%20(1).jpg)
Association for Talent Development - San Antonio Chapter
PO Box 690327, San Antonio, TX 78269
ATD-SA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
|
- Home
- 2022 Member Highlights
Mica Ashmore | December 2022 |
|
|
How did you get started in talent development? At the midpoint of my Air Force career, I was fortunately selected to teach professional military education to our military partners in Latin America. That experience led to various roles overseas in international training management, which included identifying training and performance needs and capabilities assessments for a variety of US and international military and government organizations. That mix led to a second career in learning and organization development after I retired from the Air Force. What aspect of your role do you find most rewarding, and why? I love collaborating with individuals, teams, and organizations to create a path to turn wild ideas into reality. It’s the thought partnership that I find the most rewarding and valuable aspects of my job. It’s amazing to me how seemingly impossible tasks or challenges can be resolved when the right people work together. In your opinion, what is the biggest challenge you think content creators are facing today and what are you doing at your organization to overcome it? In many contexts, there is often too much information to process. Sometimes we (including myself) get too caught up creating an ideal or perfect end product–which often results in either nothing getting done or an opportunity fading away. By taking an incremental approach and incorporating continuous improvement in the plan, not only does the ball get rolling, but it opens up opportunities to make it better through feedback. This can also serve to instill a sense of ownership to those who took the time to share their thoughts on how the product could improve. This can have such a positive impact! Tell us about a time when your strength in change management had a positive impact. I’m a firm believer in the ideas presented by Chip and Dan Heath in their book “Switch”, where they propose that you, teams, or groups have emotional and rational sides–you have to understand both, and also create a path for them to succeed. To me, this is at the core of implementation versus adoption. We can implement new programs all day, but until people believe in the program and use it, only then is it truly adopted. We recently implemented a variety of new programs and I attribute their success (and adoption) to our team truly seeking to understand the emotional and rational sides of our target audiences, and creating paths that consider those needs. What advice do you have for our members about being a collaborative consultant? I’ve found that truly listening and trying to understand where others are coming from makes a huge difference in how diverse ideas can be synthesized into greatness. Sometimes you need to put aside your own biases and make room for different perspectives, ideas, and points of view on the table. This leads to an environment where everyone can hopefully believe that they have a voice for change and creativity. |
Patrick Hale | November 2022 |
|
|
How did you get started in learning & development? While studying at SUNY Oswego, I was required to read a chapter out of Communication Training and Development by Dr. Steve Beebe and several co-authors. I felt like this chapter gave my degree purpose, and I started learning more about what it meant to "do" training. I eventually learned that Dr. Beebe taught at Texas State University, and they had a highly respected master's program. The plan for my master's degree was very open. So I focused every class on learning a skill that would help me in the L&D world. I took a graduate-level training class, a class on assessment, instructional communication, education technology, and many others. While in school, I constantly networked with former Texas State students employed across Texas. One of those employees worked at CPS Energy as the Manager of Power Generation Training (the same role I held until I was recently promoted). He offered me a job a week before graduation. I have been at CPS Energy and in L&D since Tell us about your journey from Instructional Designer to Manager, Power Generation training at CPS. I started out as an Instructional Designer in Power Generation Training. My job was to build courses for power plant operators progressing through their apprenticeships. Each day I would meet with an SME, and we would work together to create curriculum. The SME would bring knowledge of the plant, and I brought knowledge of how to build courses and engage learners. After a year of working in Power Generation Training, I moved to the Poles and Wires side of CPS, where I did the same thing. While with that group, I was asked to lead a project leading the development of a course to assist individual contributors in deciding if they wanted to cross the line and become leaders. This was my first opportunity to lead a project, and it was a success and I liked the work. From there, I lead many other Learning & Development projects across many business units. Some of them were technical, and some were soft skill-based. One of the most significant projects I led was standing up a Heavy Equipment Training Program for all of CPS Energy. Before we created a formal program, equipment operators were taught mainly on the job. Once this program was stood up it needed someone to oversee it and that became