5 Reasons to Become a Mentor:

1. Improve communication and soft-skills
2. Develop leadership and management qualities
3. Enhance your own knowledge of a subject
4. Boost your confidence and motivation
5. Add value to your CV and further your volunteer experience

​Mentoring is investing and nurturing in the future of the profession and the individuals who make it up. Allowing mentees to tap into your professional and personal experiences expands their opportunities and is a meaningful way to make a difference in their lives and advance the industry.

To join the mentoring program, click here to get started.

5 Reasons to Find a Mentor:
​You’ll get expert guidance on:

1. Personal and career goals and growth
2. Interview tips and techniques
3. Presentation and public speaking expertise
4. Building your net worth and network
5. Achieving excellence in leadership, diversity and inclusion

Ready to find a mentor?  Click here to get started.

Don't forget to check out the SynergistNOW Blog at https://www.aiha.org/blog.  

SynergistNOW, a blog created and delivered by the American Industrial Hygiene Association, offers ideas, insights, and perspectives on important topics affecting industrial and occupational hygiene professionals, written by and for experienced IH/OHs, researchers, academics, and AIHA leaders.​​  It is free to the public and you can easily subscribe to get news and updates in your email -- click HERE to subscribe.  

News categories are linked below:

• Synergist Blog
  • Touchstone ... by Larry Sloan
  • The Membership Experience
  • I Am IH
  • Dialogues
  • Serial
  • The Monthly Weekly
  • The Toolbox
  • Still Learning
  • Women in IH
  • AIHA University
  • Washington Insider

National AIHA Press Release 

AIHA’s new Board of Directors for 2020-2021 announced at Business Meeting that includes the following officers:

• President J. Lindsay Cook, MSPH, CIH, CSP, FAIHA
• President-elect John R. Mulhausen, PhD, CIH, CSP, FAIHA
• Vice president Donna S. Heidel, MS, CIH, FAIHA
• Past president Kathy S. Murphy, CIH
• Secretary Dina Siegel, CIH, CSP, CBSP, FAIHA
• Secretary-elect Bradley S. King, PhD, MPH, CIH
• Treasurer Nicole Greeson, M.S., CIH
• AIHA CEO Lawrence Sloan, MBA, CAE (ex-officio)

The following AIHA members will also serve as AIHA directors for 2020-21:

• Lucinette Alvarado, M.S., CIH
• Kimberly M. Castillon, CIH
• Srinivas Durgam, CIH, CSP
• Bernard L. Fontaine, Jr., CIH, CSP, FAIHA
• Pamela Kostle, M.S., CIH, FAIHA
• Michael Ochs, MPA, CIH, CSP

“We are excited to welcome the new Board of Directors,” said Sloan. “The new members will bring leadership and expertise in their respective fields, and more importantly, they’re committed to improving worker health and safety. Joining our board demonstrates their passion for creating healthier workplaces and a healthier world,” he continued.
The following leaders have completed their terms of service on the AIHA board: past president Cynthia A. Ostrowski, CIH, FAIHA, and past director Michele M. Twilley, DrPH, CIH. Ostrowski and Twilley will remain active volunteers with AIHA.
In thanking the outgoing members, Sloan added that “Cindy and Michele have made lasting contributions to the association. Through their efforts, they have helped to raise the bar on the caliber of AIHA programs and services, which advance our mission.”

On April 15 the National AIHA will unveil an updated and refreshed CareerAdvantage job board, which will make it easier for job seekers to explore career opportunities and for employers to connect with top talent.

The redesigned CareerAdvantage job board has new and improved features to enhance user experience!  Mark your Calendar for the launch on April 15, 2020!

Sponsored by AIHA’s Career and Employment Services Committee, CareerAdvantage​​ is the reliable online job board that connects industrial hygiene and occupational and environmental health and safety job seekers with employers across all industries.

Earn 1.5 Contact Hours - Archived Webinar
(This webinar is already loaded in paid Pittsburgh AIHA Member's online e-learning classroom)

Amidst the flood of information about the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the greatest risks is missing key intelligence that can protect health and save lives. This town hall-style webinar, co-hosted by AIHA and the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), will address occupational health and safety professionals’, industrial hygienists’ and infection preventionists’ questions about ventilation, surface disinfection, respirators, construction issues, occupational health and safety during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Participants will hear from Larry Sloan, AIHA CEO, Katrina Crist, APIC CEO, and presenters Roberta Smith and Lewis Johnson.

The webinar is free of charge for AIHA and APIC Members, as well as the general public. CIHs and CICs may earn 1.5 contact hours toward their respective accreditations.

Learning Objectives:

• The difference between a procedure mask and an N95 respirator as well as emergency use of industrial-grade respirators;
• The role of contact, droplet, and airborne transmission of COVID-19 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC);
• The appropriate PPE for droplet and airborne precautions;
• Alternatives to respirators;
• The differences in the infection prevention approach for non-healthcare locations;
• Identifying locations within a hospital facility where COVID-19 exposure is most likely to occur;
• The six potential problems with rebalancing general ventilation to create negative pressure zones for use in place of AIIR.

Click below to sign up:
Register for this free webinar

March 24, 2020: An updated message from AIHA CEO, Larry Sloan

Ever since I wrote to you on March 16 about AIHce EXP 2020, the prevalence of COVID-19 has worsened across the US. Given the ever-increasing severity of the pandemic, the AIHA Board of Directors has tasked the AIHce EXP staff to devise various scenarios for bringing quality education to the membership this year in the event that we end up not hosting a live event in Atlanta.

