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Scott Gooch, MPAS, PA-C

Scott Gooch is a Physician Assistant (PA) in Occupational and Environmental Medicine (OEM) employed by Marshfield Clinic Health System's Occupational HealthWORKS in Eau Claire, WI, since 2020. He has been a PA for over 23 years, with the first 17 in emergency medicine and the past six in OEM. His previous position was the Medical Administrator for Medcor, operating an onsite medical clinic for the Fluor/Novo-Nordisk facility in Clayton, NC, over a 14 million person-hour project to build a state-of-the-art pharmaceutical factory to produce diabetes medications. Besides providing the onsite treatment of injuries and illnesses, he supervised the operation of the site's drug and alcohol testing program. In three years, he and his team conducted over 8,000 urine drug screens plus several hundred breath alcohol tests for pre-employment, random, annual, reasonable suspicion, and post-incident tests. He is strongly interested in community health and safety volunteering with Eau Claire County Emergency Management, the Northern Wisconsin All-Hazards Incident Management Team, and the Eau Claire.

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Rich Stangl, CVTC Safety Trainer

Rich Stangl has over 16 years of occupational safety and fire/emergency services experience. Stangl spent nearly four years as the Safety Director at Global Finishing Solutions in Osseo, working extensively within the regulations of the general (29 CFR 1910) and construction industry (29 CFR 1926). He worked within the Army Corps of Engineers EM-385 regulations on various U.S. defense sites and managed fleet safety and driver qualification as applicable to the Department of Transportation Regulations (49 CFR). He has also coordinated all environmental activities relevant to the Wisconsin DNR and EPA Regulations.

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Matt Lind, CVTC Safety Trainer

Matt Lind has experience creating and implementing company policies and procedures that meet government regulations and codes, including initial creation, updating, re-evaluating, pre-visit planning, post-visit action planning, and follow-up. Matt offers a background in chemical and hazardous materials and Department of Transportation regulations for drivers and vehicles.

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Connie LeCleir-Meyer, CVTC Leadership & Organizational Development Trainer

Connie is an experienced leader with over 35 years of experience in electronics manufacturing, legal, health insurance, healthcare, education, and training. She has held leadership positions in human resources, customer service, production management, corporate training, and project management. Her skills include soft skills training, public speaking, facilitation and coaching, project management, team building, leadership development, and learning management. She has a bachelor's degree in organizational management and communication and a master's in adult education and distance learning.

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Ron Aplin, Lawyer, Aplin & Ringsmuth, LLC

Ronald S. Aplin is a 1983 University of Wisconsin Law School graduate with over 40 years of experience in private practice defending Wisconsin worker's compensation claims. During his career, he founded the Wisconsin Association of Worker's Compensation Attorneys and the Wisconsin Council of Self-Insurers (WCSI). He created the Worker's Compensation Seminar at the University of Wisconsin Law School in 2007 and taught the course as an adjunct professor for 15 years. He is a frequent presenter on worker's compensation claims, most recently at the two-day WCSI Worker's Compensation College in Green Lake in 2023.  Aplin is "of counsel" to the law firm he founded in 2005, Aplin & Ringsmuth, LLC, and resides in Milwaukee.

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Julie Bates-Maves, Clinical Mental Health Counseling Professor, University of Wisconsin-Stout

Julie Bates-Maves is a clinical mental health counseling professor at The University of Wisconsin-Stout. Her expertise is in teaching about and treating trauma and substance use disorders. 

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Cory White

Cory White brings 12+ years of safety, health, environmental, energy, and sustainability expertise from several industries, including construction, medical devices, explosives, and plastics. Cory has helped 45+ businesses comply with OSHA and EPA regulations, prevented $23,000,000+ in potential fines, and added $400,000+ to his client's bottom line. Cory focuses on assisting EHS professionals through the use of technology. Cory graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire with a bachelor's in Environmental Public Health. He then received his master's in environmental, health, and safety management from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

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Speaker, Credentials

Bio

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Mary Bauer, Compliance Assistance Specialist

Mary Bauer is the Compliance Assistance Specialist (CAS) in the Eau Claire area OSHA office. She has a bachelor's degree from UW-Eau Claire and holds CSP (Certified Safety Professional) and CIH (Certified Industrial Hygienist) certifications. She was a Compliance Officer in the Eau Claire area for 20 years and has been the CAS for 17 years. Mary provides general information about OSHA standards and compliance assistance resources. She responds to requests for help from various groups, including small businesses, trade associations, union locals, and community groups.

