Meet PEF health and safety staff

Jennifer Tropiano - H&S Assistant I                    Kristina Willbrant - H&S Assistant II
          Picture by Kathy D'Arminio                                               Picture by Kathy D'Arminio

From Left:  Jonathan Rosen [Director of PEF Health and Safety], 
Kathy D'Arminio [PEF Chair of NYS/PEF Statewide Health and Safety Committee]
Picture by Kathy D'Arminio

Jonathan Rosen is currently the Director of Health and Safety for the NYS Public Employees Federation.  Jonathan has coordinated PEF’s Health and Safety program since June 1990, facilitating its 130 joint health and safety committees and developing programs addressing infectious disease, violence, chemical, ergonomic and safety hazards.  Jonathan has a Master’s degree in Industrial Hygiene from the University of Michigan and is a Certified Industrial Hygienist.

Kathy D’Arminio is a Registered Nurse and holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from St. Joseph’s College.  Prior to state service, Kathy was the In-service Director for the operating room at Lourdes Hospital.  She also worked as a private case manager where she negotiated high cost health care with facilities across the nation.  She has worked for the Division of Disability Determinations/OTDA for 10 years.  She has been the Council Leader for Division 399-DDD/OTDA for the last 2 terms.  She holds Executive Board Seat 445 in OTDA.  She has created a very mobilized and active Division.  She is the editor of a quarterly newsletter – The Educator and has a division web site at: www.pef399.org.   She successfully initiated a Building Wide Health and Safety Committee with each of the agencies in her building – DDD, SIF, DOL and DMV.   She continues to chair this committee and meets with other PEF leaders, CSEA and Management from each of these agencies along with OGS and the Building Manager.  This committee now represents the joint health and safety concerns of over 1000 State Employees.  She is also a member of the 2007 Contract Team and is the PEF Chair of the Joint Statewide Health and Safety Committee.

From Left:  Matt London, Shawn Bobb,  Geraldine Stella
Picture by Kathy D'Arminio

Matt London has worked in occupational health and safety for 25 years.  He earned an M.S. in industrial hygiene from the University of Cincinnati, received epidemiologic training as a member of the CDC’s Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS), and then worked from 1982-87 at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducting Health Hazard Evaluations.  Beginning in 1987, Matt worked at the NYS Department of Health (DOH), helping to develop New York’s statewide Occupational Health Clinic Network and overseeing DOH’s industrial hygiene activities.  Throughout that time, Matt was active in PEF as a steward, chaired his workplace and council’s health and safety committees, and served as a member of the PEF-GOER statewide health and safety committee.  Since May 2004, Matt has worked for PEF on a NIOSH-funded workplace violence prevention project.  This five-year research project is being conducted with the University of Maryland and CSEA in two NYS social service agencies.

Shawn Bobb has been with the NYS Public Employees Federation Health and Safety Department since 1993.  Prior to this, he was a Public Health Representative with the New York State Department of Health’s TB Control Bureau.  He has trained in a variety of areas, including Confined Space, Tuberculosis, Ergonomics, Infection Control, Indoor Air Quality and Emergency Preparedness and Response.  Shawn earned a graduate degree in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at Hunter College.

Geraldine Stella has been with PEF since 1992, and is currently a Health & Safety Specialist for PEF’s Health and Safety Department. She joined the department in November of 1998 as the Grants Administrator/H&S Assistant. Prior to that she worked in PEF’s Public Relations Department. She is responsible for direct outreach to the members, as well as NYS agencies, on a variety of union issues including training and education, research and development, and technical assistance on occupational health and safety issues. A union advocate for many years, she has additional experience in labor/management, grievance handling and political action.

From Left: Ross Aronson, Geraldine Stella
Picture by Kathy D'Arminio

Ross Aronson worked for the NYS Division of Parole for 30 years prior to retiring in 2004. He was a Senior Parole Officer (supervisor) for 14 years.  He served on the Division of Parole agency Health and Safety committee for 15 years until he retired and chaired the committee for 12 years. While chairing Parole’s committee he was involved in developing policies and training programs on such topics as communicable diseases office security, emergency response and evacuation and CIRT (critical incidence response). He also served on the national Health and Safety Committee of the American Probation and Parole Association and has traveled throughout the United States to train Probation and Parole Officers in a variety of health and safety topics. From July, 2001 until he retired he served as the PEF chair of the NYS/PEF Joint Statewide Health and Safety Committee. He continues to serve on the statewide committee as the retiree representative.