Gibbs named to the Board for Global Environmental, Health and Safety Credentialing

Shawn Gibbs, PhD, MBA, CIH, dean and professor at the Texas A&M University School of Public Health, has been elected to the Board for Global Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) Credentialing. Gibbs received the 2022 Industrial Hygiene Impact Award from the same organization based on his research and development of best practices in response to globally emergent, highly infectious disease management, training, controls and policy. He has been a certified industrial hygienist, one of the credentials offered by the board, since 2009.

The Board for Global EHS Credentialing is the premier global credentialing body for professionals who protect and enhance the health, safety, and environment of people at work and in their communities. The rigorous, reliable, and valid credentialing process elevates the expectations of professionals who work in the environment, health, and safety fields and allows them to demonstrate their commitment and ability to work at the highest level.

Gibbs is an internationally respected expert in public health, industrial hygiene and exposure assessment. During the 2013-2016 Ebola outbreak, he served as the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit’s director of research. He regularly lends guidance to national and international organizations around highly hazardous communicable diseases, including the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command, and the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine through his appointment to the Committee on Respiratory Protection for the Public and Workers without Respiratory Protection Programs at their Workplaces. Additionally, he has held leadership roles with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)-funded National Emerging Special Pathogens Training and Education Center (NETEC), the Hispanic Health Disparities Research Center at the University of Texas School of Public Health and University of Texas at El Paso, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-funded Central States Center for Agricultural Safety and Health, and the CDC/HHS-funded Nebraska Biocontainment Unit. He previously served as principal investigator of the Biosafety and Infectious Disease Training Initiative (BIDTI), a National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences-funded consortium.

More recently, Gibbs played an integral role in the COVID-19 pandemic through advising policymakers and organizational leaders and was appointed to lead Texas A&M’s COVID-19 response and served on the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Medical Task Force. Because of his work, he received the Michael L. Slive Distinguished Service Award for his leadership and significant impact to the betterment of the SEC mission. He is also a recipient of the 2018 American Industrial Hygiene Association’s Edward J. Baier Technical Achievement Award and has been an American Industrial Hygiene Association Distinguished Lecturer since 2019.