For the purposes of this award, a safety professional is a railroad management employee whose job is safety on a full time basis. Examples include head of training, safety manager, director of safety, manager of safety and training, director of safety and compliance, etc. would be considered a safety professional.
Someone who has a leadership role but who takes on duties related to safety as part of their larger scope of work, 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