60,000+

Workers lost their lives in the last 12 years. Anything above zero is unacceptable.

The Strategic Advisory Board was created to support the Veriforce mission
of bringing workers home safely from high-hazard jobs.

Our Strategic Advisory Board is composed of nationally-recognized industry safety professionals, who work together to assist Veriforce with strategic visioning and tactical delivery of business strategy, to help global companies reduce risk in their supply chains.

Meet the Board

James Junkin
CSP, MSP, SMS, ASP, CSHO

CEO at Mariner-Gulf Consulting & Services, LLC, Chairman, SAB

READ BIO

William J. VandeSande
MAEd

Veriforce Master Trainer,
Vice-Chair, SAB

READ BIO

David Daniels
PhD, CSD, VPS

ID2 Solutions, LLC

READ BIO

Simon Goncharenko
PhD, CSP

VP of Global Operations at Safeguard Solutions

READ BIO

Linda Martin
PhD, PMP, CIH, CSP, MSP, CHMM

Technical Expert in Health and Safety, Industrial Hygiene, Risk, Auditing/Inspection, and ESG

READ BIO

William Walker
CSP, CIH

Sr. Director of Environmental Health and Safety at Battalion Oil

READ BIO

David Bates

Former OSHA Area Director

READ BIO

Douglas Castro
CSP, CSSM, COSM

Operations Manager at Environmental Health Services, LLC

READ BIO

Christopher Court
MPH, CSP

Senior Safety Manager
at Zachry Group

READ BIO

Chris Kuiper
MS, CSP

Instructor – Occupational Safety,
Health and Environment at SLU

READ BIO

Yara Carrillo
CSP

EHS Principal Consultant at DEKRA North America

READ BIO

Chris Detillier
ASP, COSM

Master Trainer and Sr. Safety Advisor at Veriforce

READ BIO

Steve Sorensen
ASP

Sr. HSE Specialist at T.D.Williamson, Inc

READ BIO

Richard Emberling
COSM, COSS

Sr. HSE Advisor at Veriforce

READ BIO

Cathi Marx
ALCM, COSS, COES, CHPP

Retired Safety Professional

READ BIO

Danny Lopez

Occupational Compliance Consulant, Veriforce Master Trainer

READ BIO

Bill Henderson

Alliant Insurance Services

READ BIO

 

 

Working together to expand the boundaries of traditional safety practices through innovative learning solutions and critical knowledge sharing that improve worker health, safety and overall performance.

 

 

To bring together the brightest minds in industrial safety to provide strategic enhancement of Veriforce's leading impact on the prevention of serious injuries and fatalities in the workplace.

Thought-provoking, timely topics
from our industry leaders.

This collection of valuable industry articles, blogs, and white papers demonstrates the knowledge and expertise of each member of the Strategic Advisory Board.

WHITE PAPER

January 11, 2023

The Case for Respiratory Protection Training

If employees use respirators, even on occasion, respiratory protection foundational training, hazard or chemical-specific training, annual refresher training, and situational retraining must be performed to avoid OSHA violations and ensure workers are safe and healthy.


Multiple Members of the SAB

WHITE PAPER

September 19, 2022

Why Safety Must Go Beyond Simply Awareness

One of the biggest mistakes an organization can make is to stop safety education for its workers at the awareness/orientation level. Hiring clients and contractors are responsible for ensuring workers are qualified to perform their tasks safely…


Multiple Members of the SAB

BLOG

June 17, 2022

Eye-to-Eye with Hurricanes: Lessons Learned for Business Owners From the Eye of the Storm

Last year, the Atlantic hurricane season produced seven hurricanes, four of which were classified as major hurricanes with winds of 111 mph or greater.


James Junkin

The Strategic Advisory Board will continue its relentless pursuit of working collaboratively to reduce jobsite risks, so that more workers go home safely every day.

James Junkin

CSP, MSP, SMS, ASP, CSHO

 

Chief Executive Officer at Mariner-Gulf Consulting & Services, LLC, Veriforce Master Trainer, Chairman of the Strategic Advisory Board

 
 

James is a noted author on safety topics and the CEO and co-founder of Mariner-Gulf Consulting & Services, LLC, a risk management and occupational safety and health consulting firm, specializing in safety regulations, training, management systems, and EHS program implementation. A much sought-after Veriforce Master Trainer, James has taught over 40,000 students and trained over 3,000 instructors. James sits on the editorial board of Professional Safety Journal and a member of the ANSI/ASSP Z-390.1 committee. He is also a member of the advisory group for the American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP). In recognition of his impact in the professional safety community, Columbia Southern University named James as its 2022 Safety Professional of the Year (Runner Up).

 

William J. VandeSande

MAEd

 

Veriforce Master Trainer, Board Vice Chair

 

William has a 50-year career that spans multiple industries from theater and entertainment to safety consulting and employee training. With a Masters in Adult Education Distance Learning and a Graduate Certificate in Occupational Health and Safety, he creates branded and customized blended learning packages for HSE clients and is a Veriforce Master Trainer.

 

David Daniels

PhD, CSD, VPS

 

ID2 Solutions, LLC

 

Dr. Daniels holds a Ph.D. in Occupational Health and Safety and is certified as a safety director, violence prevention specialist, emergency management specialist, safety and health specialist, and certified in mental health first aid. He serves as a member of the National Safety Council (NSC) board of directors and is a recipient of the NSC’s Distinguished Service to Safety Award. He is also chair of the National Association of Black Compliance and Risk Management Professionals Safety and Security Workgroup.