The staff has been considering the following scenarios:

• Continuing to host a smaller version of the live event
• Hosting a hybrid live event (live event with increased virtual elements)
• Hosting an entirely virtual event
• Postponing/rescheduling the event
• Cancelling the event

In order to make the best informed decision, staff has conferred with various sources including the conference keynote speakers, session presenters, attorneys, and vendors to figure out the most efficient and effective way to deliver education to our members and customers, while observing safety and prudence first and foremost.
​
By April 16, we will announce the final decision about how AIHA will deliver education to you this year despite these tenuous times. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Sincerely,
Lawrence D. Sloan
Chief Executive Officer
National AIHA

​Click here to read AIHce EXP's previous statements regarding COVID-19.

November 2019 Synergist Article

Three new NIOSH “Workplace Solutions” documents published in October offer recommendations regarding protections for workers from noise, Legionella, and cold. Written for a general audience, the Workplace Solutions series summarizes the current understanding of specific hazards, describes relevant regulations and nonregulatory guidance, provides short case studies that illustrate the application of protections, and offers recommendations for both employers and workers.

In “Using Total Worker Health Concepts to Address Hearing Health,” NIOSH explains the risk factors that affect hearing both on and off the job and recommends using concepts from the agency’s Total Worker Health initiative, or TWH, to protect hearing health. TWH involves policies, programs, and practices that integrate protection from work-related safety and health hazards with promotion of injury and illness prevention efforts. The document explains relevant noise exposure limits and summarizes research related to occupational, nonoccupational, and environmental factors that affect noise exposure. In addition to recommendations for employers and workers, the document lists several recommendations for medical professionals to incorporate “total hearing health” into clinical practice.

“Preventing Occupational Exposure to Legionella” explains the sources of Legionella and summarizes guidelines to control exposure, including those from CDC, OSHA, EPA, and AIHA. A case study discusses a NIOSH investigation of a car and scrap metal shredding facility that identified Legionella in equipment and standing puddles.

The document “Preventing Cold-Related Illness, Injury, and Death among Workers” explains possible health outcomes from exposure to cold, including chilblains, trench foot, frostbite, and hypothermia. Case studies describe health effects from occupational exposures at an airline catering facility and a sheep ranch. 

All NIOSH Workplace Solutions documents are available from the agency website.

By Mark Ames, AIHA's Director of Government Relations
(Article published on the AIHA.org Blog)
​
I can hardly think of it without smiling. Thanksgiving: the smells of savory spices filling the air joined by the din of family and friends conversing. This is a time of great fellowship, a time of peaceful presentness and reflection on our many blessings. Just as we plan with meticulous care the meal (or meals!) that we will soon enjoy, so too do we look to the future and envision where we wish to be in the days to come.
​
When you think of “AIHA,” what images first come to mind? I’ll bet they’re of AIHce EXP, or perhaps a local section meeting or conference, catching up with friends, colleagues, and making new acquaintances while learning about the latest developments in occupational safety and health. The people are one of the many things that make AIHA special, and high-quality networking opportunities are consistently rated as one of the most important member benefits. Like the Thanksgiving holiday, people are at the heart of everything we do; this is equally true in government relations.
AIHA has a lot to be thankful for. Because of our members, we have achieved considerable success this year alone. Here’s what we’ve accomplished so far in 2019:

• AIHA Government Relations published our first-ever Public Policy Agenda.
• Local sections held “Days on the Hill” meetings with State legislators.
• Tom Grumbles, past president of AIHA and the Product Stewardship Society, testified before Congress on the Toxic Substances Control Act.
• Anthony Oliveri, Secretary of the ACTIONS Committee, testified before the Michigan State House Education Committee on young worker health and safety and workforce development.
• AIHA Government Relations launched our first-ever public engagement campaign, focusing on wildfires.
• The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness and Advancing Innovation Act.
• The House also passed a funding bill that contains AIHA’s recommended levels for OSHA, MSHA, and NIOSH.
• An AIHA-supported bill that addresses the cleanup of fentanyl contaminated property was enacted into law in California.
• An AIHA-supported bill that encourages high school students to take an OSHA 30-hour course as an option to meet their graduation requirements was passed by the Michigan State House Education Committee.
• AIHA was invited to participate in the first-ever combined workshop of public and private partners to discuss supply chain issues related to the Strategic National Stockpile for pandemics.
• AIHA participated in OSHA’s Safe Summer Jobs campaign, Safe + Sound Week, Construction Roundtable, and other agency events.
• AIHA submitted comments to NIOSH and OSHA on requests for information.

Presently, we stand with members who are energized and eager to help advance public policies that protect workers and their communities. Policymakers are willing (and in some cases have committed) to introducing legislation that supports AIHA’s recommendations, and government entities and nongovernmental organizations are excited to work with us. The next great challenge will be to stoke this energy and channel it into additional successes for worker health and safety. AIHA is rising to meet this need. Be on the lookout for a new grassroots government relations engagement strategy that builds upon AIHA’s Public Policy Agenda and is designed to amplify our impact on public policy by focusing on our common fellowship and desire to build a world where all workers are healthy and safe. In the meantime, if you’d like to join AIHA’s government relations committee, please email me or call me at (703) 846-0730.

Mark Ames, AIHA Director of Government Relations