my role; Supervisor, Heavy Equipment Training. In that role, my team and I developed and maintained the company's equipment training procedures. After leading that team for about two years, I was offered the role of Interim Manager of Power Generation Training, and after about a year, I interviewed and accepted the position full-time. In this role, I oversaw all the apprentice training, regulatory and compliance courses, and journeymen refresher courses for Power Generation. The Power Generation Training Team is made up of a mixture of former Plant Welders, Machinist, Electricians and Instructional Designers, and Program Project Managers. What is your favorite aspect of your role? In the Manager, Power Generation Training role the bulk of the work is ensuring that Regulatory and Compliance Training is completed. We assign over 11,000 courses at the beginning of the year; historically, we can drive a completion percentage of around 99.9%. While this training is vitally important to the operation of our business, it can be very monotonous. What I really enjoy being about to do is help our internal customers solve their develop needs. We oversee the apprentice programs for Power Generation. Most employees who enter the apprentice program do not have much experience in the craft they have entered. Our program will give them the knowledge and experience they need to become a Journeyman in our plants. It is amazing to see someone grow from feeling completely overwhelmed on day one to a amazingly confident journeyman in five years. Another aspect of my job is developing our SMEs. Even before I began leading this team they were developing SMEs to take jobs outside of their craft. I have worked to improve that development. Our goal is for any SME who comes to our department on rotation to grow in their skills. Every SME who has spent significant time with us (and wanted a new opportunity) has been promoted. What project are you the most proud of and why? I am extremely proud of the work we did on the Heavy Equipment Training Program. Before standing this program up we did not have a consistent training program for equipment operators. At CPS Energy, we have over 1,100 skilled craft workers who operate at least one piece of equipment (forklift, backhoe, mobile platform, skid steer, etc.). As a result of this program, we have a committee that oversees the training, a set of standards for the training curriculum, and a refresher program that is tracked in our LMS. Because of the program, we can confidently say that our equipment operators are trained and refreshed. What are the energy industry specific challenges you face as a learning & development professional, and how do you overcome or balance them? It is hard to say exactly if the issues we face are specific to the utility business, but we definitely have challenges. Here are a few that I see:
|
Jenifer Wheeler | October 2022 |
|
|
How did you get started in learning & development? During my graduate program, I began an internship at Mei Technology. My first project involved designing training for Southwestern Bell technicians. I loved going out into the field to observe their skills in action and ask them questions! What are some of your main responsibilities as a Staff Instructional Specialist? I look for ways to help our employees do their best and continually develop themselves. I usually design and deliver learning programs, but I also coordinate brown bags, offer coaching, and connect them with whatever professional development resources they might need. What is your favorite aspect of your role? SwRI employees have wonderfully diverse backgrounds, and I get to work with them all! The company motto is “from deep sea to deep space (and everything in between),” and that’s very true. Every day I learn something new! What new/innovative trends or technologies in learning & development are you most interested in? I’m interested in the metaverse’s potential to connect digital environments like virtual reality and physical environments for more effective training. I’ll be attending a special event at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation, and Education Conference this year to learn more about it. What is one of the biggest challenges you have faced as a learning & development professional and how did you overcome it? I design training, but sometimes training is not the best solution for the problem. Convincing people that they don’t really need a new training program can be challenging, but I try to help them focus on the outcome they hope to achieve so that we can find the right solution. |
Temple
Carter | September 2022 |
|
|
As a Talent Program Manager, what are your main job responsibilities? In my role, I develop, implement, and manage talent development initiatives associated with the Office of Talent and Innovation (OTI) to support innovation, growth, and elevate employees, students, and interns of UT System (UTS). Some of my responsibilities include:
