The institute would like to thank Dr. Kent Anger, Ph.D. for his leadership and commitment during 8-years of exceptional service as the Oregon Healthy Workforce Center’s (OHWC) Director. Dr. Anger led faculty and staff at OHWC through the Center’s first grant from 2011 to 2016, in addition to the current grant cycle which started in 2016 and runs through 2021. During his role as Center Director, he helped champion OHWC, one of six Total Worker Health® Centers of Excellence funded by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) into a leading research center advancing workplace interventions to improve safety, health and well-being.

Dr. Anger’s OHWC research studies included development of a toolkit involving supervisor training to promote health and safety in construction workers, which was supported by behavior tracking and team activities to motivate employees to adopt safer work practices and make healthier lifestyle choices. Additionally, Dr. Anger collaborated with Dr. Diane Rohlman to develop a toolkit that included lessons and strategies to help young workers improve safety, health and well-being, as well as prevent injuries at work. He will continue to lead Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Science’s outreach team and serve as the Institute’s Applied Sciences Associate Director.

Since January 2020, OHWC’s Associate Directors, Drs. Leslie Hammer, Ph.D. and Ryan Olson, Ph.D. have been serving as Co-Directors to lead and oversee current research projects, as well as strategic planning for continued efforts in research, education, outreach and dissemination for OHWC. We are excited to continue our Total Worker Health efforts through OHWC at the institute under the direction of Drs. Hammer and Olson.