 

Simon Goncharenko

Ph.D., CSP

 

Vice President of Global Operations at Safeguard Solutions

 

With over 25 years of professional experience in leadership, training, and environmental safety and health across multiple industries, including construction, energy, and data centers, Dr. Goncharenko’s latest focus is in the area of human organizational performance. He is a published author, keynote speaker, and trainer – passionate about helping organizations gauge and improve their cultures, values, and performance.

 

Linda Martin

PhD, PMP, CIH, CSP, MSP, CHMM

 

Technical Expert in Health and Safety, Industrial Hygiene, Risk, Auditing/Inspection, and ESG

 

Dr. Martin has 32 years of occupational safety management, construction safety, industrial hygiene, toxicology, epidemiology, environmental consulting, and remote instruction/curriculum development. She is a two-term past president of the board of directors of the Board of Certified Safety Professionals, received the 2021 Board of Global EHS Credentialing/American Board of Industrial Hygiene Impact Award for the Certified Industrial Hygienist and received the 2018 National Safety Council Marion Martin award.

 

William Walker

CSP, CIH

 

Sr. Director of Environmental Health and Safety at Battalion Oil

 
 

William has over 25 years of experience in health, safety, and environmental management and is a Certified Industrial Hygienist. He has a passion for championing the philosophy of Prevention through Design (PtD) and Serious Incident and Fatality (SIF) prevention for workers in the oil and gas industry.

 

David A. Bates

 

Former OSHA Area Director

 

David worked for OSHA for 35 years, serving in many roles including Area Director of Oklahoma, Assistant Area Director in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and Little Rock, Arkansas, and Deputy Area Commander for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration response to the Deepwater Horizon and Hurricane Harvey incidents.

 

Douglas Castro

CSP, CSSM, COSM

 

Operations Manager at Environmental
Health Services, LLC

 

For 18 years, Douglas has worked in workplace safety, risk management, leadership and professional development, training video production, and computer-based training design. Douglas is an EHS & Leadership Course Developer and Instructor, test prep developer for safety professionals, NCCER Master Trainer and CSSM, and has trained hundreds of OSHA trainers.

 

Christopher Court

MPH, CSP

 

Senior Safety Manager at Zachry Group

 

Chris is an accomplished, highly qualified health and safety professional with experience in a range of industry sectors, with over seven years of field experience ranging from oil and gas, petrochemical processing plants, to heavy construction sites, to support and champion a culture of health and safety for all employees.

 

Chris Kuiper

MS, CSP

 

Instructor – Occupational Safety, Health and Environment at Southeastern Louisiana University

 

Chris’s more than 45 years of industry, consulting, and academic experience has included time with Mobil Oil in domestic and foreign assignments, and Golden Aluminum Co. as HSE manager. Over his career, Chris has conducted numerous Process Safety Management hazard analyses and audits and taught at the University of Denver and Southeastern Louisiana University.

 

Yara Carrillo

CSP

 

EHS Principal Consultant at DEKRA North America

 

Yara specializes in workplace safety engineering and continuous improvement, by developing trustworthy relationships and the utilization of data collection and analysis. Her areas of expertise include manufacturing, gap analysis, implementation and sustainability of safety programs, and chemical safety. She is a seasoned EH&S manager, with 10+ years of experience implementing, sustaining, and improving 22+ environmental, safety, and health programs in the manufacturing industry. Yara is passionate about injury prevention, process engineering, as well as worker’s and environmental safety for manufacturing, and environmental consulting firms.

 

Chris Detillier

ASP, COSM

 

Master Trainer and Sr. Safety Advisor at Veriforce

 

Chris is a senior safety advisor for Veriforce Inc. with over 15 years of experience in safety and health as a master trainer and auditor for Veriforce, as well as experience in health and safety management.

 

Steve Sorensen

ASP

 

Sr. HSE Specialist at T.D.Williamson, Inc

 

Steve is a health, safety, and environmental specialist with over two decades of combined experience serving the semiconductor and pipeline industries. He specializes in protecting people who work on pressurized piping systems through the development and implementation of effective health and safety management systems.

 

Richard Emberling

COSM, COSS

 

Sr. HSE Advisor at Veriforce

 

Richard is a U.S. Navy veteran and currently works as a senior HSE advisor for Veriforce. He is a master trainer for Veriforce and a H2S Master Trainer under Eric Rosemann and Associates, LLC, formerly Frank Perry. His experience includes workover rigs, drilling rigs, pipeline, fracking and cementing, holding positions at Mobil Oil Corporation and 10 years in a fire department as the training officer. Richard is a member of the ANSI/ASSP Z-390.1 committee.

 

Cathi Marx

ALCM, COSS, COES, CHPP

 

Retired Safety Professional

 

Cathi has over 40 years of occupational safety, insurance, and risk management experience. She is an experienced “threat and risk assessment” consultant for religious institutions and schools, providing recommendations for security improvements. Cathi served for eight years in the United States Coast Guard Reserves in Port Safety & Security. She was awarded the Safety Professional of the Year Region I by the American Society for Safety Professionals and the International Risk Manager of the Year by the Association of Insurance Professionals.

 

Daniel V. Lopez

 

Occupational Compliance Consultant,
Veriforce Master Trainer

 

Daniel started his career in safety training and consulting in 1996. Prior to starting his own company, he worked for Shell for 13 years. Now he assists new and established companies in the development of their safety and health programs and training. His accolades include OSHA-authorized instructor, HAZWOPER instructor, and a Veriforce Master Trainer.

 

Bill Henderson

CSHO

 

Alliant Insurance Services

 

A safety professional with over 30 years of experience spanning manufacturing, steel production, and oil and gas drilling, H2S, heavy equipment operations and more. Bill focuses on the relationship aspect of safety rather than strict enforcement.