Speakers and organizers at the ISEC Mental Health Stand-down event included representatives from the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI), AGC of California’s Tresten Keys (far left), and ISEC’s Keith Mohr (center), Mario Noriega (third from right) and Glenn Davis (far right).
I could speak Spanish (I was born in Mex- ico, so that is my first language), I found I was able to communicate with a lot of the workers in their language and just connect with them and establish a good rapport. Te company needed a safety manager
for the Wilshire Grand project in LA. My foreman picked me as a candidate, and I said yes. I went through several courses and attained my STSC certification, then it just grew from there. I started asking questions, making connections with other safety managers even from general contractors about best practices and learning what I could do to make this company and our crews safer.
California Constructor:Do you have a personal motto or philosophy to- wards safety that guides you?
Mario Noriega: I’m very family-ori- ented, and when I’m out in the field I
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CALIFORNIA CONSTRUCTOR MAY/JUNE 2025
always think about my dad, who worked for 40 years in a company helping build fiberglass marine boats. He is retired but struggling with his knees because he never wore knee pads; they were not pushed to do so. So if I or someone is walking a project and see an employee who’s working unsafe in any way, I always ask, “Would you allow your dad or your son to be doing that?” I’ve never been afraid to speak up, even when I wasn’t someone’s direct supervisor, just to make sure everyone goes home safely.
California Constructor: Over the years you’ve been known for advo- cating for mental health with the workforce at ISEC. Increasingly, the industry is taking steps to address a variety of issues surrounding mental health, substance use, and suicides in the industry. Do you think it is having an impact?
Mario Noriega: I think there is more dialogue and there are more conversa- tions that are being had now, out in the field, about mental health issues. When I speak to employees, and I’m talking about mental health, I feel comfortable to be able to be open and say, hey, I went through this with my family or in this situation. I think just opening up like that allows them to say here is my safety manager who is speaking up about this. It helps take away the stigma.
California Constructor: What did ISEC most hope to accomplish with its first annual mental health stand- down?
Mario Noriega: The biggest thing is to break the stigma around the topic of mental health in the field. And secondly, show that there is help out there in a variety of ways.
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