Top 10 Under 40: Meet Tara Wright

Tara Wright, 33, is a safety consultant at the Edmonton Public Library.

OHS Canada is proud to highlight 10 men and women under 40 who exemplify the best of Canada’s occupational health and safety profession.

Our Top 10 Under 40 consists of inspiring young men and women who represent every aspect of the safety sector, and love what they do.

To acknowledge and highlight each winner’s contributions, OHS Canada will feature two of our winners each week over the coming month.

Tara Wright: safety consultant at Edmonton Public Library, age 33

The Edmonton Public Library is a safer workplace, thanks to Tara Wright’s involvement.

Among her achievements is the creation of a system-wide health and safety committee and teaching mental health first aid to all staff.

The CRSP finds gratification in watching staff internalize what they’ve learned about health and safety — then apply it in all of the work they do.

“My goal is to make health and safety accessible, and I do that by meeting each individual at their comfort level and building from there,” she said.

Wright views OH&S as less about rules and restrictions, and more about being a multidisciplinary field that can change lives.

“I firmly believe health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and that the workplace has the power to nurture or impair it,” she said.

“Working in occupational health and safety aligns with my core values of learning, creating, embodying empathy and the pursuit of excellence. It allows me to connect with people, build community and share my knowledge and expertise to make a difference in the workplace.”

Wright has a wide variety of health and safety experience in Alberta.

She finds gratification when employers truly buy in to health and safety — not just to meet minimum compliance — but because they recognize the benefits of supporting and investing in their people.

“That’s why I do what I do.”