The Safety Professional of the Year is open to any professional safety management employee of an ASLRRA Class II or Class III member railroad who is responsible for safety programs, training and the overall management of safe behavior and actions on their railroad(s).
In other words, a safety professional is someone whose job is safety on a full-time basis. Examples include manager of training, director of safety and operations, safety manager, head of safety and training, etc.
Someone who has a leadership role but has multiple jobs or responsibilities, with safety being part of what they do, such as a DSLE or general manager, would be considered a safety person. Find the Safety Person of the Year nomination form here: https://form.jotform.com/242555315516152