2025 34th Annual CIHC Professional Development Seminar

The Westin Long Beach, 333 East Ocean Boulevard, Long Beach, California

Download the PDS Full Program Handout  

Download the PDS Program Agenda

Monday, November 3, 2025
Morning Session Theme — “Regulatory and Legislative Updates for OEHS”

• 7:30-8:00 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast
• 8:00 a.m. Welcome — Laurel Davis, MPH, CIH, CIHC Vice President, CIHC Conference Co-Chair, Health and Safety Research Support Team Leader, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• 8:05 a.m. CIHC Update — Megan Canright Racicot, MPH, CIH, CIHC Board President, Director of Scientific Operations, Forensic Analytical Consulting Services, Inc. (FACS)
• 8:15 a.m. Session Chair Welcome and Introductions — Chris Laszcz-Davis, MS, CIH, FAIHA, FAIC, former CIHC President, President, The Environmental Quality Organization, LLC
• 8:25 a.m. California Legislative Opportunities and Challenges — Pamela Murcell, MS, CIH, Legislative and Regulatory Consultant to CIHC, President, KWA Safety & HazMat Consultants, Inc.
• 8:45 a.m. Update from Cal/OSHA — Debra Lee, Chief, Division of Occupational Safety and Health, California Department of Industrial Relations (Cal/OSHA), Eric Berg, MPH, Deputy Chief of Health, Cal/OSHA, and David Wesley, Deputy Chief of Enforcement, Cal/OSHA
• 9:30 a.m. Exhibitor Demonstration and Exhibits
  Exhibitor Spotlight
• 10:00 a.m. Update From CDPH — Kristin Cummings, MD, MPH, Chief, Occupational Health Branch, California Department of Public Health (CDPH)
• 11:00 a.m. National AIHA Update — Larry Sloan, MBA, FASAE, CAE, Chief Executive Officer, National American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA)
• Noon-1:30 p.m. Exhibitor Spotlight
  KEYNOTE LUNCHEON: Managing Workplace Artificial Intelligence (AI) Risks and the Future of Work — John Howard, MD, MPH, JD, LLM, Director, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Afternoon Session Theme — “Wildfire and Structure Fire Updates”

• 1:30 p.m. Session Chair Welcome and Introductions — Michelle Rosales, MPH, CIH, Director of Environmental Health Services, Forensic Analytical Consulting Services, Inc. (FACS)
• 1:35 p.m. Cal/OSHA Worker Safety and Health Requirements for Fire Cleanup Workers — Levon Karamanukyan, Senior Safety Engineer/Industrial Hygienist, Cal/OSHA Consultation Services Branch
• 2:25 p.m. Science Based Public Health Methodology for Assessment and Remediation of Wildfire Impacted Residential and Commercial Buildings — Hamid Arabzadeh, CIH, FAIHA, MScA, GrD, CSP, CHMM, CAC, Principal, HRA Environmental Consultants Inc.
• 3:10 p.m. Exhibitor Demonstration and Exhibits
  Exhibitor Spotlight
• 3:40 p.m. Asbestos & Lead Contamination in Intact Structures After the Palisades and Eaton Fires — Steve Long, CAC, Senior Project Manager, Forensic Analytical Consulting Services, Inc. (FACS)
• 4:20 p.m. What’s New? in the 2nd Edition of the AIHA Technical Guide for Wildfire Impact Assessments for the OEHS Professional — Enrique Medina, MS, CIH, CSP, FAIHA, President and CEO, Alliance Consulting International
• 5:00 p.m. Exhibitor Spotlight – Conference Day One Ends
• 5:30-7:00 p.m. Evening Social – The Westin in CIHC exhibitor area

Tuesday, November 4, 2025
Morning Session Theme – “Engineered Stone: The Silicosis Epidemic in California”

• 7:30-8:00 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast
• 8:00a.m. Session Chair Welcome and Introductions — Aldo Muñoz Rodriguez, MPH, Associate Consultant, BSI Consulting, and Katherine Meussner, EHS Consultant, BSI Consulting
• 8:05 a.m. Silica in Fabrication: Case Studies, Claims, and Courtroom Outcomes — Michelle C. Rosales, MPH, CIH, Director of Environmental Health Services, Forensic Analytical Consulting Services (FACS)
• 8:50 a.m. Protecting Vulnerable Workers: Cal/OSHA’s Response to the Silicosis Epidemic in Engineered Stone Fabrication — Mike Wilson, Ph.D, MPH, CIH, Senior Safety Engineer, Research and Standards, Cal/OSHA
• 9:45 a.m. Exhibitor Demonstration and Exhibits
  Exhibitor Spotlight
• 10:15 a.m. Protecting Workers from Silica: Australia’s Bold Approach — Kristy Thornton, MS, COH, Local Director, San Diego, Forensic Analytical Consulting Services (FACS)
• 11:05 a.m. Protecting Workers from Silica: CDPH’s Efforts and Strategies — Alya Khan, MD, MS, FACOEM, Public Health Medical Officer, Occupational Health Branch, California Department of Public Health, and Associate Clinical Professor, Joe C. Wen School of Population & Public Health, University of California, Irvine
• Noon-1:30 p.m. LUNCH ON YOUR OWN

