Aylar Elias is a third year student pursuing Safety and Health Management at Central Washington University. She knows from personal experience as a bilingual speaker that there are often language barriers that arise in the safety industries, especially in construction. She looks forward to helping workers in the safety industry by completing her major in safety and health management as well as a minor in risk, insurance, and safety management.

Jessica Marie Young is a student at Pierce College in the health and safety program. She is a mother of three and a gold star widow. She decided to become a health and safety professional after seeing the aftermath of a workplace accident firsthand. She is an active member of local safety community organizations, a member of Phi Theta Kappa, and volunteers in her free time. After graduation she plans to continue her education and find a position in the health and safety field.

Maria Victoria Peña is an Environmental Engineer and a first-year master’s student in Environmental Health Sciences with a focus on Occupational Hygiene at the University of Washington. Originally from Colombia, she brings over six years of experience as an Environmental, Health, and Safety Engineer in high-risk industries such as construction and manufacturing. Passionate about protecting worker health and improving workplace safety, Victoria will be interning with Sound Transit’s Health and Safety Department this summer, where she looks forward to applying her knowledge to real-world industrial hygiene challenges. Her long-term goal is to become a Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH) and Certified Safety Professional (CSP), and to advance health equity through science-based safety programs and impactful fieldwork.