SHSA’s Top Honour Goes To …

SHSA’s Top Honour Goes To …

Every year the SHSA recognizes individuals who have taken a leadership role in demonstrating their commitment to safety. The SHSA’s Safety Centered Leadership Awards are bestowed on those who exemplify Safety Centered Leadership in their business and/or community.

In 2016, there were two individuals awarded the SHSA’s highest honour:

Andrea Brittin, President and CEO of Ranch Ehrlo Society

Toby Desnomie, CEO of the Saskatchewan First Nations Safety Association

Andrea Brittin – Ranch Ehrlo Society

Andrea Brittin has spent her entire career working in the field of Child Welfare.  She started her career as a front-line Child Protection worker and progressively took on more leadership roles over the 23 years she spent at the Ministry of Social Services. In 2014, Andrea joined Ranch Ehrlo Society as the president/CEO. Ranch Ehrlo Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing a range of quality assessment, treatment, education, support, and community services to improve the lives of children, youth, and families.  Andrea oversees over 800 employees on three campuses throughout the province and in the cities of Regina and Prince Albert.  Andrea has thoroughly enjoyed the last couple of years at Ranch Ehrlo, providing leadership to an agency that has such a positive impact on children, youth, families and communities.  Andrea signed the Mission Zero charter in 2016 and since then has led an enhanced focus on safety at Ranch Ehrlo Society. Through their work with the SHSA, Ranch Ehrlo has significantly reduced their workplace injuries.  But Andrea won’t stop there.  Andrea, along with her team at Ranch Ehrlo, will continue to work to make their agency as safe as possible for both clients and staff.

Toby Desnomie – Saskatchewan First Nations Safety Association

Toby Desnomie is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Saskatchewan First Nations Safety Association.  Toby founded the non-profit organization in February 2016, after 16 years in the fields of Occupational Health & Safety.  Toby’s accumulative education and experience stretches over 25 years in construction, project management, administration, safety programming and with numerous professional designations.  Toby was inspired to create the association after noticing a void of information on safety and injury awareness directed towards First Nations workers. With First Nations in Canada being exempt from the actual workers’ compensation codes, the opportunity to share and encourage safety working awareness was also being lost.  The SFNSA has grounded itself on five guiding principles: public safety awareness, advice, advocacy, training, and management.  The mission and vision is to develop public safety awareness campaigns as well as develop strategic plans to advance the safety awareness of communities in Saskatchewan’s First Nations.  SFNSA’s partnership with the SHSA is just beginning, and Toby is looking forward to the development of all things safety moving forward.  Toby believes that safety is everyone’s responsibility no matter who you are or where you live.

The SHSA extends a heartfelt thank-you to these Safety Centered Leaders for the great work they are doing in their businesses and in their communities.  For our vision of Injury-free Workplaces. Prospering. to be realized, we need leaders like Andrea and Toby to lead the way.