HAMMER Steering Committee

The founding partnership, led by HAMMER’s namesake and local civic icon, Sam Volpentest, knew that it would take a disciplined, diverse committee to provide the direction, guidance and strategic planning HAMMER needed to make a truly impactful center. As a result, the HAMMER Steering Committee was formed in the spring of 1994.

The HAMMER Steering Committee is a group of nationally recognized leaders who offer their time and experience to HAMMER management in an interactive setting where everyone shares a common commitment—reducing health and safety risks to workers, emergency responders, and the public. The twice-yearly Steering Committee meetings provide a national and international forum to define issues, propose solutions and broker expert guidance for addressing worker safety and health training. Committee insight and recommendations strongly influence HAMMER policies, strategies, and direction. As an integral element of the partnership, the Steering Committee helps develop and sustain HAMMER.

Through the leadership of the Steering Committee, a number of unique and successful initiatives have been implemented. These include standardized safety training programs, reduction of redundant training, validating the benefits of blended learning and hands-on training, the Worker Trainer Program, and the Construction Worker Safety Training Program. Subcommittees include Medical Surveillance, Tribal and Labor, which focus on solving special issues affecting the Hanford workforce.

HAMMER Steering Committee Fact Sheet

Steering Committee Reports:

  Spring 2025

  Fall 2024                              Spring 2024