Fairfax, VA October 26, 2020 - The National Utility Contractors Association (NUCA) announced today that Carl Vasquez, ASP has been hired to lead the association’s industry renowned safety and education programs.
“Safety for our industry’s employees is a core value at NUCA,” said NUCA CEO Doug Carlson. “Carl is an experienced construction safety professional who has walked in many industry shoes, from project engineer to OSHA advisor to director of safety programs for a major urban city department.”
With more than 15 years of experience, Vasquez’s position as director of safety and education will clearly articulate NUCA’s safety vision, objectives, strategies, policies, and procedures to enhance the association’s safety culture.
Before coming to NUCA, Vasquez worked most recently as a risk management consultant for Travelers Insurance and as a system safety consultant for Caliber Consulting of Washington, D.C. In his work for these organizations he evaluated hospitality industry activities to minimize costs related to risk as well as developed and managed a safety program for a southern California commuter railroad system.
Vasquez takes over the NUCA safety and education department from industry long-timer George Kennedy, who retired earlier this year after 30 years of service. Vasquez is an expert in identifying and analyzing corporate risk, using definitive risk management tools to mitigate, eliminate, or reduce risk exposures in construction.
As director of construction and engineering safety for the second-largest transit agency in the U.S., the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), Vasquez led between 2014 and 2017 the risk management planning of the system’s capitol programs and implemented a number of major projects to improve the rail, bridge, and tunnel infrastructure of CTA.
From 2012 to 2014, Vasquez served as the national policy advisor to the Undersecretary of Labor and as the regional liaison for USDOL’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. During that time, he created a method for executives to establish compliance and behavioral programs to enhance risk management initiatives. The process proved to be successful and was adopted by OSHA nationwide.
Vasquez also brings a practical construction experience to the position. He began his career in 2006 with Clark Construction in Washington, D.C., as a project engineer. From 2009 he worked with Bechtel Corp. as their training manager, responsible for training over 4,000 employees on a heavy civil infrastructure project.
Vasquez holds a B.A. in liberal arts from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and is certified as an Associate Safety Professional by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals. He brings a wide variety of skills to this important position, from project and change management to regulatory compliance, including a strong background in risk, program, and emergency management.
Vasquez is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, and served in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, being awarded the Air Force commendation metal. He is also fluent in Spanish, an attribute which will help NUCA reach more industry employees with our message of promoting a safe jobsite for everyone.
