Rixio E. Medina, CSP, ASP, CPP, will become president of the American Society of Safety Professionals on July 1, 2018, serving a one-year term. He has been a professional member of the Society since 1991.
Rixio is a former oil and gas industry executive who now provides occupational safety, fire protection, process safety and security consulting services in the United States and abroad as president and principal consultant of Texas-based Rixio Medina & Associates, L.P. His four decades of experience include 30 years at CITGO Petroleum Corporation, where he served as an officer and vice president of Health, Safety, Security, Environment and Shared Services. He also held technical and management positions at Mobil Oil Corporation, BP, AcuTech Consulting and the Board of Certified Safety Professionals.
He served on the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board after being appointed by President George W. Bush in 2003. He was appointed by the secretary of labor to four terms on the National Advisory Committee on Occupational Safety and Health. His volunteer experience includes stints as president and director for the Board of Certified Safety Professionals, and safety and fire protection committee member for the American Petroleum Institute and American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers.
Rixio is a safety professional with a proud Hispanic heritage who is passionate about advancing workplace safety domestically and internationally. He has a bachelor’s degree in fire protection and safety engineering technology from Oklahoma State University, where he was named to the Hall of Fame by the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology, and honored as a Distinguished Alumnus by the Alumni Association. He earned a master’s degree in industrial security from the University of Central Missouri.
At ASSP, Rixio is a former vice president of the Council on Professional Affairs, the Society’s key policy-setting committee. He also has been a member of many other ASSP committees, including Standards Development, Bylaws, Global, Diversity and Government Affairs. He has served as an ASSP ambassador for Latin America and trustee for the ASSP Foundation, where he sponsors a scholarship and professional education grant.
Rixio believes it’s important for ASSP to continue its focus on the organization’s four strategic pillars, which are member communities, education, standards and advocacy. He wants to make significant progress on initiatives involving the global capability framework for occupational safety and health professionals; ASSP’s research agenda; human capital issues through the Center for Safety and Health Sustainability; and bringing more women, veterans and Hispanics into the safety profession.
Rixio is an ASSP Fellow and recipient of the Society’s President’s Award, Foundation Distinguished Service Award, Diversity in the Safety, Health and Environmental Profession Award, and the Safety Professionals and Latino Workforce Significant Contributor Award.