Safety and Health Announces Dr. David Michaels and Armand Kilijian to Industry Advisory Board
Washington, DC, October 16, 2026-Safety and Health, The Construction Safety Organization, is proud to announce that Dr. David Michaels, former Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, and Armand Kilijian, President of O’Brien Mechanical have joined the organization’s Industry Advisory Board.
The addition of Michaels and Kilijian brings two highly respected and complementary perspectives to the organization’s growing leadership network—one rooted in national occupational safety policy, science, and regulation, and the other grounded in the day-to-day realities of leading a skilled trade contracting business and representing contractors at the national level.
Dr. David Michaels Brings National Safety and Regulatory Leadership
Dr. David Michaels served as Assistant Secretary of Labor for OSHA from 2009 to 2017 and was the longest-serving OSHA administrator in the agency’s history. During his tenure, OSHA strengthened standards and initiatives addressing hazards including silica and beryllium, expanded workplace injury and illness reporting and hazard communication requirements, and advanced programs focused on protecting workers.
Today, Dr. Michaels is a professor at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health, where his work continues to focus on occupational safety and health, safety and health management systems, and the role of workplace safety in achieving operational excellence.
His experience provides Safety and Health with a unique perspective on the intersection of regulation, science, public policy, and workplace safety.
“Having someone with Dr. Michaels’ experience and understanding of occupational safety and health at the table is an incredible opportunity for Safety and Health,” said Raffi Elchemmas, President of Safety and Health. “Our goal is not to recreate the conversation that has already happened in Washington or in the safety profession. It is to bring the best minds in the industry together to have a expanded conversations about what actually works for workers and contractors. Dr. Michaels brings a perspective that will challenge us to think bigger and smarter.”
Armand Kilijian Brings the Contractor Perspective
Safety and Health is also pleased to welcome Armand Kilijian, President of O’Brien Mechanical to the Industry Advisory Board.
Kilijian is a longtime leader in the mechanical contracting industry. He has served in numerous leadership roles in Northern California and nationally, including past President of the local and national mechanical contracting associations. He also previously chaired and served committees of numerous, mechanical and plumbing organizations around the country.
As the leader of O’Brien Mechanical, a family-owned full-service plumbing, piping, and HVAC contractor in the San Francisco Bay Area, Kilijian brings direct experience from the contractor side of the industry.
That perspective is central to the mission of Safety and Health.
“Safety has to work in the real world,” said Elchemmas. “Armand understands the challenges contractors face because he has lived them. He understands the pressures of running a business, managing people, delivering projects, working with labor, and building a culture where safety is part of how the company operates. That perspective is incredibly important to what we're building.”
Bringing Different Perspectives to the Same Table
The Industry Advisory Board was created to bring together leaders from across construction, safety, manufacturing, labor, technology, consulting, and academia to help shape the priorities of Safety and Health.
The addition of Dr. Michaels and Kilijian reinforces the organization's belief that meaningful progress in construction safety requires different perspectives working together—not people working in silos.
A former OSHA administrator and a longtime mechanical contractor may approach safety from very different starting points. But both share a fundamental objective: reducing preventable injuries and fatalities and improving the lives of the people who work in construction.
That is the foundation of Safety and Health's Workers First mentality.
“We don't believe the construction industry needs another organization telling contractors what they already know,” said Elchemmas. “We need an organization willing to bring people together, ask difficult questions, listen to different perspectives, and focus on solutions. Having Dr. Michaels and Armand on our Industry Advisory Board gives us two extraordinary voices to help do exactly that.”
The addition of Michaels and Kilijian is another significant step in building an Industry Advisory Board capable of representing the breadth of the construction safety and health community.
Different backgrounds. Different experiences. Different perspectives. One shared priority: Workers First.