Keynote Speaker
Chad Udell is the Managing Director of Float Mobile Learning, which produces custom mobile learning solutions, strategy, and development for clients such as Caterpillar, Wiley Publishing, Pioneer, Growmark, and Abbott. Chad is also a faculty member of Bradley University’s interactive department.
As an expert strategist, developer, and designer, Chad has spoken to corporations, trade associations, and academic institutions. He has facilitated workshops for the eLearning Guild and ASTD and is creating ASTD’s certificate program on mobile learning. Chad also presented with Bob Mosher, Conrad Gottfredson, and Cammy Bean at ASTD’s July “Learn Now” conference.
Chad serves as an advisor and beta tester for software, including the Adobe Creative Suite and rapid development toolkits. He also contributes to the specifications of the next generation of the SCORM standard, Project Tin Can. He has received numerous awards and written dozens of published articles. Chad’s first book, published in June, is Learning Everywhere, an approachable how-to manual for professionals looking to produce mobile leaning for their organizations.
Session Speakers
Robert S. Becker, Ph.D., is the President of Becker Multimedia, Inc. Robert has been a consultant, designer, and producer of elearning since the mid-1980s. He leads groups for the International Game Developers Association and the Serious Games Association, and he volunteers for CCASTD and CISPI. His technical proficiencies include development of interactive instructional systems, interactive games and simulations, and learning management systems. His affiliations include Adobe, Apple, and Microsoft developer networks.
Jennifer De Vries, CPT, is the President & Chief Solutions Architect for BlueStreak Learning. Jennifer has over 20 years of experience in managing elearning programs for companies such as IBM, Motorola, Joint Commission Resources, and Thomson/NETg. She frequently writes on the topic of elearning for industry journals and is best known for her groundbreaking report Rapid E-Learning, published by Bersin & Associates. Jennifer has been named one of the top 20 most influential people in online learning by OnlineUniversityRankings.org. Her company, BlueStreak Learning, focuses on helping organizations successfully start and grow high-quality, customer-focused elearning programs.
Mitchell Donaldson is a Project Manager for Interpro Translation Solutions, Inc. He has a B.A. in East Asian Languages (Mandarin Chinese) from Indiana University and a Certificate in Software Localization from the University of Washington. In 2001, Mitch began his career in translation and localization as an account executive for Interpro. After a stint as a paralegal, he returned to Interpro in 2012. Mitch's main client produces elearning content created in Articulate and Camtasia.
Dan Emery joined TransPerfect's Washington, D.C., office in 2007 as a Director of Business Development. Today, he is the Regional Director of Learning Services. He founded that division's Learning On-Demand Program, which uses technology to streamline the translation project management and review process and provides multilingual call center support and in-country trainers. He has provided elearning and training localization services to clients such as corporate universities, human resources and learning departments, and content development companies.
Kris Felstehausen is an instructional designer and project manager with 19 years of experience in the training industry. She has built a wide variety of training curriculae across all training media. Kris has a Masters in Training and Performance Improvement from Capella University and a Masters in Music Theory from Northwestern University. She is currently an independent consultant who works with Hudson.
Susan Fisher is a lead instructional designer and learning consultant at Innovative Learning Group, Inc. She has more than 30 years of experience designing and developing training and performance support resources for a wide range of business applications. Susan has presented at industry events on topics including performance-based elearning courses and learning programs for mobile delivery. She is the author of the award-winning series Mobile or Not…Here It Comes! and Informal Learning: Making It Work.
Maureen Haga, President of M2execution, has 25 years of experience in sales performance development and sales enablement. She is a trusted advisor to Fortune 500 corporations and small businesses. Successfully joining the mobile revolution, M2Execution developed My Mobile Coach™, a mobile coaching solution providing customized, on-demand, coaching for sales organizations enabling them to execute their sales strategies, process, and skills. Maureen has a Master's in Corporate Instructional Management and Organizational Development from Loyola University.
Diana Halfer, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, is the Administrator of Clinical & Organizational Development at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. For 12 years, she has led the strategic evolution of elearning for employee and physician development. One of her roles includes helping to build the educational infrastructure to support elearning tactics. Diana has presented at many national healthcare conferences and local learning leader conferences.
George Hayman is a Project Manager of Instructional Design and Technology at The Joint Commission. He has been a multimedia professional, in both corporate and entrepreneurial settings, for almost 20 years. He creates everything from PowerPoint presentations to full HD video productions and video-enhanced distance learning modules. George was a beta tester for Articulate Storyline and is starting an active Articulate users group for the Chicago area at www.chiart.org.
Julia Hooper is the Director of Hospital Education & Workforce Development at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. She has more than 20 years of experience with elearning. Recently, she served as the project lead for the Virtual Path to the Future, a 3D virtual environment used to prepare 5,000 employees and physicians for wayfinding in a replacement children's hospital.