What is your favorite part of your role? There are many aspects of my role that I enjoy, but there are two that stand out as my favorite: 1. Creating authentic learning experiences for UTS employees and helping them on their learning and development journey. I like that we do not have a one-size fits all approach when it comes to learning and development. We understand and celebrate that everyone learns differently and provide opportunities for people to choose their own adventure.2. My team – I’m very fortunate to get to work with a supportive, collaborative, and talented group of individuals in the Office of Talent and Innovation (OTI). What skills or knowledge did you gain from your Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater program that translates into the Learning & Development realm? I love this question! I often get an inquisitive look from people when they learn I received a degree in theatre . I let them know that I love my degree because it provided me with hands on experience to gain transferable skills that could be applied to any field and has been an asset to me as I transitioned into the learning and development field. A few skills include (but there are many more):
There are so many other skills I gained from my theatre degree that help me in my role today. Here is a great article that highlights skills of theatre majors: 25 Special Advantages the Theatre Major has – (and may not even know!) Tell us about the Cultivate program that you help implement at UT System Administration. Cultivate is the learning and development program designed to help UT System Administration employees learn, grow, and connect. It is organized around 5 branches for individuals to cultivate:
Cultivate provides interactive opportunities under each branch to include: instructor led workshops, curated content, networking series (Coffee & Conversations and Staff Show & Tell), CliftonStrengths assessment, 1:1 coaching, and more. We launched Cultivate in September and I’m excited to see how it grows. What are some of your own learning & development goals? Learner is in my top 5 CliftonStrengths and I love to learn. I do my best to be intentional about making time for my personal learning and development goals. My current goals include: 1. Completing 2-3 artifacts (online course, article, books, etc.) a month on a subject. My current subject interest is the employee experience and ROI in learning and development.2. Obtaining the ATD Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD) certification. 3. Participate with at least one ATD event per quarter. |
Angel Salinas | August 2022 |
|
|
What prompted you to move from sales to sales coaching and training? I have a passion for teaching. I saw sales coaching and training as an opportunity to fulfill my passion and at the same time make a difference in people’s lives through my work. What unique challenges do you face coaching/training people in sales? The biggest challenge is helping people achieve behavioral change. It requires building trust so they are willing to challenge their beliefs. They need to think differently before acting differently. They require a new belief system, a new attitude. How do you solve for those challenges? Most sales training courses focus on only one element—technique. Salespeople learn the latest techniques for closing a sale. Once the training is over, the results are short-lived. Not because the techniques didn't have merit, but because they didn't fit with the salesperson's behavior or with the salesperson's perception of what they could achieve (attitude). You must be comfortable incorporating these techniques into your own personality. I help my clients connect Behavior (The What), Attitude (The Why) and Technique (The How). Sandler Training has been awarded Top 20 Training Company by Training Industry every year from 2016 to 2022. What factors contribute to this outstanding achievement? The factors that have contributed to this outstanding achievement have been our proven results, the ability to adapt our methodology to dynamic sales environments and helping sales organizations leveraging technology to improve sales efficiency. What advice do you have for sales trainers and coaches? My advice is: 1) Find your purpose (Why do you do sales training and coaching?) 2) Stop focusing on quick fixes, there are no magic pills. Behavioral change takes time and reinforcement. 3) People must have a strong will to change, help your trainees find it. 4) Challenge your status-quo, be open to learn. |
Hope Galvan-McCall | July 2022
|
|
|
How did you get into leadership development? My career in TD started when I was in the United States Airforce. I had been in the Inventory Mgt field and found myself doing training and being used as an SME and auditor in that field. An opportunity came up to apply to teach at the Leadership Academy at Lackland AFB, so I went to the Community College of the Airforce to get my credentials in Adult Learning and left Florida to sunny Texas. My teaching took me to a Supervisor role, then to the Director of Education role for the Academy. I became a Master Instructor, finished my degree in Occupational education and Masters work in Org learning and Adult Learning. What was the biggest challenge you faced with training & developing your workforce during the pandemic and how did you overcome it? Our biggest challenge was to move from a face to face environment to all online digital platform. We had no hybrid courses, everything was being done face to face for major programs, and we were faced with assessing new content for what was needed in this pandemic, moving it all to an online format. We had to also continue what was started and move to online. The way I overcame all that – like many other challenges we continually face , TRUSTED my team to use their expertise, create and design and deliver with excellence! Alamo Colleges was a 2022 BEST award winner. What are some of the key learning programs that you think lead to this outstanding achievement?
