May 11 – 13, 2022
Hybrid Conference
For decades, top minds and motivated professionals in the safety industry have come to our conference to network, learn, and advance the industry.
Meet and connect with other industry professionals during sessions and other networking opportunities.
1Learn from and engage with leading voices in the safety industry, and around our province and country.
3Hear from some of the leading voices in the safety industry and connect with other professionals.
2Combine work and play by taking part in our hosted sessions and virtually interacting with other guests.
4We’re pulling out all the stops to create a great conference experience for you in 2022.
Check out this video highlight of the new venue! The audio-visual elements at the Evangel Community Centre will bring a highly engaging experience for both in-person and virtual conference attendees. Comfortable seating, easy access to exhibitors, and an on-site cafe all add to the 65th annual conference and trade show this year. See you in Gander May 11-13!
Assistant Professor, Memorial University
Dr. Mike Wahl is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Human Anatomy and BioMedical Sciences in the School of Medicine at Memorial University. He is also the host of the radio show called the Wellness and Healthy Lifestyle Show aka “the WAHL show” on VOCM - which is now becoming a television version of the program that will air on NTV in the Summer of 2022. Mike has spent over 25 years in the field of wellness as an entrepreneur and business person. In 2017 he won the Global Student Entrepreneur of the Year while completing his PHD in Medicine and was selected to attend the G20 Summit on Entrepreneurship on behalf of Canada.
WorkplaceNL
Jo-Ann Woodland has been employed with WorkplaceNL the for the past 21 years. Throughout her career, she has held various positions in the Claims Services and Prevention Services Departments. Since 2019, Jo-Ann has been primarily working with the Certification Training Standards as Senior Health and Safety Advisor. She has over 15 years’ experience working directly with employers and OHS Committees across all industries.
Jo-Ann is a Certified Health and Safety Consultant (CHSC) and is a graduate from the College of the North Atlantic with a Business Management Program and a Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety, and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Memorial University.
Newfoundland & Labrador Hydro
Jamie was born in Winnipeg, MB but spent only one week there as he and his Mother returned to Bishop’s Falls where he was raised by his mother and grandparents.
Jamie attended grade school in Bishop’s Falls at Leo Burke Academy and went to Memorial University to complete his bachelor’s degree Mechanical Engineering. Jamie completed his six engineering work terms with Abitibi Bowater, North Atlantic Refining Limited and Exmar Offshore in Houston, Texas before being hired by Nalcor Energy in August 2008 as a graduate engineer. Jamie’s first placement with Nalcor Energy was with Churchill Falls Labrador Corporation where he spent 14 months before being transferred to Holyrood in January 2010. In July 2010, Jamie was hired as the Project and Quality Assurance Engineer at Holyrood and remained in this position until June 2018. In June 2018, Jamie was promoted to the Manager of Work Execution; a position he still holds to this day. During Jamie’s time at Holyrood, he spent five years on the Occupational Health and Safety committee and eight years on the Holyrood High Angle Rescue Team (HART). Jamie's work passion is inspection, piping design and maintenance in the Holyrood plant which he holds so dearly to his heart. In 2017, Jamie won the Nalcor Energy President's Award for Safety.
Jamie is a registered professional engineer with the province of NL. Jamie currently lives in St. John’s with his wife Laura who is a high school chemistry and physics teacher at Centre for Distance Learning and Innovation (CDLI) working from St. John's and teaching students all around our province. Jamie loves spending time with his wife Laura and their dog Stormy enjoying our beautiful province and country.
WRDC
Lisa is a highly skilled facilitator with over 30 years of experience. A former member the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS), she has delivered hundreds of professional development workshops on a variety of topics to thousands of employees across the four Atlantic provinces and has a diverse background in education, business, and non-profit.
Prior to joining WRDC in 2014, Lisa was the Western Regional Business Connections Coordinator with Newfoundland and Labrador Organization of Women Entrepreneurs (NLOWE). Lisa holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Winnipeg and an Education degree from Memorial University of Newfoundland. She has taught in the Canadian and International school systems, held various management positions with Bell Aliant with a dedicated focus on Employee Engagement and has managed her own Coaching and Consulting company. Lisa is a certified Mediator, Coach and a Diversity and Inclusion Influencer through the Canadian Centre of Diversity and Inclusion (CCDI).
Throughout her career Lisa has been on numerous boards including the Community Mental Health Association and continues to be a strong advocate for mental health.
GET EXPERIENCE
Learning what is on the horizon for health and safety in our province, country, and around the globe is key in moving forward. Find out from those leading the charge.
To include President’s Annual Report
Mike Wahl
Today we face complex challenges that impact the health and well-being of our workers. These factors include the remote nature of our working environments, shift work, fatigue, mental health challenges, and rising rates of obesity – stemming from poor lifestyle, shifts in the age demographics of workforces, and a rise in automation leading to sedentary jobs. These factors may predispose workers to becoming susceptible to long-term disability, injury, or incident. This presentation highlights case studies and novel doctoral scientific research from heavy industry. Dr. Wahl will illustrate the role of basic lifestyle intervention, injury prevention education, and improving worker physical capacity and health literacy as an effective means of reducing the risk of illness and injury and their associated costs to organizations both financially and operationally.
Colin LeGrow
In this session Colin will go beyond high angle and confined space rescue to discuss how effective emergency response contributes to improved safety performance and a confident productive workforce. Included are emergency response plans and coordination, practical emergency response risk assessment, hazard identification, working effectively with outside agencies and effective rescue team feedback.
Jamie Curtis
Jamie will talk about working, managing people, and enjoying life while having depression and general anxiety disorder. Jamie's presentation talks about how he has dealt with and overcome the perceived obstacles associated with mental health.
