VJ Richardson

I was born and raised in Bethel Park, PA. I attended and graduated from Bethel Park Senior High School. I played three sports while in high school. I excelled in football and obtained an athletic scholarship to play football at West Virginia University (WVU) in 1982. I was a four year varsity athlete and was selected by teammates to serve as a captain for the football team my senior season. In addition, the coaching staff selected me as the "Idea Mountaineer" (Student Athlete). I obtained a BA in Communication Studies and MS in Safety Management from WVU. While in graduate school at WVU, I also worked as a graduate assistant football coach under Coach Don Nehlen for two seasons. I coached the defensive line (Defense Ends and Nose Guards). I was offered a coaching position at WVU. Instead, I decided to pursue a non-athletic career in the Occupational Safety and Health field. I was offer position at Marathon Oil Company as a Safety Engineer. Initially, I lived and worked in Greater New Orleans and was transferred Houston, TX for several years. In 2005, I was offered a similar position with Siemens Energy Inc. in Orlando, FL. I accepted and moved to central FL. As you can imagine, I fell in love with beaches on the west coast of FL (Saint Petersburg, Fort De Soto, Anna Maria Island, Siesta Key, etc.) In 2009, Siemens Energy, Inc. offered me an opportunity to transfer to Houston, TX to serve as a Senior Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) Specialist. I now reside in the Greater Houston area. I have 20 years of experience as an EHS Professional and I enjoy my career choice. Lastly, my life, educational, and athletic experiences and career opportunities have given me opportunities to learn, excel, communicate, write, and publically speak and enjoy life to its fullest.