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ASTD Chapter Newsletter
                                                                              June 2016 Issue
President's Message

It is mid-year and I am sitting here wondering where the time has gone!  It has been a very exciting time at ATD Puget Sound.   We hosted more special events this year to-date than we did last year.  The programs team has been very hard at work ensuring the chapter meetings are booked through 2016, giving you time to plan and consider the chapter meetings you will be attending.   Our research team has developed a system to implement a larger data software platform to ensure the board is making decisions based on data you provide.  Our membership team is meeting with all new members through the Ambassador Team with the intentional connection of ensuring that you are finding value in your membership.   Lastly, our executive team has been hard at work with succession and replacement planning.   In just six short months we will have a changing of the guards in which certain board positions will be transitioning. 

We are in a healthy place at ATD Puget Sound where we are moving away from replacement planning and into succession planning.  Our board is developing from a tactical-based board to a strategically focused board.  This allows the board to focus on individual members rather than the name tag that is available to you at check in.   While both are important and need to be done, we are hopeful that during the transition in December/January you will feel as though nothing has changed.   We are already in a place where we are making plans for 2017’s first quarter without hesitation.  

Why do I bring this up?  One, I want to give exposure to all of the hard work the board does behind the scenes. To clarify, the board I speak of is all of the volunteers, coordinator, managers, and directors.    Two, I wonder if it is time for you to consider joining our board.   During my tenure, I have found that serving on the board has been more beneficial to my career and personal life than I ever thought possible.   I have gained mentors, friendships, connections, and experience that I could not gain elsewhere.   I never considered joining this board, not because I did not want to, but because I really never thought of it.  I am so thankful that someone reached out to me to serve.   While I cannot connect with all 350+ members face-to-face, please consider this my personal reach-out to all of you; would you consider serving on our board? All levels of commitment are available from one-time volunteer needs to potential director level positions.  If your response is “not now,” then click here and type the word “interested.”   We will connect with you through your preferred method of contact (be it phone call, text, or email)  and answer any questions you may have.   Then, you can better determine if serving your chapter and the benefits you gain as a leader in our chapter resonate with you. We look forward to hearing from you!

At ATD Puget Sound, we are thoughtful about our board.   We want diversity of thought and backgrounds.   We feel strongly that a position is best served unfilled than with the wrong person.  We know that a two-year term sounds like a life-time and in reality is not enough time.   We are becoming more thoughtful and strategic about what we can accomplish in a year and doing it with excellence.  

Get engaged.  Explore possibilities.  Be happy. 

Kati O'Brien
President
president@atdpugetsound.org

Chapter Special Events in June: 
Onboarding Hackathon on June 10 & Learnapalooza on June 24

June brings two different events for our members and non-members alike...
think of it like Summer Camp for adults!

I.  Onboarding Hackathon on June 10, Register Today for Onboarding Hackathon!
Spend your Friday morning with ATDps as we tackle the biggest pain points and innovate solutions for how to successfully onboard new hires in this half-day work session. Join your peers from organizations across the Puget Sound area and register to save your spot today. The resulting report & white paper will be available for download from the ATDps site later in June.  Can't make it to the Hackathon? 

We'd still love to hear from you!  Contribute your ideas and perspective by completing this brief survey here.  We look forward to working with you on this important topic.

II.  Learnapalooza 2.0 on June 24, Register Today for Learnapalooza 2.0!

Back by popular demand and expanded to a day-long workshop is the learning fair we dubbed "Learnapalooza".   Using the open space format, this is a chance to network, sample a smorgasbord of topics relevant to today's learning professional: virtual reality technology, micro-learning and e-learning best practices, diversity & inclusion issues, better content curation, learning ecosystems, coaching, informal learning, future workforce issues, and more) in rapid, immersive experiences.

Then, the afternoon will allow participants a chance to dive into many of the morning topics through longer workshops. Framing all of this we'll take a look at the state of the industry -- where we've been, where we are now, and where we want to be. Along with unpacking some of the myths around learning.  Parking is free and lunch is included in your registration fee.  Help us spread the word - last year this event sold out and we'd love to do it again! Looking forward to learning with you all.

 
 Chapter Meeting | June 21, 2016 - 7:30 - 9:30 am | @ Mercer Island Community Center
Designing Effective Learning Exams

On June 21, 2016, from 7:30 - 9:30 am, @ Mercer Island Community and Event Center, please join us for this month's chapter meeting focused on Designing Effective Learning Exams with Ben Gianackos, MBA, from Amazon's Human Resource Services team where he is responsible for creating and managing the employee education platform.  This session will give you the knowledge and tools to write exams that provide useful data over a long period. 

After the session, participants will be able to:

  • Understand the fundamentals of writing a good exam question
  • Understand the relationship between learning objectives and exam questions
  • Define discrimination, validity, and reliability for exams
  • Know how discrimination, validity, and reliability support long-term data integrity
  • Be able to communicate exam strategy to a client
  • Demonstrate the ability to assess the strength of exam questions
  • Write a 5 question exam on a training case study
Register here for the June 21 Chapter meeting.
 Interest Group Meetings for June

Are you interested in joining a small group around specific talent development topics and or interests? 
We have just what you're looking for in
one of our six ATDps Interest GroupsTopics range from CPLP certification, member networking, learning and technology, south sound professionals, or learning in the purpose economy; be sure to review what's on offer this month! 
Interest group and partner events on 
our calendar for June are:

ATDps Workplace Learning Conference RFPs
Due by June 10 - Submit Today

 Call for Submissions for Workplace Learning Conference - Due June 10th

The RFP for ATD Puget Sound's Workplace Learning Conference in the fall is LIVE! Check out this brief video and FAQs for an overview of the vision and theme for this year's conference. 

