No kid circles “safety manager” in a career day pamphlet.

And yet, every industry depends on them, people who carry the weight of responsibility for other people’s lives. The unsung backbone of job sites, factories, warehouses, and offices. The ones thinking five steps ahead, so no one gets hurt one step behind.

Ask any safety pro how they landed in this role, and you’ll rarely hear “it was the plan.” What you’ll hear are pivots. Gut-checks. Turning points.

And in those moments, something clicked. That instinct to protect? It became a purpose.

Safety Isn’t Taught, It’s Lived

Jennifer Lastra: From Shipyards to Simulation

Jennifer Lastra’s first exposure to risk wasn’t in a classroom, it was aboard a U.S. Navy ship with live electrical circuits and zero margin for error. Working in extreme conditions, she didn’t just understand danger, she lived it.

Later, in manufacturing, she noticed a pattern: training wasn’t connecting. Workers were checking boxes, not absorbing lessons. So she took a leap into virtual reality, a tech that could replicate high-stress scenarios and drive home real understanding.

Jennifer’s edge? She’s been in the heat. She knows what it takes to prepare people when it’s not just about policies, but survival.

Allan Moore: From Translator to Trailblazer

Allan Moore didn’t apply for a job in safety, he was handed it after translating health and safety protocols into Mandarin for his company. It wasn’t his title. But it became his identity.

The more he saw, the more he realized safety isn’t about rulebooks, it’s about relationships. Instead of enforcement, he used empathy. Instead of command, he led with context.

Allan reshaped what leadership looks like in high-risk environments: quiet, credible, and rooted in trust.

Dr. Johanna Pagonis: Bringing Humanity to Compliance

Dr. Pagonis was studying leadership development when safety came calling. Her work, centered on emotional intelligence and organizational culture, caught the attention of a lawyer who said, “This is what the safety world’s missing.”

That insight reframed her mission. She saw how fear and silence cripple safety systems. So she began helping companies build environments where people felt safe, not just physically, but psychologically.

Her approach isn’t about catching mistakes. It’s about creating cultures where people prevent them by speaking up.

Martin Tanwi: Science Meets Site Work

Martin Tanwi didn’t fall into safety, he chased understanding. With a background in environmental science and safety systems, he moved quickly into hands-on roles that let him apply theory to real risk.

Whether managing pipelines or robotics crews, his north star has been consistent: show up. Walk the site. Ask questions. Stay curious.

To Martin, good safety is built on presence. And good leadership means being close enough to see what others miss.

What Unites Them?

They didn’t chase safety. But once they saw the need, they couldn’t walk away from it.

None of them followed a straight line to get here. That’s why their impact hits deeper. They bring experience, perspective, and a drive to make systems better because they know what happens when systems break.

They aren’t here because of a title. They’re here because they care.

The Hiring Lesson We All Need

Forget polished resumes. Forget the right acronyms.

Look for people who ask questions, who’ve stood in high-pressure roles, who care enough to challenge the status quo.

Because great safety leaders don’t just follow protocol. They reshape it, from the ground up.