Curated Collection Of The Best Interviews From Learning Insights
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Mary Coons / Equifax
Mary is an experienced Organizational Development leader with a proven track record of success in supporting C- suite business leaders in Corporate, Finance & Human Resource functions. Recognized as a results-driven contributor and trusted advisor in aligning business priorities and human resources initiatives which require transformational change to fuel business growth.
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Deborah Thomas / SillyMonkey LLC 
Deborah Thomas is owner of SillyMonkey, LLC, a game-based learning boutique. Early in her career she was a public education teacher at one of the worst performing middle schools in the country, she drove her students’ SAT scores up 30 percent by using innovative educational techniques she created. She applied that same passion for helping people retain learning objectives through games as a designer /manager for Fortune 500 companies such as The Coca-Cola Company, Newell Rubbermaid, Kraft, and others. Now, she provides services manufacturing, energy, pharmaceutical, sales, customer service and finance companies. Deborah was honored to receive the 2011 Best Fun and Serious Game Award Europe, 2009 ASTD Dugan Laird Award, 2009 ASTD Atlanta E-Learning Excellence, 2009 finalist National Association of Women Owned Business. Deborah is a past President of the North American Simulation & Gaming Association. She was VP of Professional Development for the Atlanta American Society of Training and Development. President of Georgia Game and Development Association Atlanta 2008-2012
Clay Johnson / TrainingPros
Clay Johnson is an Instructional Designer with TrainingPros. Since 2000, Clay has worked with organizations across various regions to uncover opportunities that optimize customer acquisition, retention, and ongoing business processes through learning. He has recommended and implemented growth strategies. Clay collaborates closely with internal teams, which encompasses Marketing, Customer Service, Finance, and Business Development to create and present business cases that support learning and sales program expansion. He conducts performance analysis sales programs and presents results and strategic insights to company leadership teams. Clay continues to build and maintain strong relationships with internal and external business partners. He conducts formal and informal presentations to solicite new business.
Bonnie Davis / TrainingPros
Bonnie J. Davis, MS, MBA is an award-winning, 20-year contractor/consultant, who has worked for industry leaders such as ADP, Atlanta Gas Light Resources, AT&T Mobility, Ceridian, Cox AutoTrader.com, Cox Communications, The Home Depot, IBM, and The Procter & Gamble Company. Bonnie has won several awards for her client relationships and for products she and her teams have produced. Most recently she was awarded a Certificate of Achievement in appreciation of hard work and dedication for her work at The Home Depot. The Society for Technical Communication has awarded her their highest honors — “Distinguished” and “Best of Show.”
Bonnie began her career as a newspaper reporter before transitioning to technical writing and instructional design. Bonnie recently joined Emory Continuing Education as a Contract Instructor to teach their Technical Writing course.
Bonnie also offers workshops on her “passion” topics including “The Naked Truth About Contract Work” that helps aspiring contractors learn about the contracting world and enhances the experiences of those already working as contractors. The next workshop is this coming Saturday, June 14. Details and registration are on Eventbrite. Next week, Bonnie will present a Lunch & Learn for TrainingPros titled “Tips for Making Clients Want YOU Back.” The Lunch & Learn is part of TrainingPros’ “Consultant Appreciation Month.”
Bonnie has degrees from Villanova University (BA), University of Illinois (MS), and Georgia State University (MBA).
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Today’s guest is part of a Special On-The-Road Edition of Learning Insights in Chicago, Illinois.
Greg Owen-Boger / Turpin Communication 
Greg Owen-Boger has been with Turpin Communication, a presentation and facilitation skills training company, since 1995. He started as a cameraman, quickly moving on to instructor and coach, account manager and now VP. He is one of Turpin’s instructors, speaks regularly at conferences, and is an on- camera SME in some of Turpin’s eLearning courses. Prior to joining Turpin, Greg was a Project Leader for a boutique consultancy that uses live theatre to initiate the leadership development process.
Greg is the 2014 President-elect of the Chicagoland Chapter ASTD. He blogs regularly and is one of many industry thought leaders who contributed to the book Master Presenter: Lessons from the World’s Top Experts on Becoming a More Influential Speaker. He is also the co-author of the book The Orderly Conversation: Business Presentations Redefined. Learn more at www.TheOrderlyConversation.com
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Today’s guest is part of a Special On-The-Road Edition of Learning Insights in Chicago, Illinois.
Matt Elwell / The Comedy Sportz Theatre
Matt is the President and CEO of ComedySportz of Chicago, Inc., and has been teaching improvisation to actors, improvisers, business people, educators, and students for over 10 years.
