The Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) announced its 2026 Award of Excellence and Lifetime Achievement Award recipients.

This year's Award of Excellence recognizes a Certified Safety Professional (CSP) who represents outstanding leadership and knowledgeable expertise. The Lifetime Achievement Award acknowledges an outstanding career of service to the profession and a lifetime of dedication to the craft.

"Each year, the BCSP Awards recognize exceptional safety practice and profound contributions to the profession," said BCSP CEO Christy Uden, CAE, IOM. "This year’s recipients stand out for their demonstrated technical proficiency and their ability to influence others toward successful careers. Distinguished as both practitioners and educators, they have shaped the future of this noble profession and defined what it means to lead."

BCSP will hold a virtual awards ceremony Tuesday, May 5 at noon ET as part of the Global Learning Summit. If you are not already registered for GLS, you can register here for the best in virtual EHS professional development.

The 2026 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, BCSP's highest honor, is Leo J. DeBobes. A safety professional for nearly 50 years and a CSP for 40, DeBobes is currently an independent safety consultant and the President of the Board of Directors for the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene.

DeBobes was named ASSP’s Edgar Monsanto Queeny National Safety Professional of the Year in 2013. He is also a two-time recipient of ASSP regional and chapter Safety Professional of the Year awards. He presided over an unprecedented two terms as the President of ASSP’s Long Island Chapter.

He is active with ASSP’s Council on Professional Development, AIHA’s Standards Advisory Panel, and the AIHA Safety Committee. Previously, he chaired ASSP’s committees for Standards Development and Leadership Conference Planning. 

DeBobes served as the Division Head for Environment, Safety, and Health Services at Brookhaven National Laboratory and as Director of Environmental Health and Safety at Stony Brook University. He retired as Assistant Administrator for Emergency Management and Regulatory Compliance at Stony Brook Medicine and as Administrative Director of the New York State Metropolitan Area Regional Training Center for Emergency Preparedness.

The 2026 CSP Award of Excellence recipient is Dr. Georgi Popov. A decorated safety professional and educator, Popov is a professor in the Occupational Risk and Safety Sciences Department at the University of Central Missouri and the co-author of three books on risk assessment and management.

Popov was previously named Safety Professional of the Year for ASSP's Heart of America Chapter (2015) and for Region V (2016) in addition to recognition as ASSP's Outstanding Safety Educator (2017). In 2025 alone, he earned the Edward J. Baier Technical Achievement Award from AIHA, the Thomas F. Bresnahan Standards Medal from ASSP, and the Safety Management Professional (SMP) Award of Excellence from BCSP.

Popov is Chair or Vice Chair of multiple ANSI/ASSP standards committees, Lead Auditor for the ISO 45001 and 14001 standards, and Editor-in-Chief of SHIFT: Global EHS Research to Practice, BCSP’s research publication.

He is a Fellow of American Society of Safety Professionals — a distinction that recognizes sustained leadership, significant contributions, and lasting impact on the safety profession.

BCSP is proud of the contributions these credential holders have made to the profession. We are delighted to highlight their accomplishments and join with colleagues in sharing appreciation for excellence in safety professionalism.

For more information, visit bcsp.org.