ASSP NM Chapter Technical Meeting

Topic Five Years at the Helm of UNM EHS

Since taking on the role of Director in 2020, Casey Hall has led a significant transformation within the University of New Mexico’s Department of Environmental Health and Safety (EHS).

In this presentation, Casey will discuss the department’s initial challenges—including limited visibility among campus stakeholders and a narrow compliance focus—and how these obstacles became opportunities for growth. He will outline the strategic changes that have repositioned EHS to champion a proactive safety culture, enhance environmental compliance, and improve organizational efficiency.

The session will also explore how EHS measures and strengthens UNM’s culture of safety, the progress achieved so far, and the department’s continuing efforts to promote occupational safety across the university’s diverse operations.

Speaker Casey Hall

Casey Hall attended Northern Arizona University attaining a BS in Chemistry with a focus on environmental contaminants. He then attended the State University of New York – College of Environmental Science and Forestry earning an MS in Environmental Chemistry. During his time at SUNY-ESF his research focused on mesoscale transport of atmospheric mercury and other air pollutants in Nanjing, China and Syracuse, New York.

Casey then began a career in environmental consulting measuring pollutant concentrations at stationary sources including coal fired power plants, oil refineries, and cement plants. Casey was then hired to oversee environmental compliance within the Environmental Health and Safety department at the University of New Mexico. During his time at UNM he has broadened his skill set to include health and safety compliance. After becoming the Director of UNM EHS he focused on changing UNM’s culture of safety with a particular emphasis on undergraduate and graduate research laboratories.