Authors

Aaron Yoder is an Associate Professor in the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Department of Environmental, Agricultural & Occupational Health (College of Public Health). His overall research interest is to improve the health of workers in agriculture and related industries through science-based research, product development and outreach. His specific interests are in the research and development of sound ergonomic and human factors principles and technologies that will lead to healthier and safer workers in agriculture and related industries through the reduction of hazards associated with these types of injuries.

Athena Ramos is an Associate Professor in the Center for Reducing Health Disparities, which is part of the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s College of Public Health.  Her research interests include:

• Agricultural and occupational health and safety
• Immigrant integration
• Community well-being
• Tobacco control and prevention
• Latino and LGBT health disparities
• Intercultural communication and cultural competency
• Coalition-building and policy advocacy

Mike Keenan is a Risk Control Manager at Gallagher. Gallagher, a global insurance brokerage, risk management, and consulting firm, serves communities around the globe, helping clients address risk, protecting assets, and recovering from losses.

Gallagher provides retail and wholesale property and casualty brokerage, alternative risk transfer services, employee benefit consulting, and actuarial services. Gallagher also offers claims and information management, risk control consulting and appraisal services, human resource consulting, and retirement services.

Jill Oatman-Vansickle is a Risk Control Consultant for Gallagher. She specializes in providing risk management services to clients in the area of safety. She is responsible for providing risk management support while assisting clients with controlling and minimizing the total cost of risk. Her expertise is in livestock operations and has extensive experience in the agricultural industry. Jill received her bachelors of science in 2018 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in Veterinary Science. In 2020, she graduated with a Master’s in Public Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Environmental and Occupational Health.

Susan Harris-Broomfield, Nebraska Extension, provides education around the state of Nebraska regarding rural health, wellness, and safety. Her areas of expertise are: Sleep Deprivation, ATV Safety, mental well-being, AgrAbility, healthy aging, physical activity and safety days for kids.

Ellen Duysen is the Community Outreach Specialist in the Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health (CS-CASH). As Center Coordinator for CS-CASH, she provides the Center Director with assistance in planning, coordinating and monitoring the 23 projects funded by the Center. These projects encompass research, prevention/intervention, education/translation, outreach, evaluation, and cross-disciplinary efforts. She engages internal and external advisory committees, oversee fiscal and resource management, maintain records, and compile Center reports. She serves as the course director for the annual, week-long Agricultural Medicine Course that provides continuing education credits to health care providers across the US. In addition to administrative responsibilities, she is involved in the Center’s active Outreach program. This program delivers educational materials, demonstrations and presentations on the topics of respiratory and hearing protection, as well as injury prevention to the agricultural community in the Center’s seven states region.

Deana Namuth-Covert is the owner of ReNewUp Skilling and she leads teams to construct creative approaches in distance education, while expanding the impact of research, teaching and workforce development efforts in agriculture.  She is optimistic about the use of online technologies to simultaneously empower individuals, strengthen local communities and resolve complex global challenges.

Acknowledgements

Funding for safety training modules provided by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing grant U54 OH010162 to CS-CASH.