For Immediate Release
Contact: Sonya Johnson
Sonya.Johnson@orcc.doe.gov
(702) 219-1073
UCOR’s Keever appointed to national safety board Oak Ridge, Tenn., June 24, 2021 –Michelle Keever, a UCOR is Senior Safety and Health Programs Specialist, has been appointed to serve on the national Board of Directors of the Voluntary Protection Program Participants’ Association (VPPPA). As a member of the board, Keever will serve as the DOE-VPP (Department of Energy Voluntary Protection Program) representative and provide support and guidance to safety and health professionals at more than 2,200 Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) worksites.
Keever has been active in VPPPA for 15 years and also serves on the VPPPA Region IV Board of Directors. VPPPA provides occupational safety, health, and environmental networking and educational opportunities for its members. The VPPPA National Board of Directors consists of safety and health leaders who personify the association’s mission, promoting worksite safety and health excellence.
“I’m honored to have been selected for this appointment and look forward to representing DOE and assisting VPPPA in its important work to promote safety and health across the nation,” Keever said.
Keever has worked on the Oak Ridge Reservation for 33 years, first as a project controls engineer and then account manager for the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) Reindustrialization Program. Using her Six Sigma Black Belt training, she led multiple safety process improvement projects. That experience led her fully into the safety arena. As a senior safety programs specialist with UCOR, Keever serves as the Integrated Safety Management System and VPP lead. She also leads professional development efforts for Safety Trained Supervisors-Construction (STSC) and advanced health and safety professional certifications.
“Michelle is a vital part of our safety organization. She has extraordinary commitment to keeping every member of our 1,900+-member workforce safe. The work we do involves high hazards, from structural decay to chemical and industrial contaminants. Having team members so dedicated to safety is critical,” said Clint Wolfley, UCOR Manager of Safety Systems and Services.
Keever was a founding organizer of Safety Fest TN, which annually offers free safety training in Oak Ridge to participants from across the United States. Since the event began in 2011, attendance has grown from 300 to more than 1,100 at the last event hosted in 2019.
Keever, who is a graduate of Mississippi State University, was previously recognized by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals with the STSC Award of Excellence. Her work with UCOR’s STSC Certification Program makes UCOR the leading employer of STSC certified employees in Tennessee.
UCOR, an Amentum-led partnership with Jacobs, is the DOE Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management’s lead environmental cleanup partner. After safely removing the last of the legacy facilities from ETTP—the former Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant—the company’s highly trained workforce is removing unused, contaminated facilities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex, while continuing remedial actions at ETTP. UCOR’s more than 1,900 workers are dedicated to safely reducing environmental risk and helping the DOE Office of Science and the National Nuclear Security Administration to continue their missions.
Learn more about the company at UCOR.com.
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Photo: Keever.jpg Caption: Michelle Keever
UCOR NR 2021-04