Influential Woman · Manufacturing

Shawanna Ingram

Corporate Safety Manager, undisclosed

Northport, AL

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree Associates in Occupational Health and Safety (completed November 2025) Degree Bachelor's in Occupational Health and Safety (graduating May 2026) Degree Risk Management Program at Faulkner University (starting Summer 2026) Cert Board-Certified Safety Professional Cert CHST (Construction Health and Safety Technician) Cert OSHA-Authorized General Industry Trainer Member ASSP (American Society of Safety Professionals) Member National Safety Council Member WISE (Women in Safety Excellence)

Her Story

About Shawanna

I implement programs from startup, basically building the programs, implementing them, and following them through for sustainment. I do injury and incident management with a heavy focus on true root cause to eliminate the hazards, so if someone does have an encounter, we don't have to revisit it. I like HOP principles, where you put more focus on engineering control versus controlling people, so you can truly remove whatever hazard that it is. I do workers' compensation claims, so I'm pretty much the person in between the carrier and the site, and I oversee those claims to ensure that our team members are receiving the appropriate care while protecting the company to assure that all of the claims that come over are legitimate. What I love most about my work is that it's continuous learning - there's never enough. You're always learning, and there's always a way to help and assist. It's very rewarding and aligned with my beliefs of giving. People are coming to work every day to make a living, and when they come in, they should not have to worry about life-altering situations. Just being able to help from that capacity is what drives me.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Shawanna

01What do you attribute your success to?

I would say being able to adapt. I built my career without my degree, pretty much putting in the effort to learn and adapt, and just being a continuous learner. That's one of the things I'm most proud of. And actually, I graduate May 2nd with my bachelor's, so I'm proud of not giving up. It's so easy to stop, and it's so easy to come up with a reason why not. I feel like we should have more of a focus on how we can versus how we can't. I went through a lot of unnecessary hardships on my journey just by not having a good mentor, or a mentor, not even a good one. When you are dedicated to what you do, sometimes you don't really handle it all without emotion. But I've done a lot, honestly, in my career without having the proper credentials - I'm just getting them this year. But I've had a very good career without it.

02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

Never be afraid to change and be adaptable, always willing to learn. Be slow to respond. One of the biggest things that I've honed in on lately that I wish I would have done is understanding what you have the power to control. I feel like I went through a lot of unnecessary hardships on my journey just by not having a good mentor. Being able to partner with people to help them work through the kinks that I did is important. When you are dedicated to what you do, sometimes you don't really handle it all without emotion. Being able to give input, be able to help, show them different ways to navigate it based upon life experiences, and just encourage them and help show them the way. I've done a lot in my career without having the proper credentials - I'm just getting them this year. But I've had a very good career without it, so knowing how to navigate it when you don't know how, when you feel like time has passed you, is crucial.

03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

I'm very high on ethics, because it's a role that matters, and every choice that you make can either affect your organization or the person. It's very hard for me to find companies that aligned with what I believed, but I came on with NSC and they aligned with every expectation that I had. My work is aligned with my beliefs of giving - there's different ways to give back, it's more than just money. People are coming to work every day to make a living, and when they come in, they should not have to worry about life-altering situations. With my children, I set high expectations for them, and I abide by those myself now, so they see everything that I'm asking them and showing them and teaching them. The best way to do it is leading by example. I'm basically modeling the behavior I want them to pick up and setting them up for a successful life, one that's accountable, and one that they do have extreme ownership over who they are and what they become.

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