• President

Pam Walaski, CSP, FASSP is Senior Program Director with Specialty Technical Consultants, Inc. and an adjunct faculty member for the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Safety Sciences Department. She is a Professional Member of ASSP, recently completing a 3-year term as Director At-Large. She was previously a member of the Society Finance and Nomination & Elections Committees, served on CoPA and was Vice Chair of CoPS. She was also the Administrator of the Consultants Practice Specialty and Keystone Area Director for Region VIII. 

Pam is a regular contributor to ASSP’s Professional Safety and was awarded first place in the 2021 Professional Paper Award for her article The Role of Indicators in OSH Performance Measurement, published in August 2020. She is Section Coordinator for Occupational Safety & Health Management Systems Section for the 3rd edition of The Safety Professionals Handbook scheduled for publication in 2022. Her book Risk and Crisis Communications; Methods and Messages was published by John Wiley & Sons in 2011 and she was an editor on the Consultants Business Development Guide, published by ASSP in 2015.

Pam has been a general session presenter at the ASSP PDC every year since 2005 and is an instructor for the ASSP Risk Assessment Certificate program. She also provides workshops on risk management, and other topics for ASSP and private clients.

Pam received the Region VIII Safety Professional of the Year Award in 2018, the Charles Culbertson Volunteer Service Award in 2015 and the CoPS Safety Professional of the Year in 2014.

ASSP operations underwent a seismic shift during the COVID-19 pandemic, not the least of which was the 40% drop in revenue in FY20 and FY21, with reductions projected to extend at least until FY23. During the second and third years of my term as an elected At Large member of the Board of Directors (BOD), I worked closely with my fellow BOD members and professional staff to make critical decisions to stabilize Society’s finances and operations.

Regardless of what happens in the next several years, the pandemic will continue challenge our Society and ability to fulfill its mission. Since the summer of 2020, the BOD and staff have been working to reimagine a future state of steadiness and eventual growth. This process has featured exemplary collaboration among the key players to diligently scrutinize the effects of the pandemic while endeavoring to maintain core member benefits and services. It has required, and will continue to require, tough but balanced decisions, rooted in maintaining the integrity of the Society. ASSP will have to take bold steps in the coming years, a condition not unlike that faced by most professional societies as well as the organizations for whom our members work. This process will require Board members who possess a deep understanding and appreciation of ASSP and its 100+ year history; demonstrated and tested leadership; and a strong connection to our members.

During the three years I spent as BOD member, I worked hard to listen to and then represent the voice of the member. I have deliberately placed myself where members are - engaging with you at live events, participating in ROC meetings and Society conference calls, responding to emails and phone calls, and being active on social media. I brought and will continue to bring that voice to deliberations with the BOD on strategic planning; approving and tracking key performance indicators; and in pinpointing budget priorities to enable the long-term financial viability of the Society.

At this critical juncture in ASSP’s history, I believe steady and proven expertise is essential to continue to recover from the effects of the pandemic, emerging on the other side not just surviving, but thriving so we as members can continue working together for a safer stronger future. This is a challenge I am willing to undertake and unwilling to postpone. I believe my previous experience on the BOD provides me with an understanding of the scope of the shifts as well as the long view of what it will take to develop a post-pandemic stabilization plan for staff to implement.