FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 22, 2019
MEDIA CONTACT
Tanisha Jumper, Media & Communications, tjumper@cityoftacoma.org, (253) 591-5152
Maria Lee, Media & Communications, maria.lee@cityoftacoma.org, (253) 591-2054
City Manager and Tacoma Public Utilities Director Select Laurie Hardie as New Safety Director
City Manager Elizabeth Pauli and Tacoma Public Utilities Director Jackie Flowers have selected Laurie Hardie for the position of Safety Director. Hardie will assume her new role effective December 2, 2019.
“Our joint efforts to establish an organization-wide safety program support our overarching commitment to cultivating a safer workplace environment where employees can grow and thrive,” said Pauli. “Our new Safety Director was selected through an extremely competitive recruitment process that encompassed three months of extensive review and vetting, and we are confident that she has the knowledge, skills and experience necessary to lead this important work.”
“Employees across all City departments – including Tacoma Public Utilities – have demonstrated great support and energy toward this effort,” said Flowers. “We are grateful for this support, which will be foundational to our success as One City.”
Over the course of her 16-year career in the field of safety, Hardie has worked in strategic policy development, implementation and compliance, management of U.S. Department of Transportation safety, compliance, alcohol and substance abuse programs, and building safety compliance programs for private corporations from the ground up.
Hardie has served as divisional safety manager for the WestRock Corporation of Atlanta, Ga. with 22 sites nationwide; operations supervisor for the industrial and commercial operations of Republic Services in Bellevue, Wash.; senior safety specialist for the FedEx Corporation in Pittsburgh, Pa.; and in logistics for the U.S. Army based in Kitzingen, Germany.
“I am honored and humbled by the opportunity to serve the City of Tacoma and Tacoma Public Utilities in this capacity,” said Hardie. “I look forward to getting to know the employees who work so hard each day to ensure that the needs of our community members and customers are met.”
Hardie has a Bachelor of Science, cum laude, in transportation and aviation management from the University of Central Missouri, and an Associate of Arts in business from Shasta College in Redding, Calif.
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