How is Alamo Colleges focusing on upskilling and reskilling its workforce? This is a tough initiative and issue for us. We have a solid performance planning model that aligns competencies to development (Korn Ferry). We updated some competencies this past year that were a priority for senior leaders and as we assess need for the future, we expanded our use of LinkedinLearning to build learning paths and skills based on an individual's needed re-skilling. Our goal is to complete a formal needs assessment in the Fall (Sept - Dec) to get a true picture of the reskilling that is needed. What best practices can you share around using data to drive learning programs? We have grown to love data! One of our organizational core values at Alamo is “data-Informed.” As a Malcolm Baldrige winner, the organization sees the value in driving results and performance by using data. We were able to align our training assessments using methodology of the 6D’s of Breakthrough Learning complimented by the Kirkpatrick New Work Model of evaluation and we are structuring this work to the framework of the Talent Development Reporting frame (TDRp). This is great way to capture measurement strategy and for our learning professionals to have data at their finger tips to tell the need story around training assumptions and outcomes, efficiencies and effectiveness. These tools have help us share our story and have made us stronger as “adapative” learning professionals as we use data to be informed about what we should or should not be doing. Our internal best practice I am very proud of is our dashboards the team has created to show a variety of data areas senior leaders want see such as: ● Learning hours by college (6 of them) ● Learners impacted ● Online learning hours completed ● Microlearning video watched ( can be disaggregated into categories/topics) ● Internal design/coaching hours used ● Many others to boards added as well
|
Cordell Dixon | May 2022
|
|
|
Kristen Lueck | April 2022 |
|
|
How did you get started in curriculum and instructional design? I started my career in education as a teacher. I enjoyed working with students and collaborating with adults. After a few years, I realized I enjoyed working with adult learners just as much. I sought opportunities to improve my craft and through that I became an instructional specialist. Wanting to learn more about adult learning and performance improvement, I went to graduate school to study Learning Design and Technology. Ever since, I have been on a mission to help others become their best selves and improve performance through learning and development. What aspect of your role do you enjoy the most and why? Problem-solving in cross-functional teams brings me joy! The opportunity to improve our processes and systems brings challenge, fosters creativity, and allows for collaboration. This think-tank, scrum-like process, considering all the stakeholder perspectives, is when I know we are bringing about positive change to improve outcomes for others. What is your biggest challenge as an instructional designer in education, and how are you working through it? Oddly enough, having the time to practice instructional design is my biggest challenge. With competing priorities and tasks that don’t align to design work, my days are spent in meetings gathering and sharing information. I have begun to intentionally block time in my calendar for deeper thinking, allowing for more consistent needs analyses and strategic thinking. Tell us about your passion for strengthening yourself and other women for executive leadership. Learning is my passion, and it’s what I do to ensure I’m continuously working toward my next best self. I have the honor of working alongside a group of exceptional women who lead teams toward our organization’s mission with passion and purpose. Increasing knowledge and improving skills is what empowers us to be more impactful. It’s my job as a leader to nudge our team forward to the point where any one of them could take the lead and do it better. Rarely satisfied, our consistent drive to know and do better is what keeps us strong. What advice do you have for talent development professionals working in education? The cyclical nature of education work can lead to a cadence of doing what has always been done, oftentimes overshadowing what could be improved iterations or great innovations. Embracing change and adopting a growth mindset opens the door to creativity and continuous improvement, something both students and education professionals can benefit from. |
Kristin Baer | March 2022 |
|
|
How did you get started in Training & Development? I started investing time and energy in areas that I loved such as facilitating, curriculum design, and self-awareness assessments. Over time, I realized I could pursue all these interests in Training and Development. I still remember the joy of discovering that Training and Development fit my greater life pursuit to connect others to authentic and meaningful experiences that propel them to grow as individuals and communities. What are your top focus areas as a Training & Development Specialist for the Defense Language Institute? I love the diversity of areas that I get to be a part of in my role with needs analysis, design, development, strategic planning, program management, coaching, and facilitation. My key focus area is leadership development. I value being a part of a multiplying effect to equip leaders with skills they need to lead and develop others such as change management, conflict management, and teambuilding. What project are you the most proud of and why? As part of the 2021 Steering Committee of the Alexander Briseño Leadership Development Program with the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, I got to help redesign and facilitate the program. Engaging in rapid learning on a cohesive team with a diversity of strengths in a COVID environment was a challenge and opportunity. I’m most proud of updating this program because of the shared love and purpose that brought our motivated team together. We were able to impact not only individual leaders but also the community with tangible growth. Tell us about a major industry challenge that you’ve faced and how you overcame it. Over the years, as a civilian in the Air Force, I have faced being different than the norm of the culture I support. This meant that building credibility and finding my voice was an uphill battle at times. At times, I lost confidence or doubted my contributions. A fellow trainer asked me, “When you think of those people closest to you who you seek advice from, is there diversity of gender, race, ethnicity, background, age, and experience?” Surrounding myself with diverse voices encourages me to bring my full self and strengths to work and learn how to connect to support everyone in the organization. What advice do you have for someone who wants to break into coaching? 