Biography

Jorge Otalora, CHST a highly motivated bilingual safety professional with 16 years' experience in the safety field, and over 18 years in the construction sector. Having received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from University of Cartagena, Colombia and move to the U.S., he began his career in construction safety in the South Florida area. Jorge has worked for Hoar Construction in the recently opened DC division as Safety Director since 2015. Jorge is the President/Founder of the Latino Safety Professionals Association, which was created to assist and facilitate the path for Latino workers to become safety professionals. He is a Professional Member of ASSP, and serves as Secretary of HSP, and as 1^st delegate of the Nova Chapter. He is also the Chair of the ABC-VA Safety Council. He currently holds a credential as a Construction Health and Safety Technician (CHST), ASHI- CPR Instructor Train of Trainer, ISO 9001 and 1400, as well as OHSAS 18001 implementation facilitator, and Authorized OSHA Construction Outreach Trainer. He serves on the A10.2 committee “Training Management, Development, Delivery, and Evaluation,” part of the ANSI/A10 “Accredited Standards Committee on Safety in Construction and Demolition Operations”.  Also recently appointed as the new vice chair of CoPS.  He has been the recipient of the chapter-based 2016 President’s Award for his outstanding service to the NoVa Chapter, 2017 Chapter and Region VI Safety Professional of the Year (SPY). He is indeed a Safety Servant Leader who is continuously in search of ways of enhancing our profession. 

Platform Statement

Since I moved to US back in 2001, I have faced the same challenges that all Hispanic Immigrant endures while working in different industries. It has been through this endurance that I have learned that we all have a responsibility to help all other Hispanic workers to overcome those obstacles. And I think that it’s a privilege to serve and give back to our profession and our Hispanic community. I am very honored to have the opportunity to nominate my name for the position as the Region VI Vice President. It has been my dream to be able to make a difference by not only facilitating the path for new Safety Professionals, but also to enhance our profession in such a way that we provide initiatives where leaders are spawned and a safety culture is fostered among our workforce. Bringing professionalism to our career is not only matter of speaking the same language, it is also to understand our cultural diversity and to include those who may assist in providing the tools needed to close those gaps and assure all safety messages are effectively delivered and understood. There is so much work to do, and I will love to have the opportunity to serve all those Safety Professionals, who with their ideas and mentorship will make the difference and help to change the perception of our profession.

Thank you for considering my nomination and for giving the opportunity to serve and work for our Safety Professionals and ASSP.