Meet Mike Marino, ReMA’s New Vice President of Safety

ReMA’s new Vice President of Safety, Mike Marino, is a career safety and crisis management executive with over two decades of leadership experience spanning transportation, emergency services, healthcare, and government sectors. He has led enterprise-wide Safety Management Systems, partnered with federal regulatory and industry agencies, and served as Incident Commander for multiple high-threat events.

ReMA News chatted with Marino about his background, why he decided to take a job with ReMA, and his plans to collaborate with members and staff to elevate industry safety standards, promote a prevention-focused culture, and drive meaningful impact across the industry.

Tell me about your background.

For the past 25 years I’ve been involved in different aspects of safety. I’ve been a firefighter paramedic, a SWAT officer, a criminal investigator and commander of an arson/bomb squad, and a fire chief and safety officer for a very large urban fire department. Those experiences looked at safety systems from an operational, risk management, and crisis leadership perspective.

Then I transitioned into managing safety systems. While I was Director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), we overhauled our safety system and did some innovative work around using new safety management practices to drive organizational performance. Then I worked at a small tech firm where we developed innovative technology for industry to increase safety around personnel accountability and reunification systems.

How did you decide to apply for the job at REMA?

Safety is ReMA’s number one core value and that really spoke to me and my background. I wanted to be part of an organization that was proud of safety and provided the best resources to members to increase and improve safety. Safety is a continuous process, and we are never quite done. So, learning about ReMA and the opportunities to engage membership around the country and internationally around a topic that’s near and dear to my heart led to apply for the position.

What did you know about recycled materials industry before you started here?

Admittedly not a lot, but I see that as both an opportunity to have a fresh perspective and a great chance to learn from industry. I already have a lot of trips set up, and I’m excited to talk to members and gain a better understanding of their work and their needs. I have applied safety and safety systems to several industries throughout my career and have been successful in translating those core safety principles. I’m excited to do that at ReMA and get up to speed about our members’ specific equipment and processes.

What are you looking forward to at ReMA?

I’m looking forward to engaging with staff and members and really understanding how ReMA can position itself to continue to provide the best safety resources. Safety is a people-driven process, and that aligns with me and the way I lead. I’m excited to work with colleagues to optimize our processes and the opportunities that we provide members.

What do you like doing outside of work?

I focus on family and outdoor activities as much as possible. I’m a very competitive tennis player. And, fun fact, I’ve jumped out of a perfectly good airplane twice.