2022 IH of the Year

Deborah Imel Nelson, Ph.D., CIH, FAIHA, earned her B.S.in Environmental Science and M.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Oklahoma College of Engineering, in Norman, Oklahoma, and her Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) and Ph.D. in Environmental Health at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, US. She also holds a Certificate in Total Worker Health® from the Colorado School of Public Health.

Deborah has been certified by the American Board of Industrial Hygiene (ABIH) in the comprehensive practice of industrial hygiene since 1981. Deborah has served as a US Department of Labor – Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) industrial hygiene compliance officer and as a professor of environmental science at the University of Oklahoma and as an Occupational Health Scientist with the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.

Deborah has been involved with AIHA National since 1977, serving on the Board of Directors on and off since 1998, including AIHA National President from 2017-2018. She was the 2007 recipient of AIHA’s Smyth Award, which is presented annually to an individual who has recognized the needs of the industrial hygiene profession and contributed to the improvement of the public’s welfare. Recently, Deborah introduced and successfully leads the Grand Challenges initiative at AIHA. She continues to play a role in OEHS leadership through her continued education at the Center for Health, Work, & Environment.

On a local section level, her broad network has brought the Fall Tech Conference several amazing speakers, she has served on both the FTC planning committee and the AIHA-RMS board of directors as a member at large and as the education and programs co-chair is good.