Lori Carson, Zeon Chemicals L.P. | Women Breaking the Mold 2024

Lori Carson believes that one of the best feelings in the world is when someone who works for her succeeds. Those feelings carry over to her family and friends. She defines success as "watching my two adult children pursuing their dreams.

As the director of safety, health and environment (SHE) at Zeon Chemicals L.P., Carson embodies the essence of leadership, innovation and community service. Carson brings a wealth of expertise to her role and an impressive array of qualifications including Professional Engineer certifications, Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, ISO lead auditor, and certified safety professional.

And it's all because of her dad. Because he encouraged her to take that big first step toward a career she'd love.

"When I was young, my family lived south of Pittsburgh, Pa., and my father was a Steelworker," Carson said. "I often commented on the yellow haze coming out of the stacks of the mill where he worked. Dad would remind me of all the jobs the mill provided to the community. As I grew older my father suffered numerous broken bones in his 30+ years working there. He had a near miss when and was almost killed by a falling steel plate.

"Dad also encouraged me to become an engineer since I loved math. It is a testament to him that I decided to combine what I learned from him into a profession. Initially, I was committed to finding ways to decrease pollution from industry while retaining good jobs. About the time that I graduated as an environmental engineer and was working as an environmental industrial compliance consultant, Dad took me for a tour of his steel mill. He was so proud to introduce me to the people he worked with. Dad happily retired and led a long life full of adventure. But he lived with chronic pain from the injuries he had suffered. When I transitioned from consulting to industry, I became passionate about employee safety."

Today, Carson provides strategic direction and leadership in safety, health and environmental management, ensuring compliance with regulatory obligations while fostering a culture of excellence and continuous improvement. She has a proactive approach to SHE management that's evident in her formulation and implementation of strategic plans for safeguarding the well-being of employees, neighbors, and customers.

"I strive to be a Servant leader who puts the needs of my employees first, helping them grow in experience and skills, and creating an environment of support and empowerment," Carson said.

Carson oversees all SHE activities with a focus on continuous improvement; driving innovation in management techniques; and ensuring the sustainability of SHE procedures and management systems across all Zeon facilities.

Moreover, Carson is deeply committed to community engagement and environmental stewardship. Her involvement in various industry and community initiatives, such as the Louisville Metro Hazardous Materials Ordinance Appeals and Overseers Board, the Louisville Metro Multipollutant Stakeholder Group, and the STAR Advisory Group, underscores her dedication to advancing sustainable practices and promoting public safety.

She is recognized as a leader in her industry and has been asked to sit on the ARPM Annual EHS Summit Committee (Association of Rubber Products Manufacturers and Environmental, Health & Safety) since 2017. Plus, she has presented multiple times at the organization's conference and was named the 2023 ARPM Champion.

Volunteering is important to Carson and is always the first in line to volunteer for Zeon's community service activities such as planting trees and neighborhood trash cleanups. In addition, she is highly involved with Zeon's internal charity program, Helping Hands.

"Community involvement is a core value of mine." Carson said. "I was brought up to help others and to make the world better. Knowing that, I am passionate about safety and the environment. Also, I feel to be a 'good neighbor' is to interact with people in the community to find out what they need or listen to their concerns.

"I am proud that Zeon contributes to a local scholarship program, but we also pick up trash; participate in fun runs; collect school supplies every August; give holiday goodie bags to a community grammar school; plant trees; and much more. Personally, I am active in my church, knit hats for the unhoused and serve on my neighborhood tree committee."

Years with company: 9.5

Years in rubber industry: 9.5

I came to Zeon when a professional colleague and friend told me he was retiring; he thought I would be a good fit as his replacement. My experience had been inorganic chemistry, so I had a lot to learn about the rubber industry. Fortunately, I was looking for an exciting challenge.

My nine-plus years working at Zeon has been incredibly rewarding both professionally and personally. I started as environmental manager and then moved to Safety Health & Environmental (SHE) leader and now I am director of SHE with a team of nine excellent professionals! The rubber industry constantly changes to adapt to new regulations, competition or technological innovations and I enjoy implementing new measures to ensure our employees and the community stay safe.

