Megan’s path into safety leadership didn’t begin with a formal title or degree. Like many safety professionals, it started when responsibility landed on her desk unexpectedly.

In fact, industry surveys consistently show that a large percentage of safety professionals enter the field indirectly, often after being assigned safety responsibilities alongside another role.

Early in her career, Megan worked as a site administrator for an industrial painting company, managing safety documentation for a major construction project. When she later moved into a non-safety role, an upcoming audit forced the company to confront a gap. Their safety lead was gone, and no one had been maintaining the program.

At just 21 years old, Megan stepped in.

With no formal education in safety at the time and little guidance, she rebuilt and managed a COR-aligned safety program spanning three provinces. Over the next decade, she learned the work from the inside out. Through audits, incident management, program development, and direct engagement with crews.

COR programs have been linked to measurable reductions in injury rates and workers’ compensation claims across multiple Canadian jurisdictions.

“That sink-or-swim experience taught me more than any classroom ever could,” Megan says. “I need real-world context to understand safety. Theory alone doesn’t stick.”