Matthew F. Herron, MS, PE, CSP, CPE, has over 10 years of experience as a practicing Safety Professional. He has worked in a wide range of industries including healthcare, research and development, automotive, and aerospace. He is currently the Senior Safety Engineer for the Mechanical Engineering Division at Southwest Research Institute® in San Antonio, Texas. In this role, he leads the continual improvement efforts for the Division’s ISO 45001-based Safety Program. Mr. Herron has expertise in building, managing, and auditing OHS management systems, applying occupational safety engineering, ergonomics/human factors, and industrial engineering principles to solve complex safety issues.
Mr. Herron holds a Master of Science degree in Occupational Safety Engineering and Ergonomics from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics from the University of West Georgia. Additionally, he is a Licensed Professional Engineer (PE) in Texas, and he has earned the designations of Certified Safety Professional (CSP) and a Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE).
Mr. Herron has been a member of ASSP for over 11 years. He has served in a wide variety of leadership positions including: Region III South Area Director (July 2020 – Present), Region III Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs (April 2018 – June 2020), Region III Professional Development Conference Chairman (August 2018 – Present), Region III Student Leadership Conference Planning Committee Member (April 2018 – Present), as well as the President of the South Texas Chapter (July 2017 – June 2018). Additionally, he sits on the Advisory Committees for the Engineering and Ergonomics Practice Specialties and Emerging Professionals Common Interest Group.
As an ASSP Leader, it is my vision to develop and improve systems, and facilitate processes in order to foster better communication and sharing best practices amongst our Student Sections, Chapters, Regions, and Society as a whole; in order to provide our members with the technical knowledge, skills, and insights needed to become successful Safety Professionals in their own organizations and to advance the safety profession.
I want to serve as the Region III Vice President, because I believe that in this role, I can have the greatest impact on improving the Region's Operations in order to add value to our member's experience.
Some of the areas that I would like to enhance:
• Promote and foster better cross-collaboration amongst our Chapter’s Leadership Roles in order to share lessons learned and best practices (i.e., Communications chairs should be sharing marketing tips for posting information on social media.)
• Utilize Society Resources to increase communications throughout the Region (i.e., Region III Calendar of Events, etc.)
• Digitize the Region’s Awards and Honors Applications (e.g., Region III SPY and Hall of Fame) to streamline the nomination process
• Bolster current Student Sections and establish new Student Sections to create a leadership pipeline for our Chapters, Region, and our Profession
• Create a Student Leader of the Year (SLY) Award for our Region.
If I am elected Region III Vice President, I will leverage my professional network within our Region and Society, as well as use my leadership experience to provide guidance, support, and direction to our Chapter Leaders to plan, develop, and implement meaningful events and activities that will enhance the value of your ASSP membership and enable you to become a better Safety Professional!