My days are fast-paced with rarely a dull moment. As a 2023 Rubber News Best Place to Work, Zeon offers a family culture with charity volunteer opportunities and fun social events. I have made some long-lasting friendships as well.

I also had the opportunity to join the Association of Rubber Products Manufacturers EHS Summit planning committee in 2017 and have been contributing ever since. Attending the annual EHS summit has given me further insight into other aspects of the rubber industry such as compounding and molding. I have even been invited to speak at the ARPM EHS Summit on topics that I have some expertise in (Using Power BI for SHE KPIs and ISO14001/45001 certification) and Zeon has won several ARPM safety best practices awards.

I am constantly driving my team to try something new whether it is a new safety practice, recycling waste or building a rain garden. My role is strategic, so I am thinking years ahead on what programs we need or identifying continuous improvement opportunities.

While at Zeon, I led the initiative to become ISO14001 and 45001 certified, implemented a behavioral safety program called SafeStart and developed a sustainability program that won the 2022 Conservation Award from Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection. At Zeon, we ask all employees to be engaged in our safety program, so I strive to be a model of engagement by sharing my SafeStart stories, identifying At-Risk behaviors in myself/others and stopping to listen to employee suggestions or concerns.

I am a servant leader and prefer to remain in the background so my team shines. I have close personal relationships with each of my direct reports. I know what is happening in their lives so that I can adjust work demands if necessary or offer empathy/support. While I have learned to adapt my leadership style to each individual's needs, I generally set goals and expectations with them and then let them work toward achievement.

We have frequent touch bases to discuss progress and challenges and it makes me proud to see my team help each other when they notice someone needs support. As the leader of corporate Safety Health & Environment, I have to be a role model for accountability; safe behaviors; for always wearing proper PPE; providing positive reinforcement to employees; cheerlead participation in our SHE programs; telling honest stories; and admitting when I make mistakes.

John Austin's book "Results: The Science-Based Approach to Better Productivity, Profitability, and Safety" provides a practical approach to becoming a more effective leader and changing your work environment, which helped improve our safety culture at Zeon. I always carry it with me and reference it often.

I also just finished Brene Brown's book "Atlas of the Heart" but have read every book she has published and listen to her Podcast called "Dare to Lead.:" Brene taught me to live my values (integrity and perseverance) and own my compassionate leadership style even though it is very different from the more common authoritative leaders. I like her podcasts which tend to be conversations between Brene and a guest because I take away an idea that I can try with my team ("tell me what you think your value is") or an insight into how I can continuously improve my leadership skills.

Before Zeon, I worked for a company that had a considerable turnover in its EHS Leader role. I had three different supervisors in my nine years there. As each boss departed, I had to step up and fill that role while doing my own job until the next one was hired.

Finally, I applied for the EHS Leader job but was told I would not be considered for it because I did not look the part. My failure was not recognizing sooner that I was at the wrong company and was wasting my time.

I learned that working really hard may never be enough to be promoted in some company cultures. I also learned to take chances, trust in my knowledge/skills, allow my ambition to drive me forward and not settle for only what is given to me. Soon after, I was hired by Zeon which changed my life completely. I absolutely love my job and grateful every day to serve the people that I care so much about.

I love to read everything/anything—fiction, non-fiction and self-help books. My ten-pound rescue dog Rowan and I curl up on my couch on a cold or rainy evening while reading on my phone's kindle app. I also enjoy the outdoors when the weather is nice: trail running, hiking to waterfalls, kayaking and gardening. Also, I love the beach and mountains. Plus, I have a close friend who likes to go to wine-tasting dinners with me. I travel often to Pittsburgh, my hometown, to spend time with my sister and her family. We are glamping in July.

At Zeon, we celebrate the tremendous improvement we have seen in safety engagement and culture. We have had zero recordable injuries in all but one of our Zeon facilities. But the best feeling in the world is when someone who works for me succeeds. I have had the honor of promoting several team members recently to increasingly challenging roles. I also advocated for a valuable team member to take a manager role on another team. While it was hard to lose her, I enjoy watching her flourish. Personally, success is watching my two adult children pursuing their dreams and living modestly so that I can explore new places with my family/friends.