James Junkin Profile

James A. Junkin is the chief executive officer of Mariner-Gulf Consulting & Services, L.L.C., a boutique risk management and occupational safety and health consulting firm headquartered in Louisiana with clients throughout the United States and abroad.

He holds the designations of Master Safety Professional (MSP) from the National Association of Safety Professionals (NASP), Certified Safety Professional (CSP), Safety Management Specialist (SMS), and Associate Safety Professional (ASP) from the Board of Certified Safety Professionals. He is a summa cum laude graduate of Columbia Southern University (CSU), holds a Master of Science in occupational safety and health and is a current doctoral candidate.

James and his firm specialize in safety regulations, best practices, management systems, and EHS program development and implementation. He and Mariner-Gulf Consulting & Services provide expert opinions for legal actions, OSHA inspection defense, technical writing for company specific written policies and procedures, training, accident investigations, and site safety consultations.

James is a noted author with articles appearing in trade and peer reviewed publications such as Professional Safety Journal and a much sought-after master trainer for Veriforce, having taught over 40,000 students and trained over 3,000 instructors. He is noted for his work during the Deepwater Horizon disaster, where he trained over 30,000 oil spill responders. Columbia Southern University recognized his achievements in the field of occupational safety and health by declaring him the 2022 Outstanding Safety Professional (Runner Up) of the Year.

He was awarded the National Association for Environmental Management’s (NAEM) 30 over 30 Award recognizing his positive impact in consulting including technical expertise, innovation, leadership effectiveness, and program development. The American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP) awarded James the 2024 Safety Professional of the Year award for Training and Communications and the 2023-2024 Charles V. Culberson award.

He is the past chair of the editorial review board for Professional Safety journal. James is the chairman of Veriforce’s Strategic Advisory Board, is a member of the American Society of Safety Professionals’ (ASSP) Strategic Advisory Group, Columbia Southern University’s Occupational Safety and Health Advisory Group, and a committee member of the American National Standards Institute’s (ANSI) Z-390.1 Accepted Practices for Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) Training Programs. He is co- host of the acclaimed podcast The Risk Matrix. Most recently James was appointed as a member of the item writing committee for NASP.