USMWF

Because going to work shouldn't be a grave mistake!

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Our Team (please be patient we are updating our site)

USMWF Staff

Tammy Miser - Executive Director (Kentucky)

Tammy Miser, Executive Director (Lexington, Kentucky): Tammy established USMWF in 2005 following the death of her brother Shawn Boone, 33, in 2003 from an aluminum dust explosion at the Hayes Lemmerz plant in Huntington, Indiana. Read more about Shawn Boone and about Tammy’s work (here) - Email Tammy

Debi Koehler-Fergen, Outreach Coordinator (Las Vegas, Nevada)

Debi became involved with USMWF after losing her son Travis Koehler, 29, in 2007 when he died in a toxic confined space atmosphere while working at Boyd Gaming’s Orleans Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Read more about Travis Koehler and more about Debi’s work (here). - Email Debi

Kerry Wagers - Executive Assistant (Kentucky)

Kerri Wagers (Sam), 25, is the newest member of USMWF. Sam is working on her social work major at the University of Kentucky. Sam has not personally lost anyone in a work related incident but she is very passionate about the people that have. Sam stated, "I have a lot of family and friends that have lost a loved one and knowing there is an organization such as this one, really brings me some peace of mind. After working and volunteering for non-profit organizations the last few years, I decided to major in social work and continue to help people for the rest of my life. We all go through hard times, why not have a huge, extended family to back you up!." - Email Sam

Associate Sign In

We do except some speaking requests for Our USMWF Team. If you have a request please send the request nature, time, date and location to Tammy. Please note if you are requesting one of our USMWF Family member to speak we require you to pay all expenses as these requests are not in our budget. Please keep in mind we are a nonprofit and depend on donations to continue our work so a per diem or donation is greatly appreciated.

USMWF Volunteers

USMWF is largely a volunteer organization comprised of individuals who have lost loved ones from workplace hazards. Like the USMWF staff, they want to see improvements in workplace safety policies so other families do not have to suffer the same pain and loss that they have endured.

Tonya Ford, Secretary (Lincoln, Nebraska)

Tonya became involved with USMWF within just a few months of losing her Uncle Bobby (Robert Fitch, 51) in 2009 from an 80 foot fall off an elevated manlift at the Archer Daniels Midland plant in Lincoln, Nebraska. Tonya’s father worked at the plant side-by-side for 30 years with Uncle Bobby and her father was the person who found Uncle Bobby with his fatal injuries. Read more about Robert Fitch and more about Tonya’s work (here) including Worker Memorial Day events for Nebraska families.

Tina Williamson (Summerville, South Carolina)

Tina became involved with USMWF after losing her son, Matthew Williamson, 21. Mathew was killed while working in a confined space and succumbed to poisonous gases at the USNS Supply docked at Detyen's Shipyard in North Charleston, SC. Read more about Matthew Williamson (here) and more about Tina work here.

Diane Lillicrap (St. Louis, Missouri)

Diane became involved with USMWF within just a few weeks of losing her son, Steven Lillicrap, 21, when he was fatally crushed in 2009 while disabling a 100-ton crawler crane at a St. Louis construction site for Ben Hur Construction. Read more about Steven Lillicrap and Diane’s work here.

Katherine Rodriguez & Jennifer Gonzalez-Ornelas (Texas)

Katherine Rodriguez is a member of United Support and Memorial for Workplace Fatalities (USMWF), a non-profit organization comprised of family members who have lost a loved one in a workplace incident. Katherine lost her father in a workplace incident in 2004. Since then she has joined both the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health (NCOSH) and the Houston Council for Occupational Safety and Health as a board member. Through USMWF, Katherine and her family have worked with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Chemical Safety Board and the United Steel Workers with various workplace safety and family issues. Katherine and her family have been active in bringing attention to current workplace safety laws and regulations and continues to fight for a safe work environment for all workers. Katherine is a certified public accountant by profession in industry Read more about Katherine's and Jennifer's work here.

