WASHINGTON — Ryan Risdon will become manager, program support, at the Short Line Safety Institute, a new position supporting the institute’s safety culture and hazardous materials training programs.
Risdon brings more than 25 years of experience in railroad safety administration, compliance, and emergency response management to the institute, an educational, training, and research center for short line railroads that conducts safety culture assessments and hazardous material instructor and leadership development programs.
“We are excited to have Ryan aboard,” Tom Murta, the institute’s executive director, said in a press release. “He brings significant and diverse experience in managing the challenging environment of railroading from both the employee and contractor perspectives. In addition, his more than 15 years as a firefighter/EMT volunteer will provide meaningful insight into how we can best serve the training needs of emergency personnel who may be called to the scene of a railroad incident.”
Risdon said that, in the wake of increased attention to hazardous materials safety response stemming from the Feb. 3 incident in East Palestine, Ohio, the institute is “poised to develop and deploy several new programs that will provide enhanced training to short line railroads before, during, and afeter an incident. I’m looking forward to applying my experience as an emergency responder, and as a safety professional on a railroad, to benefit the short line railroad industry.”
More information on the Short Line Safety Institute is available at its website.
