What do you do at NDSC?
I am a Health, Safety & Environmental Consultant, and will soon be pursuing a M.S. Occupational Safety and Health – Environmental Management degree and my (BCSP) CSP certification afterward.

Why is NDSC’s mission to prevent injuries and save lives important to you?

My first job, that wasn’t the family farm or related family businesses, was with an award winning high volume Veterinary Hospital that was beloved by the community so much that half the state would travel past local Vet Clinics to arrive at ours. I worked my way from kennel attendant to Groom Shop Manager, and then to Veterinary Technician. I loved my work tremendously, yet this work exposed me to consistent brushes with the morbidity of death. Even as a young teen, I had sprouted to my full height of 5’10 rather quickly and I worked the latest shift, so often I would be the last person to comfort these furry companions as they crossed the rainbow bridge before I prepared them and diligently carried them to their last truck ride every night.

When I moved, this experience would lead me to work a decade for the Goodman Group, which is a Platinum Service international award-winning company that manages senior living, healthcare communities, residential communities, and commercial properties in multiple states. I managed HR in my region of Western Montana for Memory Care Centers, Rehabilitation Centers, Long-Term Care Residences, Respite Care Facilities, Clinics and Senior Residences for Independent Living and Assisted Living. Training the different job needs of all staff for one facility was challenging enough, training for multiple required me to understand what those roles truly entailed.

Simultaneously, I also worked the ‘Noc Shift’ (Nocturnal) as a CNA, which allowed me to transition into a LPN (back when you could do that). I was assigned to the Hospice care halls and the Veteran Halls that typically male aides were assigned to due to my cultural background with the military, allowing me to understand and assist with the special needs of aging Veterans. It also helped that I had endless patience due to being used to operating on “NDN time”. I learned early on to make the permanent switch from bright colors to black scrubs, as there are many stains you can’t get out.

Hospice care is where I met Dorothy, while I was fresh faced and new to the work. I knocked and entered her room. She was bent forward on the edge of her bed, and looking at her feet, her toes spread wide and her brow furrowed in concentration. I knew from her chart that the doctors said she’d never walk again. I took my time straightening a few things and talking with her to get her comfortable with my presence before I approached, but she was silent the whole time. I stood and let the silence settle between us before she started chuckling and sat up slowly, looking up at me quizzically as she said, “Puma?” I was flummoxed, “I’m sorry?” as I looked around the room. She liked green, and all the doilies she had crocheted were different shades of green before her fingers lost their dexterity. “There is a Puma on your shoe.” I followed her gaze and her outstretched finger to see that, indeed, there was a Puma stitched in black on my shoe. I chuckled, too, as she said with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, “But you look like a Raven.” I couldn’t help but laugh with her. I often spent time after my shift ended to help her regain her finger strength and her ability to walk because she hated having to use the wheelchair and crocheting made her happy. She refused to use my name, so even the other CNAs, LPNs, and RNs called me “Raven” too. She had them call me on my night off when the night came that she walked across the rainbow bridge; her last words were to me as I held her hand, “I knew you’d come, Raven.” Dorothy would be my first hand that I would hold as she crossed over, but she was far from my last. I wore Pumas because of her until I entered the oilfield industry with my healthcare experience, which helped me transition to training people in occupational medicine and swapping for my Carolina steel-toe boots.

I have held thousands of paws and hands over the years as they slipped into the embrace of death. When I started working in the most dangerous injury and fatality industries (railroad, warehousing, logistics, energy, etc), I made a vow that I would prevent people from meeting their time too early before they had lived their full lives. That’s what I’ve done the last decade in Oil & Gas, as each company that I have provided in house HSE/QRC services and training has received state and national Safety awards for 0 Injuries and 0 Fatalities consecutively each year. I have even personally prevented injury and fatalities in my simultaneous work as a Measurement Technician using both the Buddy System and Stop Work Authority. Every company I have consulted with has drastically improved its TRIR (Total Recordable Incident Rate) and reduced injuries by improving its hierarchy of controls.

NDSC is a nonprofit organization with a mission, values, and principles that deeply align with my own. This supports my efforts in the western region with a passionate team of talented people in our headquarters in Bismarck, ND to guide conscientious companies and organizations that want to prevent accidents and support business continuity to achieve operational excellence.

Name one really interesting thing about yourself.
Sángaay láagang [Hello]
X̱úuya Xyáalgangs hin uu X̱aad kíhl díi kya’áng. [My Haida name is Dancing Raven.]

I am Xayda [Haida (Kaigani)] of Old Kasaan [Pretty Town] nestled within Scowl Arm Bay of Haida Gwaii.

I am Yáahl [Raven Moiety] of the Táas Láanas [Sand Beach People], Raven Clan.

I come from Chief Skáwaal’s (aka Chief Skowl) Nahalás [House Climbing Up/More Back House] and Nahíwaq [Rib House].

I am a Haida Ravenspeaker. My love for the sacred art of storytelling was ingrained in me from birth and tradition. In our modern age, it is easier to lose our stories than to preserve them. Not because we lack words or technology, but because every day, our time and wonder for our world are stolen in bits and pieces. I collect and share stories for others’ delight and learning. I am also a Sealaska Shareholder. Sealaska is a steward of Alaskan resources and is headquartered in Juneau, Alaska.

What are your hobbies?

Lure fishing, hunting and gun range, camping, hiking, blacksmithing, weaponry & armor, brewing, anthropology, dance, kinesiology, yoga, sci-fi, fantasy, gothic, cyberpunk, horror, attending Renaissance Faires, demo derbies, monster truck shows, rodeos, graphic design & website building, papercraft, PC & console video gaming, creative writing