Melissa King(Boston, Massachusetts)

Melissa became involved with USMWF in 2005 following the death of her Father, Paul King who was electrocuted on the job. Melissa is also on the board of MASSCOSH and is a staunch advocate for safety in the workplace. "I have met many other families of workplace fatality victims and while the details of each incident are different, they all have one thing in common: These tragedies can and must be prevented," said Melissa King. Email Melissa

Marychrishris Rodriguez (Las Vegas, Nevada)

Mary became involved with USMWF in 2010 following the death of her Son , Enrique Rodriguez, 20 at Hollywood Theatre/MGM in Las Vegas, NV. He died from a fatal fall. Marychris found the system to be unjust and many inconsistencies in the Nevada-OSHA process. Read more about Enrique Rodriguez and Marychris’s work here. Email Marychris

Catherine Rylatt(Hurst, Texas)

Cat became involved with USMWF in 2010 following the death of her nephew, Alex Pacas, 19, at a grain storage bin operated by Haasbach, Inc. in Mt. Carroll, Illinois. Another young worker, Wyatt Whitebread, 14, was also killed in the incident where the boys were engulfed in corn. Read more about Cat’s work (here) in particular her efforts with the Grain Safety Coalition.

Holly Shaw-Hollis (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania): Holly became involved with USMWF through her involvement with PhilaPOSH and their annual Worker Memorial Day commemoration (the largest in the country.) Holly’s first husband, Scott Shaw, 38, died in 2002 when he fell off a barge in the Schuylkill River for Armco Construction. Read more about Scott Shaw and testimony that Holly provided in 2010 to the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions here.

Wendy Shurelds (San Diego, CA)

Wendy recently became involved with USMWF in 2011 after locating our organization though our death weekly toll we posted of her mother Yvonne Shurelds, 58 found dead March 8, 2008 of Internal Decapitation at DTR Industries in Bluffton, Ohio operating a lift truck. Wendy continues to fight for safety in the work place on behalf of her mother, and other families who've lost love ones, as well as petitioning for change within the current laws. Read more about Yvonne Shurelds, and Wendy's work. (here).

Mary Vivenzi (Rohnert Park, California)

Mary became involved with USMWF in 2006 and was one of the organization’s first dedicated volunteers. Mary lost her fiancé Kevin Scott in 2002 while working for Shimmick/Obayashi on San Francisco’s Golden Gate bridge. Mary’s struggle with Cal-OSHA was profiled in “Protected or Neglected” on KCET’s SOCAL Connected.

USMWF Board

Mark Miser, Treasurer (Kentucky)

Mark has spent the last 20 + years in an industry that has suffered many accidents. Mark served as the Paint Production Engineer at Hayes Lemmerz Huntington plant 5 years before leaving to pursue a career with a similar manufacture of aluminum wheels where he has spent the past 6 + years as Paint Production Engineer. Mark’s knowledge of the dangers of these types of working environments comes from many years of experience in an industrial environment. He has been able to serve as a professional guide for the Organization and he is now currently serving as Treasurer of the USMWF Organization. From 1995 to 2001 Mark owned and operated a successful professional computer service under his own brand of PC’s Echo Computers and from 2001 to 2006 Mark was the President and co-owner of a successful professional cleaning service under the name Old Maid Cleaning; Mark showed a great ability to lead and make financial decisions. As a certified ISO-14001 auditor and ISO-TS16949 Mark has gained vast experience and knowledge of environmental procedures and industrial operating processes including safety. Serving as Treasurer of USMWF.ORG has given him an opportunity to support his wife of 24 + years (Tammy Miser) in her quest to make a safer workplace for all.

USMWF Advisory Board

Peter Dooley MS,CIH, CSP

LaborSafe

Dexter, Michigan

Robert Harrison, MD, MPH

Clinical Professor of Medicine

School of Medicine

Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine

University of California

Andrea Kidd-Taylor, DrPH, MSPH

Assistant Professor

Morgan State University

Baltimore, MD

(US Chemical Safety Board Member 1998-2003)

Kathy Kirkland, MPH

Executive Director

Assoc of Occupational and Environmental Clinics

J. Davitt McAteer

(asst. secretary of labor for mine safety

and health, 1994-2000)

Vice President Sponsored Programs

Wheeling Jesuit University

Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH

Professorial Lecturer

Department of Environmental and Occupational Health

School of Public Health and Health Services

George Washington University

Communications Committee

Tonya Ford - Facilitator

Jennifer Gonzalez Ornelas - Plan Writer

Debi Fergen - Minutes

Finance Committee

Tammy Miser - Facilitator

Katherine Rodriquez - Plan Writer

Kelly Heilert - Minutes

Catherine Rylatt - Advisor

Special Projects Committee

Diane Lillicrap - Facilitator

Mary Vivenzi - Plan Writer

Holly Shaw - Minutes

Tammy Miser

Administrative Committee