Over the past year, we have made substantial changes at the Manufacturing Safety Alliance of BC in our service delivery methods to address the changing health and safety needs of manufacturing and food processing companies. The pandemic has also increased demand for specialized safety services in our workplaces—particularly in occupational hygiene and mental health. 

Expanding support to employers to meet this need, we are excited to announce four new; strategic hires this week. These new team members’ expertise will help the Alliance support more employers with the professional safety services and training they need. 

• Joining the Alliance in May as a mental health specialist, Andrea McKinlay is a Registered Psychiatric Nurse with 15 years‘ experience working in mental health and addictions. She specializes in trauma-informed care for clients with complex mental health disorders and delivers health education and consultation. With a Bachelor of Science in psychiatric nursing, Andrea is completing her Master’s degree in health studies. 
• Rajanvir Hans will join the Alliance as an occupational hygienist in April. Based in Kelowna, he will provide expertise in air quality, noise assessments, and general safety advising services for employers in the Interior and Northern BC. With a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and a Master of Science in Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, Raj comes to the Alliance with seven years of research and practical experience in chemistry and occupational hygiene in industrial applications with some of the province‘s largest employers. 

Andrea and Raj will add depth to our team of specialists – who currently support industrial and office ergonomics, air quality, noise, combustible dust, machine safeguarding, industrial storage racking, critical incident response, and x-ray safety.

To support efficient operations and increase awareness for our services and training options, we are also adding two new marketing and administration specialists in the next week. 

• Digital Marketing and Events Specialist Anna Rowinska-Turrall will support the growing demand for ongoing learning via virtual events and webinars, and live events as COVID-19 restrictions relax. With over ten years of experience in the field, she has developed and promoted dozens of large-scale events and conferences. Her experience in virtually every aspect of event planning and production will raise the bar for upcoming Alliance events.  
• Executive Assistant to the COO Christine Diel’s extensive administration experience will drive program efficiency as she supports our executive team’s work. Born and raised in Germany, Christine comes to the new role with substantial executive administration and office management experience in Canada‘s public and educational sectors and practical experience with occupational health and safety from a human resources perspective.