On the Last Five Years, and the Century to Come

Five years ago, just a few days into my tenure as president and CEO of the National Safety Council, I wrote a blog introducing myself to NSC stakeholders and the safety world at large. In it, I quoted the Council’s first president, Robert W. Campbell, who said safety is about doing things “the right way.”

I had no idea then how the following five years would challenge me and everyone at the Council to not only do things the right way, but to forge new ways to face unexpected and unprecedented hurdles. 

Of course, that has always been the Council’s métier. NSC has a century-long legacy of blazing trails and beckoning others to follow. In the ’20s we compiled statistics on preventable deaths and injuries in the first publication of its kind; in the ’60s we coined the term defensive driving; in the ‘70s we advocated for the formation of OSHA; and in the ’90s our Click It Or Ticket campaign made national waves. We are not content to merely keep people as safe as they are today. We are always looking for ways to make tomorrow and the next day even safer. 

In the last five years we’ve proven time and again that NSC remains at the forefront of the modern safety movement. During the pandemic we helped businesses safely navigate both in-person and remote work. Post-pandemic we provided guidance around returning to the office and dealing with the lingering effect on employee mental health and its impact on safety.

Since 2021, when we launched the MSD Solutions Lab, more than 200 organizations have signed onto our pledge to reduce musculoskeletal disorders – the most common workplace injury – by 25% by 2025. 

We’ve raised our voice on the often-overlooked issue of workplace overdoses, and we’re starting to see employers as well as the federal and state governments echo our calls to get naloxone in workplaces and train employees to use it.

And we’ve seen our roadway priorities – including the goal of zero roadway deaths – ingrained in national policy. 

These past five years have changed me for the better in ways I never anticipated. I experience the world differently, always looking for how things can be made better and safer. My values have shifted and clarified as I’ve dedicated myself to serving a mission of making other people – most of whom I’ll never meet – safe. I’ve now held this role longer than any other in my 40-year career, and I am more energized than ever. There is still so much work to be done, so much to learn as safety continues to evolve, so many new technologies and strategies to explore and employ, and so many lives to save. 

In the next five years we want to continue doing the work the Council has always done -- serving as a national voice on the safety of workplaces and roadways – while partnering even closer with employers to help them meet their specific safety challenges. From the federal government and the biggest corporations to small businesses and communities, we will help every partner find the right way, and then follow it.

Since our founding in 1913 NSC has helped save 7 million lives. I am so grateful to be part of this long tradition and the amazing NSC team that every day moves us forward in our mission. I can't wait to see what we’ll accomplish in the next five years, and how many more lives we’ll save in the century to come.