My Story: Tami Royer

I started my “career” in safety as the daughter, granddaughter, sister and wife of construction workers. I saw firsthand what employers who valued safety and those who didn’t could do to their employees. That was later supported when I became a litigation secretary for two large multinational corporations. The attorneys I worked with … handled contracts, wrongful death, discrimination, harassment, environmental, workplace injury and real property. I learned a ton about soft costs, as well as hard costs to loss and risk and liability.

Eventually, I went back to school thinking I was headed for law school – I even got preliminary acceptance to Boalt Hall at the University of California, Berkeley. But my direction changed because of family needs, and I wound up in the master’s public administration program at my university.

With no clue as to where that degree would take me, I went back to doing what I knew – I went to work for a small water retailer as the executive administrative assistant to the president, two vice presidents and the controller. I will be forever grateful to those four individuals and the human resources director – they saw what I couldn’t see and [talked me up] to the HR director of a much larger water wholesaler as the person she needed for the safety position. She agreed and the rest is history. I have been a safety professional for 12 years now and love what I do.

Tami Royer, COSS/CEAS
Safety and Loss Specialist
Aurora, CO