Seven leaders in on-the-job safety and health were honored with awards at the 2025 Oregon Governor’s Occupational Safety and Health (GOSH) Conference, during a Wednesday, March 5, ceremony at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland.
A panel of industry professionals judges the awards, which honor extraordinary contributions to the field of workplace safety and health. The categories include rising safety star, business leader, safety committee/team, safety and health professional, and workplace safety program.
The recipients this year are as follows:
Rising Safety Star Award – recognizes a safety and health professional who, early in their career, is blazing a path in the profession.
- Heather Ashwill, safety and risk manager for the City of Central Point.
Business Leader Award – recognizes a business leader whose job is not safety and health but who demonstrates commitment to safety and health.
- Timothy Desper, director of Burnside Services for Portland Rescue Mission.
Safety Committee/Team Award – recognizes the work of safety committees or teams that made substantial efforts in preventing workplace injury and illness.
- Sherwin-Williams Purdy, manufacturer of paintbrushes and roller covers
- CRMG – Commercial and Residential Management Group, a property management company serving the Pacific Northwest.
- Leviat North America – Canby, a commercial concrete construction company supplying materials, components, and services supporting the installation of concrete structures.
Safety and Health Professional Award – recognizes a person whose primary job responsibilities are safety and health, and who goes above and beyond in their daily work.
- Joseph Henrich, health, safety, and environmental manager for LAIKA, an award-winning stop motion animation studio.
Workplace Safety Program Award – recognizes workplace activities or projects that resulted in an outstanding contribution to workplace safety and health
- Sherwin-Williams Purdy
Learn about the award recipients and their accomplishments on the GOSH website: oregongosh.com/honor/award-recipients/.
The GOSH Conference is a joint effort of the American Society of Safety Professionals Columbia-Willamette Chapter, Oregon OSHA – a division of the Department of Consumer and Business Services – and labor and businesses in Oregon and southwest Washington.
More information about the conference is on the GOSH website: oregongosh.com.
###
Oregon OSHA, a division of the Department of Consumer and Business Services, enforces the state's workplace safety and health rules and works to improve workplace safety and health for all Oregon workers. For more information, go to osha.oregon.gov.
The Department of Consumer and Business Services is Oregon's largest business regulatory and consumer protection agency. For more information, go to oregon.gov/dcbs.
The Oregon AFL-CIO is the statewide federation of affiliated unions, representing more than 300,000 working Oregonians. For more information, visit Oregon AFL-CIO.
Contact information
Aaron Corvin,
public information officer
971-718-6973
Aaron.corvin@dcbs.oregon.gov