1) Reach out: A great starting point is to connect to coaches and ask for advice. 2) Access free resources: My favorite coaching book is Michael Bungay Stanier’s The Coaching Habit. 3) Volunteer: Community opportunities like TEDx always need volunteers and will help train you in the process. 4) Train: I highly recommend the ATD Coaching Certificate as a formal training option. 5) Practice: Start using the skills you learn in everyday conversations. Stay curious one minute longer and ask one more question to begin developing a coaching approach. |
Darryl Bogan | February 2022 |
|
Organization: USAA Title: Learning Performance Consultant Lead Favorite Quote: “You didn’t make it on your own” - LeRoy Bogan (my father) Education: BS Social Science – Troy University LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/darrylbogan |
How did you get started in Training & Development? Throughout my service in the Army, I had the honor of developing and training the servicemembers in my unit. Noncommissioned Officers are considered the master trainers and it is our responsibility to train, coach, and mentor the Soldiers within the organization. I took pride in identifying significant skills gaps within the organizations and developing training to improve those critical skills. What do you find most rewarding about developing leaders? What I find most rewarding is watching the proverbial light bulb light up. My greatest enjoyment is not only watching the leader grow, but watching these leaders inspire those they are charged with serving to grow and be better. The pandemic forced talent development professionals to adjust their training and development strategies. What project or initiative, in response to the pandemic, are you the most proud of and why? The pandemic coupled with social unrest were tense times for our organization. Our ability to adjust our delivery of content from face to face to a virtual platform was phenomenal. This was especially important when we delivered resilience training, centered around racial injustice and the pandemic, to an organization dispersed among 20 states in the Midwest. How did your military career prepare you for your current role? The military develops several skills that are important to the nature of the work we do in the defense of our nation. One critical skill that I consistently use at USAA is humility. Pivoting from the military to the corporate environment was intimidating (still is) and it’s been my willingness to humble myself that has led to a successful transition. Having the courage to admit that I do not know it all, understanding that growth takes time (no matter how much bubble gum you swallow), and accepting that you will not be an expert overnight takes an abundance of humility. This understanding has been important in my continued growth. What leadership advice do you have for our ATD San Antonio members as champions of learning in their organizations? Jason Reynolds said it best, “Your way is only yours, but the rest of the world has theirs…your sort of life isn’t the only life.” For leadership to work, we must understand that leading is about serving those who may not always believe what you believe. Your willingness to accept that fact will allow you to display both empathy and compassion for people totally different from you. Once you can do that, then you have trust and with trust anything is possible… |
Tina Garza | January 2022
|
|
How did you get started in Instructional Design?
Back when I was an intern working in the Quality Assurance laboratory for a chemical manufacturing company, everyone was responsible for curating content for weekly safety meetings. I didn’t realize until I moved into a formal learning & development role that I have been designing, developing, and facilitating training my whole career!
What aspect of Instructional Design do you enjoy the most and why?
This is a tough one for me. I love instructional design as a whole: the problem-solving process of coming up with a training solution that helps improve individual performance but also aligns with organizational goals, the opportunities to be innovative with simulating real life in virtual and eLearning environments, and the creativity to deliver aesthetically pleasing assets. I get to be both scientist and artist. I can truly say, I love what I do.
What project that you’ve been a part of are you the most proud of and why?
When I was working in the oil and gas industry, my manager asked me to start delivering monthly safety training for our team. He said safety training was boring. Back then, safety training was notorious for being death-by-PowerPoint (it may still be in some places). I was determined to prove him wrong…and I did! The safety training I designed and developed was so engaging that attendance was nearly 100% month over month and we had no safety incidents while the program was in place. I love knowing my work made an impact.
What do you see as some of the most exciting trends for Instructional Design in the future?
There is so much out there and I have only started scratching the surface of researching some of the latest advancements but I read an article recently on the Metaverse that was interesting. We seem to be trending to virtual reality and I am excited to learn more and experiment with some of these concepts in the near future.
What advice do you have for someone who wants to break into Instructional Design?
Build a foundation in adult learning principles. In my experience, without formal education or training in instructional design, there is a tendency to design based on our own experiences which, in most cases, is heavily influenced by how we learned in school. Training adults in the workplace is a completely different ball game. Employees need relevant, immediately applicable, knowledge and skills to perform well on the job. Training adults is about involving them in the learning process to cultivate the critical thinking necessary to work through processes and relationships that aren’t always cut and dry.