Susan Caldwell, Product Manager – Print, GMG Envirosafe
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-caldwell
What do you do?
I work for a national safety compliance company as a Product Manager for Print. I have worked with GMG EnviroSafe to create a safety compliance package for Commercial Printing, Silkscreen, and Sign Companies throughout the US. We make sure employees in the printing community can work in safe conditions. Helping to reduce injuries, illnesses, and deaths throughout the printing community is our goal. We are a company that will go to any size printing company and help implement a safety culture, We take the hard work out of EHS compliance paperwork by keeping up with regulations and rules for Federal, State, and local so you don’t have to. Printing companies are always stressed for time to complete for clients printing and sometimes safety is put on the back burner. We at GMG EnviroSafe understand that and want to help. We want to be your partners in print safety making sure all print employees go home to their families at the end of the day.
What investments have you made in your professional career development?
I have been in printing for over 34 years and have been employed, studied, and taught all aspects of the industry. In my professional career, I attended Chowan University for Print Management and became an OSHA Instructor, SkillsUSA Advisor, and National PrintEd Instructor. I just retired from teaching at North Stafford High School for Printing and Graphics after 18 years. The best investment I made in printing was teaching the future generations of printers. Keeping printing alive in the education system was important to me. Students help to push me to try new technology, and techniques, and try new types of printing. I have been to expos, seminars, and classes, and visited some amazing commercial printing businesses throughout the US. My new career allows me to be more involved in safety compliance for the printing industry and I look forward to working throughout the US on helping to make printing safer.
What investments have you made in your personal development?
My greatest achievement in my personal development has been being active in the industry through teaching. As a teacher, I was always going to business, expos, and classes to learn new parts of the industry. The students wanted to always be challenged in the classroom and they in turn challenged me to learn everything I could about the industry. This not only produced an amazing worker but it made me a better printer and teacher.
My new career investment is setting up the printing safety compliance for GMG EnviroSafe. I’m pushing myself to learn everything I can for printing safety compliance with my team so I can better serve the printing community. After going through breast cancer in January of 2021 I wanted to take my career in a different direction and help to make the printing industry safer.
How can the industry proactively invest in women, and why should this be a priority?
As an educator of 18 years, I have seen more and more girls taking printing classes. I grew up in a heavily male-dominated industry and we didn’t have female mentors back in the 80’s and 90’s. The girls who took my printing classes in high school wanted female managers or business owners who could take them under their wings and show them all the avenues they could go in printing. That one on one went a long way with them. This gave me the knowledge and courage to go into the industry and become successful.
Helping with scholarships for women who want to go to college and go into the printing industry is another way we can help. Women often struggle with getting the funding needed for college. We could look into getting businesses to help fund scholarships.
More internships throughout the US for female college students looking to get into the printing industry. If a website could be set up for businesses and students to find each other that would be a tremendous asset for both sides.
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