About
Safety leaders carry significant responsibility, yet they often work without the visibility or influence they need to be the most effective.
Executive Directors have a limited line of sight into program operations and the decisions made in the field.
Program Directors have limited influence in the organizational decisions and priorities that shape their work.
Risk Managers often have limited positional authority and must rely on relationships to align people and systems.
These dynamics create gaps between policy, practice, and culture, and staff are left to interpret expectations on their own. The burden falls on individual leaders, and the overwhelm that follows makes it harder to guide safety work in a meaningful way.
Slay Risk helps close this gap by bridging risk management and safety leadership. We work with organizations to build the clarity, visibility, and alignment leaders need to influence change up, down, and across their organization.
Our Approach
Safety depends on thoughtful planning, intentional program design, and effective leadership. Slay Risk consults with organizations and coaches safety leaders to help people and systems work together more effectively and improve the context in which safety work is done.
Our approach is evidence-based and grounded in safety science. Each organization has its own culture, structures, and constraints, and understanding this context gives insight into where to focus and how to move forward. Each engagement follows a three-stage process that moves from understanding context to planning direction and supporting implementation. This keeps the work practical and focused on overcoming real challenges.
We have a strong professional network and collaborate with trusted colleagues when specialized expertise is needed, such as in child protection, climate resilience and planning, mental health support, or media and communications work.
About Stuart Slay
While speaking at a conference, I remarked how isolating risk management work can be. Afterward, colleagues approached me to share how much my comment resonated with them. In turn, I found that their responses validated own experiences. This insight underpins my work at Slay Risk, where I focus on helping reduce isolation by supporting already capable leaders to wield their influence, and either move the needle or lead transformational change at their organization.
I have led risk management and program design work in schools and nonprofits, including risk management strategy, emergency and crisis planning, policy development, and program oversight. These experiences help me understand the demands placed on safety leaders and the organizational factors that shape their work. I contribute to the sector through writing and original research, speaking at conferences, and collaborating with other industry leaders on emerging issues such as climate change and psychosocial issues. I also serve as an Accreditation Reviewer for the Association for Experiential Education.
My academic background is in outdoor leadership and instruction, and my Master’s degree heavily informs my professional work. I hold an MA in Adventure Education with a focus on systems-based risk assessment for international programs. I have professional training in avalanche forecasting and operations, crisis management, organizational culture, the International Baccalaureate program, teaching, and executive coaching. These experiences shape the perspective I bring to my consulting and coaching work.
Continue Learning
The blog examines how culture shapes risk management, applies safety science to educational contexts, and explores the practical challenges of safety leadership.