Abby Ferri: Getting Safety Right, The Mentor We All Wish We Had

On this episode of The Safety Knights Podcast, host Zach Johnston sits down with one of the most recognizable voices in modern EHS: Abby Ferri — safety leader, author, speaker, and driving force at the National Safety Council.Abby shares how she accidentally stumbled into safety from a construction office in the early 2000s, took a one-year master’s program in Environmental Health & Safety, and never looked back.From Southern California job sites with boxy vests and steel-toe Timberlands to shaping national conversations on safety, culture, and risk, her journey is full of hard-won lessons and very human moments.They dig into:How Abby found her way into construction safety when “no one wanted construction”What it was really like being a young woman in safety on male-dominated job sitesHow curiosity, walking the site, and asking workers what they need built trustWhy better PPE became her gateway to influence and culture changeThe problem with “fire someone so they know you’re serious” adviceBurnout, boundaries, and learning you don’t have to tolerate bad environmentsWhy EMR/TRIR are overrated — and how claims, insurance & risk control actually drive the business caseCIFs, roadway exposures, and what’s truly broken in how we think about “safety performance”The “silver tsunami” of retiring safety pros and why mentoring early-career people is urgentHer take on AI, telematics, computer vision & why tech can never replace the human elementAbby also shares the belief that guides her work:“People over everything.”If you’ve ever felt stuck between frontline realities and executive expectations, or you’re wondering what the next 5–10 years of safety might look like, this episode will hit home.🛡️ Join the Safety Knights community: https://SafetyKnights.com/join-us🔗 Connect with Abby Ferri on LinkedIn🎧 Subscribe for more conversations with the protectors of the industry.#SafetyKnights #SafetyPodcast #AbbyFerry #EHS #SafetyLeadership #ConstructionSafety #WorkplaceSafety #SafetyCulture #NSC #RiskManagement