Instructor Highlight: Sue Maas
Sue is an experienced Training Division Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the environmental services industry with adult education and leading instructional and administrative teams. She is a valuable, hardworking, dedicated mentor and teacher, and we honored to highlight her this month.
Inspiration to Teach Health and Safety
In Sue's words, she is inspired to teach health & safety for the following reasons:
In my much younger years before my career in H&S I had many scary near-misses in different jobs (being at sea, confined spaces, electrical, ladders, livestock, noise, hazardous materials and harassment). Back then I was mostly lucky and in that “you don’t know what you don’t know” zone with lack of awareness. I have learned a lot in the past 35+ years since then!
The most satisfying thing about teaching any H&S topic for me is building a solid big-picture framework of course content and seeing students open up and become less self-conscious as they apply the content. This happens when there is a shift from not knowing to knowing (or knowing more), and then to understanding how to use the important details. Understanding buoys a person’s sense of agency and leadership, which I hope helps them make a difference in fostering a positive 24/7 safety culture of caring for themselves and others both on the job and at home. It is all about staying safe and healthy so one can contribute to and enjoy life.
Professional Journey
Sue has been working in the Health and Safety training and consulting field for over 35 years. She manages the EH&S Training team at Terracon Consultants, Inc. Sue has trained over 35,000 students from a wide variety of organizations including public and private utilities, government agencies, and a wide variety of industrial, engineering, and contractor organizations. Sue’s areas of expertise include hazardous materials (hazmat) management and health and safety, hazardous waste operations and emergency response (HAZWOPER), hazard communication/ Globally Harmonized System (GHS), asbestos, lead, silica, respiratory protection, PPE, permit-required confined spaces, biohazards, DOT hazmat transportation, dangerous waste management and general construction safety. She is passionate about adult education and blends her former secondary school science teaching experience with her solid health and safety background to bring maximum value to the classroom.
Academic and Current Role
Sue is on the board of directors of the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the Association of Hazardous Materials Managers and assists the chapter in planning the Certified Hazardous Materials Manager overview course. Before joining Argus Pacific, Sue was the training manager for another Seattle industrial hygiene firm. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in biology and geology from Whitman College (Walla Walla, Washington), and earned a secondary science teaching certificate through the University of Washington.
Upcoming Courses
Don't miss out on Sue's upcoming OSHA course that she will be teaching in April alongside Stephanie Carter, which covers the requirements for the establishment, maintenance, and monitoring of a respiratory protection program. Enroll by April 24th, 2025 for OSHA #2225 Respiratory Protection taking place April 28th - May 1st, 2025 in Seattle, WA.