As an instructional designer, Matt Elwell has created learning experiences used by AT&T, McDonalds, Atellas Pharma U.S., SRR, the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, and the U.S. Navy. Matt is a Certified Professional in Learning and Performance through the American Society for Training and Development.
As a performer, Matt has appeared with ComedySportz, Second City Theatricals, GayCo, WNEP, iO and Dave & Co, and has taught as an Associate Faculty Member of the Second City Training Center in Chicago.
Matt is also active in the international leadership of ComedySportz, serving as Treasurer of its governing body and chairing the organization’s rebranding taskforce. Matt also serves as Vice President of Finance for the Chicagoland Chapter of the American Society for Training and Development. Matt lives in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago with his wife, Kathe.
Want to talk more about what improvisation can do for you or organization, please reach out!
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Today’s guest is part of a Special On-The-Road Edition of Learning Insights in Chicago, Illinois.
Diana Halfer / Lurie Childrens
Podcast: Download
Today’s guest is part of a Special On-The-Road Edition of Learning Insights in Chicago, Illinois.
Tricia Dupilka / ThinkWise, Inc.
From a Canadian farm to Chicago city lights, Tricia Dupilka believes in inspiration and innovation. Through the lens of her Canadian background, she is able to provide insight into her work through a distinct point of view. She believes innovation is only one step away from what you already know and that the most innovative teams have a diverse perspective.
As managing partner of ThinkWise Consulting, Tricia is the integrator and synthesizer of the team. She excels at looking at the big picture and finding the hidden patterns and connections that are easy to overlook. Tricia aspires to fill organizations with people who are inspired to do what is meaningful to them. “I want to get to the heart of what matters for people,” she says. “I want to help organizations see a way toward finding and creating their roles within their organization. You may know what you love, but how do you do more of that at work?”
Tricia also uses her innate pragmatism to bridge the gap between reality and possibility. She believes it’s extremely important to help people think through “the why” behind what they do. “Everyone has the answers within them, they just might not necessarily have the techniques to get there,” she says. Her ultimate goal is to create a place for people to think bigger and challenge themselves. It’s rewarding for her to be able to provide a space for people to see things in a broader, different way. Then, when they reach a new insight, she loves to see the change in people that these moments can bring. The challenge of creating a spark and giving people tools to make connections in their lives is what drives her.
For Tricia, ThinkWise Consulting desires to bring inspiration into the workplace. There is no standard way; every person has a unique path to success and to growth. “We’re in it with them as a partner,” she says. “We’re not happy until they’re getting what they want out of it. And if we can leave behind a point of view that sticks with them and continues to work, then we’ve achieved our ultimate goal.”
Prior to ThinkWise Consulting, Tricia has spent more than 20 years delivering global projects in internal, external and technology aspects of HR. Most recently, Tricia was the Director of Talent Solutions at BPI Group, a human resources consulting firm. Before that, she was the Vice President of Consulting & Services for HRIZONS, a talent management and human capital consulting firm. Tricia holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of Alberta and a master’s of business administration from the University of Calgary, where she wrote her thesis on knowledge transfer between organizations.
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Today’s guest is part of a Special On-The-Road Edition of Learning Insights in Chicago, Illinois.
Molly Heilmann / Berkeley Training
Berkeley provides a wide spectrum of learning and development solutions for our enterprise clients. As Vice President of Custom Learning Solutions, I represent Berkeley’s Custom Learning Solutions team, working with clients on identifying their needs and managing both internal resources and contractors on client facing projects.
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Today’s guest is part of a Special On-The-Road Edition of Learning Insights in Chicago, Illinois.
Pam Puryear / Hospira
Pam is a business leader, thought leader, and OD practice leader with over 25 years of business experience including 10 years in the real estate investment advisory industry, 12 years as an external Organization Development consultant, and 5 years leading an Organization Development practice at Hospira, a Fortune 100 company. Her professional passion is performance excellence and creating and delivering value, and from these diverse professional experiences, she has developed a unique perspective on what creates and sustains excellence. She has worked with individuals, teams and organizations to excel by assessing what is needed, and offering strategic and tactical solutions that directly impact performance and productivity. With an MBA and a PhD, she considers both financial capital and human factors and how to manage those using sound organizational management thinking and focused business metrics. Through LinkedIn and her personal website JoinDrPam.com, she seeks to build her network and develop a community of practice to keep up to date on the latest thinking, events, and opportunities related to how individuals, teams, and enterprises work, thrive, and drive toward excellence.
