Athletic Trainer Turned Safety Specialist at Mondelēz - An Unexpected Career Pivot

Friday, July 31, 2026

From the field to the factory floor, Dakota Morgan’s journey is driven by passion for people, performance, and safety. As a Senior Health and Safety Specialist at Mondelēz International, Dakota combines deep understanding of human performance with a commitment to building safer, smarter workplaces. With a background in athletic training, Dakota brings a unique perspective on prevention, teamwork, and wellbeing - all crucial ingredients in keeping our people safe every day.

What advice would you give to someone aspiring to build a career in health and safety?

Build relationships, rapport and credibility:

1. Your credibility is earned by learning the job before trying to change it. Spend time on the floor with people, ask questions, understand how the work actually gets done, not just how it's written in the standards. Safety is about people first, so build trust across all levels of the organization. Find your people outside your department, your counterparts at other sites, your corporate support. You will need those who will challenge and teach you in a safe space.
2. Get comfortable being outside your comfort zone. Be comfortable speaking up, even when nervous. You will be in rooms with louder, more experienced people. Come prepared with facts and don't back down on what's right. Own your mistakes, learn from them, and accept opportunities to grow.
3. Learn how your role contributes to the overall success of the business. Our most important responsibility is to keep our people safe, but we do not operate in a vacuum. Safety is measured, tracked, and reported, just like quality, cost, delivery, and morale. Know your metrics and which one’s matter to each level. By understanding your KPIs and KAIs, you can connect safely to business performance. This does not diminish the people’s aspect; it strengthens it. When you translate safe work into risk reduction, cost avoidance, and brand protection, your voice carries more weight. Decisions are made based on data and priorities, not just good intentions. If you understand both the human and business impacts, you become a strategic partner with real expertise and impact.

Can you tell us a bit about your background and what inspired your career in health and safety?

My background is in allied healthcare, so I never anticipated finding myself in this role. Transitioning from traditional athletic training to an industrial setting, it grew on me quickly. I love to learn, and I was intrigued by all the new things to absorb at the Chicago Bakery. As I began meeting and interacting with our regional leadership, they inspired me and helped me envision a future in health and safety. With more opportunities, I saw even more clearly how I can succeed in this role. I have great confidence in the support and resources around me to develop technically and as a leader.

How did your experience in athletic training shape your approach to safety and wellbeing in the workplace?

My philosophy as an athletic trainer was holistic healthcare, meaning I looked at the whole person. Just like in athletic training, injuries do not happen in isolation. Fatigue, stress, workload, ergonomics, and mental health all stack up before something goes wrong. This mindset taught me to spot early warning signs. What showed up as subtle symptoms in athletes now translates to near misses, BOSs, and unsafe conditions in the workplace.

I value relationships and communication. I love building connections with people, and it comes naturally to me. This creates a safe space for honest talk about hazards, fresh ideas, and trust in my ability to drive positive impact. Working in athletic departments and team sports strengthened this skill.

Athletic training also taught me leadership and program development. Building emergency action plans, inclement weather policies, and return-to-play protocols showed me how to design effective systems. This made it easier to apply those skills to new areas like incident investigation, oven safety, and hazardous materials.

How do you engage employees across different levels to create a strong safety culture?

It starts with understanding where our safety culture stands. We use the Mondelēz HSE culture tool, aligned with the Bradley curve, to classify it. Right now, Chicago Bakery has a dependent culture, but it has not always been that way. The bakery has been around for almost 75 years. We have a large percentage of our core team who have worked here for over 20 years. We engage them to learn what worked and what did not.

Our best ideas and innovations often come from the core team. We also use IL6S methodology to engage leadership through a phased approach to teaching and applying HSE processes and systemic behavior change. The basics build our foundation and provide stepping stones to increase knowledge and capability.

With engaged leadership that talks the talk and walks the walk, coupled with a core team comfortable reporting and empowered to participate, we are building a strong safety culture together.

What role does leadership play in driving safety excellence across the organization?

Leadership plays a critical role in shaping and sustaining a culture of safety excellence across every level of the organization, from our global teams to individuals on the plant floor each day. Our global and regional teams set the strategic direction for safety and identify risks that could impact multiple sites. They provide resources, tools, and connections that enable safety professionals across facilities to collaborate, share best practices, and continuously strengthen our programs.

At the site level, leadership brings safety to life. Leaders serve as role models, demonstrating that safety is not just a priority but a core value in how we operate. The HSE team builds capability across the site by developing strong programs and helping other functions understand and manage safety risks. Meanwhile, plant leadership partners closely with HSE to reinforce expectations and integrate safety into everyday decision-making.

Frontline leaders are especially important. By modeling safe behaviors and maintaining a strong understanding of hazards and requirements in their areas, they set the tone for their teams. When leaders consistently show that safety matters, it becomes part of how everyone works.

Ultimately, safety is a shared responsibility, and strong leadership ensures every individual feels empowered to protect themselves and those around them.

Dakota’s journey reminds us that safety is not just about systems and checklists. It is about people, care, and continuous learning. Through dedication, collaboration, and a deep passion for wellbeing, Dakota helps shape a workplace where everyone can thrive. We are proud to have leaders like Dakota making a difference every day at Mondelēz International.