Afternoon Session Theme – “Hot Topics in the Regulatory and Legislative Space”

• 1:30 p.m. Session Chair Welcome and Introductions — Richard Hirsh, CIH, AIHA Fellow, Independent
• 1:35 p.m. Overview Regulatory/Legislative Update — Adele Abrams, Esq., ASP, CMSP, Senior Counsel, Littler Mendelson PC
• 2:05 p.m. Child Labor in the U.S. Are We Moving Forward or Backward? — Rich Hirsh, MPH, CIH, FAIHA, Chair, Developing World Outreach Initiative, AIHA-NCS
• 2:25 p.m. Heat Stress Regulatory and Legislative Activity for Agriculture — Bryan Little, Senior Director, Policy Advocacy, CA Farm Bureau Federation
• 3:00 p.m. Q&A Session
• 3:10 p.m. Exhibitor Demonstration and Exhibits
  Exhibitor Spotlight
• 3:40 p.m. The Basis for the New Lead PEL — Jacqueline Chan, MPH, MS (TOX/Pathology), Chief, Occupational Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, Occupational Health Branch, California Department of Public Health (CDPH)
• 4:15 p.m. Updates on Workplace Violence Legislation/Regulations — Dr. John Comiskey, Associate Professor, Monmouth University
• Q&A Session
• Conference Day Two Ends

Wednesday, November 5, 2025
Morning Session Theme – “OEHS in the Laboratory and Research & Development Arena”

• 7:30-8:00 a.m. Registration and Continental Breakfast
• 8:00 a.m. Session Chair Welcome and Introductions — Karl Kasai, CIH, MSPH, President, Kasai Consulting
• 8:05 a.m. Laboratory Design & Environmental Monitoring Considerations — Ali Mohammadian, MsPH, CIH, Director - SHE, Security, & Facilities/Sites (SSO, SEO), Genmark Diagnostics - Roche Carlsbad, LumiraDX Southern California Sites, SDAIHA President
• 9:00 a.m. Containment: How to Choose and Evaluate Effectiveness — Allan Goodman, Ph.D., VP Sales & Business Development, Flow Sciences, Inc.
• 9:55 a.m. Refreshment Break
• 10:10 a.m. An Introduction to LLNL’s Job Hazard Analysis and Work Planning Tool, How Its Role in Addressing Compliance to Final EPA TSCA Rulings — Chandler M. Cottam, MS, CSP, Industrial Hygiene Professional and Chemical Hygiene Officer, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
• 11:05 a.m. Integrating Risk Management into R&D: Approaches for Hazard Screening, Exposure Modeling, and Collaborative Controls — Corey Boles, PhD, MBA ©, Senior Risk Assessment Scientist, Insight Exposure & Risk Sciences Group
• 12:00-1:15 p.m. LUNCH ON YOUR OWN

Afternoon Session Theme – “Case Studies in OEHS”

• 1:15 p.m. Session Chair Welcome and Introductions — Cindy Kurtz, MS, CIH, Principal Consultant, Harris and Lee Environmental Sciences, LLC, and Michael Cooper, CIH, CSP, MPH, Principal Consultant, Harris and Lee Environmental Sciences, LLC
• 1:20 p.m. Something Fishy is in the Air — Stephanie Carter, MSPH, PhD, CIH, Industrial Hygienist, iWorkwise
• 2:05 p.m. Exoskeletons in the Construction Industry — Alan Barr, MS, Senior Engineer, UCB/UCSF Ergonomics Graduate Training Program
• 3:00 p.m. Refreshment Break
• 3:15 p.m. Community Impacts from Emissions from Vistra Power Lithium Battery Storage Facility Fire in Moss Landing, CA — Michael A. Polkabla, CIH, REA, Senior Certified Industrial Hygienist, Principal, BioMax Environmental, Inc.
• 4:00 p.m. Formaldehyde Exposure Control in Embalming: A Case Study in Iterative Ventilation Redesign and Surrogate Monitoring at a University Medical School — Colleen Thornton, MPH, CIH, Principal Consultant, Harris and Lee Environmental Sciences, LLC, and Jennifer Mattler Guzman, CIH, Senior EHS Professional, Harris and Lee
• 4:50 p.m. Closing Remarks — Laurel Davis, MPH, CIH, CIHC Vice President, CIHC Conference Co-Chair, Health and Safety Research Support Team Leader, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
• 5:00 p.m. Conference Ends