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Welcome!

Welcome to the New Mexico Chapter website. New Mexico is a land of diverse geography; deserts, forests, ancient volcanoes, and deep caverns. New Mexico is also a land of diverse businesses and organizations that provide employment to the state's residents. Oil and gas, ranching, farming, microchip manufacturing, education, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, NASA, construction, a wide variety of retail, and thousands of small businesses employ the approximately 1.8 million residents of the state. The safety profession is growing and offers many opportunities in the Land of Enchantment.

Dave Paoletta: 2010 NMASSE Safety Professional of the Year

Dave Paoletta, our Past Chapter President, received the 2010 SPY at the PDC from Mike Kemp.

Dave has been an ASSE member for ten years. He has been a Senior Safety Consultant with Tetra Tech nuclear Utility Services Inc. in ABQ for two years.

Major Job Duties: Assigned to the TT NUS Albuquerque office, Mr. Paoletta is responsible for Occupational Safety and Health project support and business development in the western United States. Projects have included supporting the Safety and Security Regulatory Program (Org 4124) at Sandia National Laboratory, participating in Internal Auditing activities at Sandia, and deployment to Naples Italy for a comprehensive environmental air sampling project for the US Navy.

Best Part of His Job: The potential to work for multiple customers in diverse organizations over the course of a year.

Safety Employment History: I have worked in the Safety field since leaving the US Navy Submarine Service twenty years ago. Positions have included Safety Officer for the City of Santa Fe, ESH Manager for Chugach Management Services on Kirtland AFB, General Electric Aircraft, Public Service Company of New Mexico and Tetra Tech. Along the way, I have created and managed Safety Programs, Taught Safety Program Management courses at the (now defunct) CMSU Albuquerque extension campus, and worked my way through the ASSE certification process.

Dave with sons, Nathan and Kyle, at Bighorn Ranch.

How did you get into the safety field? I got interested in safety after being hired to be the Maintenance Supervisor at Santa Fe’s Wastewater treatment plant in the early nineties. I had a team of technicians who worked around biohazards, confined spaces, electrical safety hazards, fall hazards, methane, chlorine – every hazard in the book. As a leader, it was my responsibility to learn all I could about how to work safely in that environment. I eventually left the pumps and valves behind and specialized in safety and training.

I have always liked safety engineering because it’s about both engineering and people. Over the years as I have gained more and more technical knowledge I’ve also observed that it’s how people are managed, and the systems that are created to “manage safety” that often are to blame for organizations falling short of their goals. That’s why when I’m now confronted with a ‘safety” problem, I tend to look behind it at the organizational aspects, the feedback mechanisms that confront the workers and influence their attitudes and actions one way or the other. That’s why I’ve stayed with Safety for so long – it’s never easy and it’s never boring.

Hobbies and Interests: “Unsafe” activities like ice hockey, skiing and fly fishing by myself in remote areas… I also enjoy brewing and consuming beer, tying flies when I can’t fish, and stressing about the Boston Red Sox!

Tetra Tech group in Napoli, Italy.

Community Activities: Former volunteer mediator at Albuquerque Metro Court’s community mediation program. Currently working with CNM’s workforce training program giving safety orientation to young or unemployed people entering or reentering the workforce.

ASSE Activities: Various officer positions w/NM ASSE since Bob Edgar dragged me in @2007… NM ASSE President 2009-2010, 2011 Chapter Delegate Family, friends and pets: Wife, Teresa Berry (28 years) is a contract mediator and ADR professional; Sons: Nathan (26) is a Graduate Student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), Kyle (20) is a Junior at Tufts University, Medford MA. Best buddy and “Head of Ranch Security” Zoe (6) – a Black Labrador retriever.

We Miss You, Manny!

Published in Las Cruces Sun-News on May 18.

Our beloved husband, father, son, brother, grandfather, uncle and friend, MANUEL "MANNY" CAMPOS, JR., 42, of Las Cruces entered eternal life Friday, May 7, 2010 as a result of an auto accident. He was born August 8, 1967 in El Paso, Texas to Manuel Sr. and Socorro Sanchez Campos. "Manny" as he was fondly known to his family and friends entered the field of occupational safety and health by chance after an auto accident over 20 years ago. He left college and took his technical education knowledge and applied it as a QC/Safety Officer for a construction company at White Sands, a position he held for 4 years. The opportunity he had with NM OSHA where as a compliance assistant specialist, required extensive travel and time away from family. His time with NM OSHA was short but his passion and commitment for safety continued.

His most recent position with the City of Las Cruces as a Safety Officer entailed
leading the city's effort to create a culture of safety through directly mentoring assigned departments, including city police, utility, legal and public works. He was a member of the ASSE (American Society of Safety Engineers) for over ten years where he served as treasurer for the Paso Del Norte Chapter in Albuquerque and was the current chair for the Zia Sector in Las Cruces. Manny was instrumental in the formation of the Zia Section and the section's first professional development conference and golf tournament. He was recognized as the NM Chapter's 2008-2009 Safety Professional of the Year (SPY) for his outstanding accomplishments in preventing injuries and illnesses in the workplace and raising awareness in being safe at work and in his community. With all of Manny's involvement to better his fellow men in the field of safety, he continued to work towards his Bachelors of Engineering at NMSU.Survivors include his loving wife, Lupe Belmontez Campos of the family home; a son, Isaiah Campos; two daughters, Lidiana Campos, D'Ana Belmontez and her daughter, Gianni Belmontez all of Las Cruces; his parents, Manuel and Socorro Campos of El Paso, Texas; a brother, Jerry Campos of El Paso, Texas; three sisters, Isabel Campos (Pete), Martha Naranjo (Ben), Annette Campos all of El Paso, Texas; "Little Brother", Gilbert Robledo (Ernestina) of Las Cruces.

Manny was a wonderful and caring husband and father who always thought of others before himself. He will be dearly missed and forever loved. Manny's good nature, professionalism and expertise will be sorely missed by all. He had said the best part of his job was seeing the results of his work, employees seeking knowledge and guidance to perform their jobs safer. That safety contributed to his fellow employees being able to go home safely to their families and loved ones.

Manny, we will miss your loving and caring spirit. We know that Heaven is a safer place already and you have been welcomed home, with “Well done, by good and faithful servant.” The New Mexico Chapter is making plans for an ASSE Foundation Scholarship to honor Manny. Details later.

H1N1 Resources

• Preparing for the Flu: A Communication Toolkit for Businesses and Employers

• Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for an Influenza Pandemic

• 2009/2010 NMDOH Interim Guidelines for Infection Control and Personal Protective Equipment (pdf)

Past Meeting Presentations

"Partnering to Save Lives in Residential Construction" Presentation by Timothy F. Little, Ph.D., CSP from the Region II ROC Meeting.