What a time to be alive! In response to this global pandemic, many offices have now required employees to begin working from home, often with little to no external ergonomic support. We here at m-erg understand the myriad of concerns associated with the current environment and want to make ergonomic issues the least of your worries. Check back here for links to tips and tricks for working from home. This first link, from the Texas A&M School of Public Health, is a great start!
Ariana Ince has been a team member at m-erg since 2014. She has degree in Civil Engineering from Rice University and a Masters in Occupational Health and Safety from Texas A&M University. She is a Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE) and a 2020 Olympian in Track and Field. She is registered with the State of Texas as an Engineer-In-Training (ETT) and is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS). She is a Member of the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), and the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE). Ariana currently manages our San Diego, CA and Houston branches and coordinates all of our appointments and consultants.
Thomas Rowell, MS, CPE came to m-erg in 2015 as an Ergonomics Specialist with twenty-four years of experience. He began in ergonomics at IBM in Austin, TX, where he was responsible for ergonomics program development and implementation for the site of over 10,000 employees (15 buildings, 235 acres, and 2.1 million sf of building space). He has years of experience with workplace evaluation and analysis, injury investigation, design review, equipment inspection, ergonomics and safety auditing, medical staff interface to reduce injury severity and worker’s compensation costs, and ergonomics training. Thomas spent seven years as manufacturing operations manager for an OEM company that makes sanitary filters for the food and beverage industry. He holds a master’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Texas A&M University, and is registered as a Certified Professional Ergonomist. Tom works primarily with our Austin and Dallas clients.
Martha Parker, M.S., CPE is the founder of m-erg. She develops, implements and maintains the office ergonomic programs for several clients. Previously, she worked for Neutral Posture, Inc. as an ergonomist and was a founding member of the Neutral Posture Ergonomic Engineering Team (NEET). Prior to that, she worked for ALCOA, as the smelting safety engineer. She earned her M.S. degree in Safety Engineering with an Ergonomic Specialty from Texas A&M in 1997. She acquired a B.S. in Bioengineering with an Industrial Engineering Specialty from Texas A&M in 1995. She is a Member of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES), the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE), and the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE). She is registered as a Certified Professional Ergonomist (CPE). Martha is currently working on her PhD in Industrial Engineering at Texas A&M University.
David Hodge joined the m-erg Team in 2014 as an Ergonomic Specialist with twelve years of experience in ergonomic furniture and workspace design. Because of his extensive background in the contract furniture industry, David is m-erg’s chair and furniture specialist. David has a B.S. degree in human kinetics/kinesiology from Sam Houston State University, and is a Certified Office Ergonomic Evaluator. He is also registered with the American Sports & Fitness Association as a Certified Personal Trainer. David is an avid golfer with a single digit handicap who follows simple life mantras: “Live daily. Be mindful every moment. Stay active and well. Help others in achieving their goals.”
Jennifer Lopez joined m-erg in 2016 as an Ergonomic Specialist with four years of human factors and ergonomics academic research experience. She attended the University of Houston—Clear Lake, where she received her master’s degree in applied cognitive psychology with a focus in human factors. Jennifer conducted research during her graduate studies focusing on non-dominant hand discomfort while using handheld tablet devices. She is a lifetime member of Psi Chi and a current member of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES).
Dr. Anuradha Mukherjee joined m-erg in 2016 with extensive experience in research, clinical work, and teaching. After starting her career as a clinical Physical Therapist and having worked with patients under diverse settings (musculoskeletal, geriatric, pediatric, and neurological) for 4 years, she felt the urge to widen her horizon with technical understanding of human movement analysis. In the quest of merging her clinical background into research, she chose to get educated in the field of Biomechanics and earned her M.S. and subsequent PhD in Exercise Science from the University of Toledo, Ohio in 2013. During these years, she worked on various aspects of human factors using 3D Motion Analysis system and presented her work at various national conferences and symposiums. She also enjoyed teaching at the undergraduate and graduate level. Her biomechanical-ergonomic interest lies in implementing active flexibility/stretching training sessions as a means of preventing desk related musculoskeletal injuries. She hopes to fully comprehend the human balance control system one day.
Elyse Ellis is part of our technical administrative support team. She graduated from West Liberty University in 2014, and joined the fantastic m-erg team the same year. Her degree specializes in English and Marketing & Labor Relations, with a minor focusing in Legal Business. Elyse manages the schedules of each individual m-erg employee and contractor, provides information and customer support to clients, as well as supplies general administrative office support.
Tonya Parnell joined the m-erg team in 2013 as a Technical Administrator. She is a graduate of Sam Houston State University, having received her B.S. in Biology and Forensic Anthropology. She is responsible for m-erg’s technology operations, database management, server maintenance, and assisting with marketing.
April Naomi Sullivan joined m-erg as an Ergonomic Specialist with seven years of human factors and ergonomics research experience from the University of Houston—Clear Lake, where she also received her master’s degree in Applied Cognitive Psychology. She spent five years in ExxonMobil’s Human Factors Technology Center of Excellence, modifying global training materials and improving the office ergonomic program. She is a member of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES).
Cynthia Purvis Roe joined m-erg as an Ergonomic Specialist with thirty years of human factors and ergonomics R&D experience. She founded and co-directed Hewlett-Packard’s pioneering ergonomics R&D program, seeking to understand how technology can be designed to help mitigate strains on the human visual and musculoskeletal systems. This led Cynthia to co-author the award-winning HP Safety & Comfort Guide, and she holds three U.S. Patents. Cynthia was also featured in Usability in Practice, 1994, for founding the HF program at Compaq Computers. Prior to joining Compaq, Cynthia managed Xerox Corporation’s Human Factors Group in their Information Products Division. Cynthia holds a master’s degree in Human Factors/Applied Experimental Psychology from California State University, Northridge. She is a member of the Office Ergonomics Research Committee and the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.
William Hood is a Clinical and Behavior-Based Ergonomic Specialist (CBES). While working with m-erg, he has evaluated symptomatic and non-symptomatic employees at their office workstations. Because of his unique background in clinical psychology and family systems, he is m-erg’s behavior modification specialist. Will is a retired United State Naval Officer.
