The U.S. Chemical Safety Board announced yesterday that Dr. Kristen Kulinowski will serve as the agency’s Interim Executive Authority following the resignation of Chairperson Vanessa Allen Sutherland.

Dr. Kulinowski said, “I am honored to serve in this new capacity.  I look forward to working with my fellow board members in continuing our shared commitment to the board’s important mission. I am committed to ensuring that the CSB’s current investigations are completed in a timely and efficient manner and that the lessons learned are available to industry, workers and members of the public.”

Dr. Kulinowski has expertise in chemical and materials sciences, occupational health and safety issues, risk policy, nanotechnology, and research administration. Prior to joining the Board, Dr. Kulinowski was a Research Staff Member in the Institute for Defense Analyses Science & Technology Policy Institute (STPI). Prior to joining STPI, Dr. Kulinowski spent 13 years in Houston at Rice University as a Senior Faculty Fellow in Chemistry.

Since beginning her term as Board Member in August 2015, Dr. Kulinowski has focused her outreach efforts on laboratory safety and safe hot work practices. At conferences and meetings across the United States, she shares key investigative findings, lessons learned, and recommendations from the agency’s 13 hot work investigations.

The CSB is an independent, non-regulatory federal agency whose mission is to drive chemical safety change through independent investigations to protect people and the environment. The agency’s board members are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. CSB investigations look into all aspects of chemical incidents, including physical causes such as equipment failure as well as inadequacies in regulations, industry standards, and safety management systems. For more information, contact public@csb.gov.