For many years the VPPPA has relied on senior advisors to counsel the association on our OSHA partnership, program management, media inquiries, and strategic planning. These advisors have been instrumental in advising VPPPA board leadership over time to assist with the program’s continuance, program management practices and maintaining a strong and credible OSHA partnership. Senior advisors are voluntary positions that do not hold any voting rights on the national VPPPA board of directors.
June Brothers
June is now retired in Oregon after 30 years in safety with Oregon OSHA as Manager of Enforcement and with Georgia-Pacific as Vice President of Safety. She served eight years on the VPPPA National Board of Directors, three as Chair. She is now enjoying volunteer work and her family.
Steve Hawkins
Steve serves as the Vice President of FDRsafety located in Franklin, TN, a full service safety and health consulting firm. In his previous position as Assistant Commissioner for Tennessee OSHA Steve led the day to day operations of agency, supervising the compliance, consultation, and voluntary protection programs. Steve also served as the liaison between the state’s OSHA program and federal OSHA monitors and promoted workplace safety by educating employer groups and labor organizations about safety and health regulations and the benefits of a safe workplace. Steve served several terms on the federal Advisory Committee for Construction Safety and Health and as a board member and chair of the Occupational Safety and Health State Plan Association. Steve left the state of Tennessee after serving as Deputy Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
John Henshaw
John Henshaw is a health and safety professional with over 40 years’ experience in industrial hygiene, safety, and environmental health. He is currently President of John Henshaw and Associates, Inc. a consulting firm that specializes in industrial hygiene, exposure/risk assessments, and occupational safety and health management systems and performance. Prior to John Henshaw and Associates, Inc. he was Senior Vice President & Managing Principal for Cardno ChemRisk. He also served as the Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) from August, 2001 through December 31, 2004. Prior to becoming the OSHA administrator, he served as Director of Environment, Safety, and Health for Astaris LLC, a joint venture between Solutia and FMC Corp., and, prior to that, he held similar positions at Solutia, Inc. and Monsanto Company in St. Louis, Missouri.
John has presented nationally and internationally on environmental, safety, health, and quality issues, and have published numerous papers, articles, and book chapters concerning occupational health and safety.
Terry Penn
Terry Penn is a Safety Specialist assigned to the OSHA Philadelphia Regional Office as the VPP Manager. She began her career with the Department of Labor in 1971 with the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs. She served in various administrative positions until 1978 when she took a leave of absence. Later, she returned to the Department of Labor, joining OSHA in 1988. In 1999, Penn was selected for a career ladder position which moved her into the safety and health field, as well as VPP. She has been a team leader for many Region III pre-approvals and recertification evaluations, as well as corporate VPP evaluations. She became the Region III VPP Manager in February 2009. Terry retired after 38+ years of Federal service in December 2019.
R. Davis Layne
Before joining VPPPA, Mr. Layne worked for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) as a member of the Senior Executive Service and received the Presidential Rank Award. 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, Mr. Layne has expertise and experience in the safety and health arena.
During his days at OSHA, Mr. Layne served as a compliance officer, area director, deputy regional administrator, OSHA regional administrator and finally deputy assistant secretary for OSHA in 1999. In addition to these roles, Mr. Layne 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.