholders (2024-current). As an adjunct professor, she has influenced many undecided students and early career OSH students to continue their education and pursue an MS IH degree. She also encouraged numerous early career professionals to pursue professional certifications offered by the Board for Global EHS Credentialing (BGC).

Ms. Brown actively serves as Treasurer/Past-President of AIHA Mid-America local professional section (2024-current), having served successfully as President-
Elect and President of the Mid-America local section (2022-2024). She provided professional expertise on the finalization team for the AIHA Hierarchy of Controls white paper and was a participant on the ACGIH Pandemic Response Task Force serving on the Effectiveness of Face Coverings for Preventing SARS-COV-2 Transmission.

Ms. Brown was recently selected as one of the featured University of Central Missouri Alumni Foundation’s 10 Under 40 (2024) and has served as a mentor to
STEM high school students in the North Kansas City school district. She influenced numerous students to consider STEM careers, and more specifically, the
Industrial Hygiene profession. She participated in the AIHA Emerging Leaders program (2022) and served on the BCSP Emerging Professionals Committee (2023-
2024). Rayna was one of the main authors on the 2022 Synergist article, The Business Case for EHS.

The Kusnetz Award for Outstanding Achievement by an Early Career Professional honors an industrial hygienist under the age of 40 and currently employed in the private sector who shows promise for leadership in the profession. The Kusnetz Award is sponsored by Florence Kusnetz.

Maharshi P. Mehta, CIH, CSP, FAIHA
Nominated by Laurence Svirchev, MA, BSc, CIH

Mr. Mehta has been an outstanding member of the international OEHS community for the past 40 years, with his latest achievements including serving as President of IOHA (2022-2023) through its four-year officer cycle.

In parallel volunteer work, he served as an officer of the AIHA International Affairs Committee through its officer cycle, including chairing the Committee. Mehta is known as the “Father of Industrial Hygiene” in India due to his founding of the first IH Master’s program in that country. He also founded the Central Industrial Hygiene Association (CIHA) in India, a partner organization of the AIHA.

He has vast experience conducting industrial hygiene, construction safety, process safety, and general safety audits and assessments at more than 400 workplaces in 35 countries. He has developed training modules and conducted more than 150 training programs on Industrial Hygiene, Process Safety, Construction Safety, and OSHA’s general industry and construction industry standards, providing in-person and virtual training to thousands of professionals globally. He established the non-profit trust, Empowering Progress Foundation (www.empoweringlife.net), in India with the prime objective of promoting female education. Maharshi once said that the next Einstein could be found among such people if they only had some opportunity. He also supports the non-profit organization, Home for Humanity, in India that cares for mentally challenged men and women.

The Yant Award for Outstanding International Service recognizes outstanding contributions in OEHS or allied fields through academic research, teaching/ education, and/or professional practice to professional societies reflective of a global perspective.