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Tips from Capstone Winner Kate Weihe for Building a Successful Risk Management Program

When the City of Poway’s Senior Management Analyst Kate Weihe received the 2026 Capstone Award at the 31^st Annual Risk Management Educational Forum, it was in recognition of her work to modernize and strengthen the city’s risk management strategy. Her efforts demonstrated how a thoughtful, relationship-driven approach can help agencies address risks, improve workplace safety, and create lasting organizational change. For risk management professionals looking to elevate their own programs, Weihe offered the following advice.

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One of the most important steps is to prioritize. Rather than trying to tackle every issue at once, Weihe recommends identifying all the issues, both your most urgent challenges and your easiest opportunities for improvement.

“Identify your biggest fires and maybe some low-hanging fruit,” Weihe said. “Don’t focus on everything all at the same time, as it can feel overwhelming. Find something that is easy to work with and something that needs to be addressed immediately and take care of those things first.”

Weihe also emphasized that successful risk management depends on strong relationships throughout the organization. Building trust encourages open conversations about vulnerabilities and challenges, making it easier to address risks before they become larger problems.

“To be truly successful in risk management, you have to foster relationships across the organization,” she said. “It’s easy to come across as a finger pointer if you don’t have those relationships and if you don’t encourage open and honest discussion about where your vulnerabilities lie. The more you can foster these relationships, the more successful you will be.”

A proactive mindset is also important. For example, when preparing for a Cal/OSHA inspection, Weihe views these inspections not as something to fear, but as valuable opportunities to uncover risks and strengthen workplace safety.

“Make sure that you document everything and approach the inspection as an opportunity to learn,” she said. “There are all sorts of safety concerns that may go unnoticed, and a trained professional through OSHA may be able to help you identify those risks before they become a problem.”

From setting priorities to building partnerships and embracing continuous improvement, Weihe’s advice reflects the practical, people-focused approach that helped earn her this year’s Capstone Award.

Visit the Authority’s Capstone Awards page to learn more about this award and view past winners.

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