OFFICE OF THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Susan Jordan Sikes joined VPPPA in October of 2012 as Executive Director.

Susan brings 27 years of experience in occupational safety and health, including an impressive 21 years at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for the U.S. Department of Labor. During that time, Susan worked as a regional training and grants officer, compliance safety and health enforcement officer, safety and health program management expert and, finally, regional VPP manager.

After leaving OSHA in 2006, Susan worked for Plexus Scientific Corporation, where she assisted the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army in establishing the Department of Defense (DoD) Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP) Center of Excellence to support the Secretary of Defense's goal of reducing injury and illness rates.

Raymond Davis Layne joined VPPPA in mid-January of 2005 as Executive Director. On July 6, 2012, Davis retired from his position as Executive Director but remains as Senior Advisor.

Before joining VPPPA, Davis was a well-respected Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) official. With safety and health experience reaching back to the U.S. Army Material Command Field Safety Agency in 1967 and as part of OSHA since 1971, Davis is an expert in the safety and health arena.

During his days at OSHA, Davis was an exceptional worker and soon became an area director, deputy regional administrator, OSHA regional administrator and finally deputy assistant secretary for OSHA in 1999. In addition to these roles, Davis also served the Agency as acting assistant secretary of Labor for OSHA for the first eight months in 2001, where he managed the day-to-day operations of the Agency and its nationwide staff of more than 2,200 employees.

ACCOUNTING

Marianne Trinh joined VPPPA on April 16, 2007. In this position, she manages many of the accounting functions at VPPPA, including accounts payable and accounts receivable, assists the Controller with other daily accounting functions and works extensively with VPPPA's database.

Marianne attended the University of Phnom-Penh in Cambodia in 1968. Since then, she has acquired over 20 years of accounting experience with a number of organizations in the Washington D.C. area.

MARKETING

Sara Taylor returned to VPPPA in March of 2013 as the Director of Marketing. Sara was previously the Senior Director of Conference & Education but has since focused her efforts on rebranding VPPPA. In this role Sara will oversee the daily activities and functions of the Membership, Conference & Communications departments while creating and implementing a clear marketing vision for the association.

Sara graduated from Longwood University with a B.S. degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing and a minor in Physics. Sara also received her Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) designation from the Convention Industry Council in September of 2010.

COMMUNICATIONS & OUTREACH

Sanna Raza returned to VPPPA on August 27, 2007, as the Communications & Outreach Director and now serves as the Senior Director of Communications & Outreach. In this position, she oversees the Communications & Outreach Department, acts as the editor of VPPPA's quarterly publication, The Leader, coordinates outreach efforts, serves as the association's media contact and produces publications and electronic presentations to inform targeted audiences about VPP, VPPPA and the annual national conference.

Sanna received her BA in Mass Communications from the University of North Carolina at Asheville and her MSc in International Applied Communication from the University of Central Lancashire, Preston, U.K. She is a member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and its National Capital Chapter.

Elizabeth Burzenski joined VPPPA on October 18, 2010. As Communications & Outreach Coordinator, she provides assistance with all aspects of communications, marketing and outreach activities. Elizabeth also assists with the planning, researching, writing, editing and production of all publications.

Elizabeth recently graduated from the University of Maryland and received a B.A. in Communication with a concentration in Public Relations.

CONFERENCE & EDUCATION

Danielle Scozzaro joined VPPPA on November 19, 2012. As the Conference & Education Coordinator, Danielle will be working closely with Ciarra Cox on all aspects of conference coordination.

Danielle graduated in May 2012 with a Bachelors of Science in Psychology from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, AZ. She is currently working on her M.B.A., to be completed in the spring of 2014. Danielle has also assisted with event coordination for many organizations before joining VPPPA.

MEMBERSHIP & DEVELOPMENT

GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS

Charlie Doss joined VPPPA on July 26, 2010, as a Government Affairs Coordinator. Now a Government Affairs Specialist, he is responsible for the development and implementation of the association’s government affairs strategy through coordination with the executive director and national board to best meet the needs of VPPPA’s membership. He also monitors regulatory and legislative developments in Washington, D.C., that have implications for the association, works closely with the Communications & Outreach Department to coordinate public affairs and other outreach materials and contributes to online and print publications. Charlie received his B.A.  in International Relations from William and Mary in 2009 and is currently attending George Washington University in pursuit of a M.A. in International Trade and Investment Policy.

REGISTRATION

Carlena Meredith joined VPPPA on January 30, 2006. In this position, Carlena manages the registration process for the Annual National Conference, select regional chapter events and other educational events.

TECHNICAL SUPPORT

Richelle Kelly joined VPPPA on February 14, 2005. Richelle served the VPPPA membership as the Registrar until January 2006, when she was promoted to Membership & Development Manager. Based on Richelle's technical background in database management and analysis, she moved into this new position as Technical Support Manager in November 2009. She is a member of both the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA).