Rixio Medina Elected ASSP President

Rixio E. Medina became president of the American Society of Safety Professionals on July 1, 2018, serving a one-year term. He is an ASSP Fellow and has been a professional member of the Society since 1991.

Rixio is a former oil and gas industry executive who now provides occupational safety, fire protection, process safety and security consulting services in the U.S. and abroad as vice president of Insight Risk LLC. His four decades of experience include 30 years at CITGO Petroleum Corporation, where he served as an officer and vice president of Health, Safety, Security, Environment and Shared Services. He also held technical and management positions at Mobil Oil Corporation, BP, AcuTech Consulting and the Board of Certified Safety Professionals.

He served on the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board after being appointed by President George W. Bush in 2003. He was also appointed by the secretary of labor to four terms on OSHA’s National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health. His volunteer experience includes positions as president and director for the Board of Certified Safety Professionals; safety and fire protection committee member for the American Petroleum Institute and American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers; vice chair of the civil service board and chair of the civil service commission for the City of Corpus Christi, Texas; and member of the local emergency planning committees in Corpus Christi and Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Rixio has a bachelor’s degree in fire protection and safety engineering technology from Oklahoma State University, where he was named to the Hall of Fame by the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology, and honored as a distinguished alumnus by the Alumni Association. He earned a master’s degree in industrial security from the University of Central Missouri and was recognized as an honorary member of Rho Sigma Kappa by the safety sciences department.

At ASSP, Rixio is a former vice president of the Council on Professional Affairs, the Society’s key policy-setting committee. He also has been a member of many other ASSP committees, including standards development, bylaws, global, diversity and government affairs. He has served as an ASSP ambassador for Latin America and trustee for the ASSP Foundation, where he sponsors a scholarship and professional education grant.

Rixio is a recipient of the Society’s President’s Award, Foundation Distinguished Service Award, Diversity in the Safety, Health and Environmental Profession Award, and the Safety Professionals and Latino Workforce Significant Contributor Award.

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