About the Show
Safety leadership is more than complying with rules and regulations. It’s about creating solutions that are relational, inspirational, and transformational. The growing partnership between BCSP, the gold standard in safety certification, and Dale Carnegie (DC), the premier expert in leadership training, is helping safety professionals solve unique challenges in innovative ways. In “My Big Safety Challenge,” host and DC Master Trainer Merle Heckman dives into safety-related leadership principles and experiences with engaging guest hosts from different industries and perspectives. Joining Merle for season two is Tiffany Felix, Senior Vice President of Global Environmental Health & Safety for media entertainment company, Paramount Global.
Meet The Hosts
Dr. Merle Heckman is presently a master trainer and consultant for Dale Carnegie in Cincinnati, Kentucky, and southern Indiana. Most recently, he was the manager of organizational development for Power Transmission Solutions (PTS) in Florence, Kentucky. He oversaw the training of employees and development of leaders throughout the organization. PTS was one of the business units of Emerson Electric which was a Fortune 125 company. He is the designer and master trainer of “Safety Leadership Skills,” an Emerson course, and trained over 500 internal trainers who in turn presented the course to over 27,000 employees worldwide. He was also the designer and master trainer of sales training for Regal Beloit – a global manufacturing company. He earned an M.A. in counseling, an MBA with concentrations in human resources, finance, and marketing, and an MPA. Committed to lifelong learning, he completed his Ed.D. in educational leadership from Northern Kentucky University. Dr. Heckman is a certified instructor for the Dale Carnegie Training in Effective Communication and Human Relations/Skills for Success, Sales Advantage, Leadership Training for Managers, High Impact Presentations, Dale Carnegie Online, and the Advanced Dale Carnegie Course. As a master trainer, he trains and coaches new and seasoned trainers globally for Dale Carnegie. He has instructed individuals from major organizations in manufacturing, technology, government, military, financial, educational, and many other groups. Dr. Heckman has taught for various universities over the last 18 years, both in-house and online. He has the SPHR-SCP certification (Senior Professional in Human Resources) from the Society of Human Resource Management. He was awarded the certification of Certified Speaking Professional through the National Speakers Association. Merle was recognized as the No. 1 global leadership trainer in the Dale Carnegie organization in 2022.
Tiffany Felix is a senior executive specializing in all aspects of environmental health & safety/risk management, while being committed to creating a socially responsible culture and community.
Currently, Tiffany is the Senior Vice President of Global Environmental Health & Safety for the media entertainment company, Paramount Global. Tiffany strives to be an exceptional visionary and coaching leader that brings out the best in people, both professionally and personally.
She is a consummate learner that started with the completion of her bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Berkeley in Environmental Sciences, then an MBA from the University of Redlands, and a Masters in Leadership from the University of Southern California. Tiffany uses her pursuit of education to maintain
her CSP designation.
Long Beach, California is home for Tiffany. She is a southern
California native and is the mother to 3 young adults. In her free time she is committed to coaching and mentoring young adults, community activism, individual social responsibility and working to exist in true Humanity.