Academy of Industrial Hygiene
CANDIDATES’ FORUM
The Academy of Industrial Hygiene (AIH) will conduct its annual election in August 2011. This candidate’s forum allows
diplomates to gain better insight on the candidates.
Melissa Ling and Lauralynn Taylor McKernan are running
for the office of vice president. The vice president automatically progresses to president-elect, president, and past president for a four-year commitment. The term of office will
begin at the close of the AIH business meeting held during
PCIH.
The AIH election will be conducted electronically through
Votenet, a nationally recognized e-balloting company.
Melissa Ling, CIH, CEM, LEED-AP
MetaChloros, LLC
Chicago, Ill.
The Academy is positioned to take great
strides in defining the future of the IH
profession. We can provide the means to
create opportunities that are critical for
the future relevancy of the profession in
this current tumultuous global market-
place. Our association has provided the
infrastructure to promote the value and integrity of the pro-
fession, and yet it is time to focus on outreach to spread these
concepts to a broader audience. I envision several key areas to
shape our future:
• Meet members’ need to stay relevant within their profes-
Lauralynn Taylor McKernan, ScD, CIH
NIOSH
Cincinnati, Ohio
Responsibilities are increasing, budgets
are shrinking, the workforce is seasoning
but the challenge of assessing and con-
trolling occupational hazards in the work-
place is still paramount. The Academy
can’t solve these challenges for us, but it
could and should provide support to the
industrial hygiene profession to enhance our skills while ac-
commodating the realities of the profession.
The Academy should focus its efforts on activities that advance the profession such as leadership and educational forums (including PCIH), promoting professional credentials for
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The Synergist ; June/July 2011
Votenet offers a secure Web-based voting system. Electronic
ballots will be e-mailed to diplomates on Aug. 1, 2011. If you
are a voting member and do not receive an electronic ballot
via e-mail, please contact Judy Keithline immediately at
(703) 849-0702 or keithline@aiha.org. If you need to request
a paper ballot, please contact Judy by Aug. 1, 2011. Voting
will close on Aug. 19, 2011.
The candidates were asked to respond to the question,
“What role do you envision the Academy playing in defining
the future of the industrial hygiene profession and the prac-
tice of industrial hygiene?”
sion by promoting the integrity of the profession and pro-
viding tools to demonstrate competencies in emerging
fields that leverage our multi-disciplinary skill sets.
I welcome the opportunity to bring my passion, energy and
outreach experience to serve our great profession.
members, and harnessing new technologies for improved outreach and training. Travel budgets aren’t what they used to
be, so the Academy needs to create new opportunities for
continuing education and connectivity within the profession.
With focused and well-organized programs, we can hone our
skills and obtain new tools for our toolbox to address today’s
challenges. We can also increase our networks to share expertise and lessons learned.
The Academy should also continue to engage our experienced practitioners but also insure the next generation is growing in depth and knowledge. We need to provide vision on key
areas of interest including health hazard banding, REACH, and
novel exposure assessment strategies. The Academy can continue to contribute to our profession, but should explore innovative avenues to do so. Our times have changed and the
Academy must evolve with new endeavors and programs.
