Karen Hoodless
Published: 2026/01/04
1. What is your current profession?
As of May 2025, I am Program Coordinator for the Advanced Ergonomics Studies Graduate Certificate Program in the School of Health Sciences at Fanshawe College. I have also been a professor in this program since January of 2019.
From 1996 to 2019 I was an ergonomics consultant with Taylor’d Ergonomics Inc.
From 1991 to 1996 I was an ergonomics specialist with CAMI Automotive.
From 1989 to 1991 I was an ergonomics consultant with Human Factors Inc.
2. How long have you been an ACE member?
I joined ACE in 1988 while still an undergraduate in the Kinesiology– Cooperative Studies Program at the University of Waterloo; it was still called Human Factors Association (HFAC) at that time.
3. How did you first become interested in ergonomics?
I completed a coop term with IBM in their Usability department. This piqued my interest in what is now called human factors. Back at school, I then enrolled in an ergonomics course and a human factors course, both only available then through the engineering department.
4. What didn’t you learn in school that you wish you had?
I actually have no regrets about what I learned as I had more flexibility than most in our program. Having completed a year in another program that gave me credits towards my kinesiology degree allowed me to expand my interests and take several courses outside of the program, such as engineering (human factors and ergonomics), health and safety, ethics, industrial hygiene, etc.
However, if I had to pick one subject that would have been missing from the kinesiology program at the time, it would have been ergonomics design. There should have been more focus on teaching us how to prevent injury by applying ergonomics principles to the design of workstations, tools, equipment, work organization etc., rather than reactive analyses.
5. What is your favorite aspect of being an ergonomist? What is your favorite aspect of being involved in ergonomics?
I have always loved design work. Pouring over engineering drawings and talking with/educating engineers has always been exciting work.
I also love mentoring younger/new ergonomists, which is why I love teaching at Fanshawe. I’ve enjoyed my career as an ergonomist, and I hope to pass on that it is important work, with opportunities in so many areas. We are needed everywhere! I have also had a lot of fun.
6. What do you see as the biggest opportunity for ergonomists in the future?
I have always found it hard to answer this question because I see the range of what our students are being asked to do during their field placements and it keeps expanding beyond the traditional work of completing physical demand descriptions, return-to-work assessments, ergonomic analyses, and design evaluations. It’s been very exciting and shows there is no upper limit to the type of work available.
7. What advice would you give to a student or young professional starting out in ergonomics?
Continually highlight the ergonomics/human factors field, yourself, and your abilities, in whatever organization that you happen to be working at. Try to get to know people in all departments of the workplace from maintenance to procurement to finance. Only then when staff and workers know the value of what you can do for them, will you be invited to participate in purchasing new tools and equipment, designing a new vehicle or production line. In other words, you have to be bold and put yourself out there to get noticed and the work that you want to do.
8. Is there anything else you would like to share that we have missed?
Take whatever training opportunities that are available to you, including those through your company, professional organizations, CRE-MSD, OHCOW, etc. NEVER stop learning!