Amanda Edens Appointed New Deputy Assistant Secretary for OSHA

The U.S. Department of Labor announced last week that Amanda Edens has been selected as the new deputy assistant secretary for OSHA. Edens’ prior position was as the director of the agency’s Directorate of Technical Support and Emergency Management since 2012. According to her OSHA biography, Edens has contributed to the development of health standards such as asbestos, bloodborne pathogens, and hexavalent chromium; led emergency management efforts for protecting the health and safety of response and cleanup workers following Hurricanes Sandy, Harvey, Irma, and Maria; and led emergency technical support efforts during Ebola events and the Zika epidemic.

Edens joined OSHA as an industrial hygienist in 1985 and became director for the Office of Chemical Hazards-Metals in OSHA’s Directorate of Standards and Guidance in 2002. In 2007, she became deputy director of the Directorate of Standards and Guidance.

Edens holds a Master of Science in Public Health and Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.