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Mitzy Wright, Area OSHA Director

Ruth "Mitzy" Wright is the Area Director of the Eau Claire OSHA office. She guides and mentors her staff, ensuring they understand expectations and holding them accountable for meeting the agency's mission. Mitzy has been with OSHA for over 15 years, beginning in 2007, when she was hired as a Compliance Safety and Health Officer (CSHO). In 2014, Mitzy was promoted to Assistant Area Director. Before joining Federal OSHA, she was an Occupational Safety and Health Officer with the Minnesota State Plan. Mitzy has a Bachelor of Science in Industrial/Business Management and a Master of Science in Risk Control Management from the University of Wisconsin-Stout.

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Melinda O'Meara, Hearing Instrument Specialist

Melinda O'Meara is a licensed hearing instrument specialist and tinnitus provider. She has been helping the Chippewa Valley Community for over 11 years.

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Holly Hassemer, CVTC Dean of Academic Development & Services

Holly Hassemer is the Dean of Academic Development & Services at Chippewa Valley Technical College. She oversees CVTC's English Language Learning program, which provides free English instruction for adults and is a former English language teacher.

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Erica Christensen, CVTC Behavioral & Social Sciences Instructor

A graduate of Iowa State University in Ames, IA, studying Sociology, Erica Christensen worked as a Police Dispatcher for the University. After completing her undergraduate studies, she continued in emergency dispatching, which led to a discovered passion for law enforcement resiliency and crisis response. She completed her Master of Arts in Psychology from Adler University with a specialization in Military Psychology, which she utilizes as an active volunteer for the Minnesota Air National Guard, supporting families through deployments and reintegration for over seven years and is a trained resiliency educator through the Air Force providing mindfulness classes and diversity training for local units. Erica started with CVTC as an adjunct psychology instructor in January 2022 and accepted a full-time faculty position in January 2023.

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Jeremy Enger, CVTC Automation Engineering Technology Instructor

Jeremy is an Electronics (AAS) graduate from Minnesota Southeast Tech College, boasting over 20 years of experience in the electronics maintenance field. Throughout his career, Jeremy has undertaken diverse roles, ranging from providing field service on office equipment to expertly conducting circuit board troubleshooting and repair in PCB manufacturing plants. Notably, he spent 12 successful years as a System's Technician at 3M in Menomonie before joining CVTC in March. At CVTC, Jeremy's expertise was focused on control systems, where he excelled in troubleshooting, optimization, and preventive maintenance. Not to mention, he actively contributed to technician training initiatives, nurturing the skillsets of aspiring professionals over the past couple of years.

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Speaker, Credentials

Bio

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Tom Gunderson, Former Deputy, Pierce County Sheriff's Department

Tom Gunderson from River Falls is married with two daughters and five grandchildren. His work experience spans 29 years as a deputy with the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, where he spent most of his career as a patrol sergeant and investigator. During his time at Pierce County, he trained to be a firearms and vehicle contacts trainer, a canine handler, and was a founding member of the tactical team. He continued his career at the Chippewa Valley Technical College, where he taught in the Criminal Justice Program and in the Police Academy for nine years until retiring in 2022. He teaches firearms and tactical response in the police academy and provides active threat training as an adjunct instructor with CVTC. In their free time, he and his wife enjoy traveling by motorcycle and spending time with their grandchildren.

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Marya Wilson, Principal, MW Advising

Marya Wilson, PhD is the Principal and Organizational Dietician for MW Advising. Marya has an extensive business and industry career in manufacturing, information management, telecommunications, ISP, and the Silicon Valley, CA semiconductor industries at the companies 3M, Imation, Pentagon Technologies, and various others. She is also an educator in higher education. She teaches organizational leadership and behavior, operations management, quality management, training and development, and sustainable management. Marya serves the manufacturing, service, higher education, non-profit, and government sectors. She brings first-hand knowledge to the learning experience and a clear understanding of the underlying emotional processes that drive behaviors and create individual and team success. She has a BA in Psychology, an MS in Management Technology, an MA in Human Development, and a PhD in Human and Organizational Systems.   

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Kellen Schmidt, Distribution Operations Blue Hat, Xcel Energy, Shorewood, MN

Kellen Schmidt was an electrical lineworker for Xcel Energy from 2010-2021. His passion and commitment to work zone safety made him a powerful influencer in Minnesota. His efforts helped change the Ted Foss Move Over Law to include utility workers in 2019. In 2021, a semi-truck ended his lineworker career and kept him out of work for a year and a half while he struggled with the effects of the accident. He returned to work in 2022 as a blue hat safety advocate helping remove silos between corporate and field employees and bring them together to ensure safety.

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Bill Swanson, CVTC Safety Trainer

Bill Swanson brings over 30 years of manufacturing and industry expertise to CVTC. His journey has spanned various roles, from line production technician to management positions. Bill's most recent role was a 13-year career at 3M in Menomonie, WI, where he specialized in Environmental, Health, Safety, and Security.

Outside of work, Bill is a family man, married with two boys. They enjoy camping, ice fishing, and outdoor activities in Northwestern WI. And, of course, they're die-hard Green Bay Packers fans.