We hope you'll consider being a session facilitator or register as a participant Please help us get the word out by sharing unique professional development opportunity with your own networks.  

Questions? Want to get involved or learn more?
Contact: specialevents@atdpugetsound.org
 Membership Inspiration for the Month
“To be good critical thinkers requires intellectual humility and a healthy respect for the magnitude of what we don’t know.”
― Edward D. Hess,
Learn or Die: Using Science to Build a Leading-Edge Learning Organization

I finished reading Learn or Die by Edward Hess about a month ago. I enjoyed it tremendously.

I truly believe that humility is a necessary ingredient in all learning. This June, I urge you to challenge yourself on something you think you know. Without humility, you may not ever have the joy of being corrected.

Cheers,

Kyle McCurdy
Director of Membership
membership@atdpugetsound.org
 Member Spotlight for June:  Andrea Walts Pacetti
Hello, Andrea!

Where are you from and what brought you to the Puget Sound?  I grew up in Syracuse, New York but have kicked around the Southeast and Midwest too. I was living in Madison, WI until my husband took a new role with his company here in Seattle last year. Seattle winters are so much better.

What do you love most about the Talent Development industry? 
The process is like solving a puzzle. It starts with "we need training" but it's up to us to bring analysis, design, project management, consulting and measurement/reporting skills to the table to identify the solution and bring it to life. Then, we circle back to confirm that our solution really solved the problem. We're affecting an organization's most vital asset - it's people. 

Why did you join ATD Puget Sound and in what ways are you involved?  I belonged to and volunteered with the ATD chapter in Madison, WI in the past. There was so much value for me in terms of professional development, networking and serving as a program manager and on a board of directors. I probably learned as much as I contributed. When I arrived in Seattle, one of the first things I did (after unpacking a lot boxes) was join ATD Puget Sound to get tapped into the learning community here. I am serving as a Membership Ambassador, welcoming new members and connecting with renewing members.  I am also part of the program committee for the upcoming annual conference.

Any fun or interesting facts you would be willing to share?  I'm one of the only people I know who doesn't have a middle name. The only other person I know who doesn't is my sister. I think my parents were trying to keep it simple. I get some suspicious looks when filling out official documents. And while I didn't set a goal, I have now developed a habit of visiting Ikea's across the country if I happen to be in a city with one. I'm at seven and counting. While they all have the same items, they don't all look alike.

What is a career or development goal you are personally working on?  I've become really interested in evaluation and metrics/measurements in the past couple of years. As much as we strive for it, many organizations struggle to get beyond smile sheets. The opportunities to improve our processes, program and products (as well as toot our horns) are huge as long as we're measuring the right things at the right time in the right way and reporting it out meaningfully.
 Knowledge Sharing Culture
From my recent conversations with colleagues, both in my organization and in other organizations, I’ve noticed we all seem to be feeling a “time crunch” lately. Our “to-do” lists always seem to be longer than our “done” lists and we are running on fumes (otherwise known as coffee).

In the May issue of TD magazine, we read about how employee knowledge sharing can nurture a culture of learning. I initially flipped to the article because I serve on our Company’s Culture Club (yes, it’s really a thing J) and I am forever curious about how I can infuse informal learning into our culture. But as I read on, I started to think… what if we used knowledge sharing as a way to save time and get more done?... Perhaps you have already found a solution for the problem I am facing? And maybe I have a resource that could help you complete your project? And possibly our work overlaps and we could help each other out?

Join us in the ATD Puget Sound knowledge sharing conversations – We have various interest groups, a group on Linked In, upcoming events such as the New Hire Hackathon and Learn-a-palooza 2.0 and more!

I can’t wait to learn with and from you, and hopefully we both can save some time!

All the best,


Erin Clarke
Director of Research
research@atdpugetsound.org
 Chapter Volunteer Opportunities this Month
One of the best ways to get to get to know other ATD Puget Sound Chapter members is to volunteer!

Everything we do and accomplish is done with the talented members in our chapter. This is a safe place to grow your skills. With that in mind, we currently have openings on the board for the following positions:

Newsletter Editor. This person works closely with the Director of Communications and the Director of Administrative Services.  The newsletter editor collects and organizes information for a short monthly newsletter to be sent out to ATDps and National ATD members. If you have competencies in Written Communication and Editing, Detail-Orientation, Collaboration, Teamwork, this role would be a great fit.

Coordinator for Employee Learning Week. This person coordinates the events and activities for the annual ATD Puget Sound Chapter’s Employee Learning week in order to heighten awareness and recognition of the workplace learning profession as well as the ATD Puget Sound chapter. This is a great opportunity to use and strengthen your Communication, Event Planning and Management, Volunteer Management, Government & Media Relations, Interpersonal Skills, Persuasion competencies.

Details for each of these roles can be found on our ATD Puget Sound website.

All the best,

Janet Williams Hepler
President Elect

presidentelect@atdpugetsound.org

 
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