Lee Johnsen, CPT, CPLP, SPHR, is a partner at World Wide International Leadership Partners. He is a published author and has presented at regional and international conferences on training evaluation, blended elearning, and leadership of globally dispersed teams. As an adjunct faculty member of the American Management Association, he has designed and delivered online learning experiences on leadership topics such as developing executive leadership and coaching from a distance.
Mike Kemmler is an elearning professional with over 20 years of experience in helping people improve their job performance by exploiting emerging learning technologies. He is currently an Instructional Design Manager with Huron Consulting Group. While at Grant Thornton, Mike piloted the use of Second Life as an alternative training medium (directly comparing it to video conferencing).
Becky Lucas, CPT, has over 20 years of experience in the training industry and has been helping clients with elearning and blended training solutions since 2004. She is the owner of Training Partners Plus, Inc. (established in 1998) and RetailTraining.com. Becky holds a M.S. from Indiana University School of Education. In addition to being a Certified Performance Technologists, Becky holds National Professional Certifications in Customer Service, Sales, and Retail Management from the National Retail Foundation.
Bruce Mabee, CPLP, is a managing partner at Milestone Partners, LLC; a consultant in strategic change, leadership, and organization development; and an adjunct faculty member of the Benedictine University Master's program in Organization Development. Bruce has designed and facilitated online consulting skills programs since 2008. For 10 years, he has judged many ASTD and OD Network of Chicago's award competitions. He holds a Master's degree in Management & Organizational Behavior from George Williams College.
Jenny Massoni is Associate Director, Global Head of Training and Communications for Astellas Pharma Global Development, Inc. She leads global cross-functional teams to design and deliver training and change management solutions. She holds a Master’s in Training and Development and a Graduate Certificate in Performance Consulting from Roosevelt University.
Terry McGoldrick has over 25 years of experience leading talent functions across a wide range of industries. Many of his change management and learning projects have involved enterprise-wide implementation of learning management systems (LMSs), enterprise resource planning, and financial systems. Terry is a talent strategy consultant for The CARA Group and is currently evaluating the feasibility of consolidating over a dozen of a client's LMSs. Terry received an M.B.A. in Finance from Western Illinois University.
Jeff Merrell is the Associate Director and Lecturer for the Master's Program in Learning & Organizational Change at Northwestern University. He teaches Creating & Sharing Knowledge, the program's core course covering organizational knowledge management and collaboration. Jeff's professional background also includes more than 10 years of consulting on learning management system and e-learning projects for corporate and nonprofit clients, including GlaxoSmithKline, McDonalds, Cisco, and Cardinal Health.
Corinne Miller is the Founder of Innovating Results. She is a former head of Motorola University, where she created a tri-dimensional elearning strategy that transferred the control, creation, and accountability to the learner. She is a frequent author on the topic of synchronous elearning and a thought leader in instructor-led virtual training (iVLT) for Lake Forest Graduate School of Management's Corporate Learning Solutions programs. She also teaches about iVLT and conducting engaging, results-oriented sessions.
Nancy Munro, the Founder and CEO of KnowledgeShift, has over 20 years of experience in helping organizations implement learning strategies. Nancy has worked with organizations like Motorola, Eaton, and Kraft, and small to mid-sized firms to address performance challenges that align to structural capabilities and revenue goals. She also helps organizations communicate with employees and customers in innovative ways by integrating their current infrastructure with newer technology, from online learning and podcasting to mobile learning.
Christine O’Malley is the Director of Creative Learning for Alliant Quality Partners and an independent consultant specializing in custom Lectora elearning solutions. Leader of the Chicago Lectora User Group and a certified Lectora Author, Christine has facilitated dozens of webinars on Lectora. She has over 20 years of experience in training and development, is certified in Web Design through the College of Lake County, and is certified in eLearning Design from CLARK Training & Consulting.
Greg Owen-Boger is the Vice President of Turpin Communication. A former actor, director, and camera operator, Greg is now a communication trainer and coach. He oversees all aspects of elearning and blended learning, including instructional design, script development, video production, on-camera coaching, and LMS deployment. He also appears on camera as a subject matter expert. Earlier this year, Greg led the initiative to launch a service that helps others create web-based videos on a budget.
Glenn Raines is the Revealer of Value for Social Media Moves. He serves as corporate trainer for Leo Burnett Worldwide, Omnicom, and The Knowledge Engineers, where he trains teams on how to integrate digital and social media strategies into their client solutions. He also develops LinkedIn and Google+ Profiles for corporate subject matter experts so companies can effectively use social media to convey their human capital thought leadership as part of the brand value proposition.
Jon Robertson is the Director of Learning & Development at lynda.com. He oversees new hire and professional development training for employees. Jon has over 15 years of leadership experience in technology and SaaS organizations, with an emphasis on training, coaching, and organizational development. He previosuly held leadership positions in companies such as New Horizons CLC and InHealth Technologies, where he focused on driving business results through strategic talent management, coaching, team building, and learning programs.
Keeley Sorokti is the Assistant Director for the Master's Program in Learning & Organizational Change at Northwestern University and directs the program's use of instructional technology. For the past 3 years, Keeley has led the design and implementation of innovative practices for delivering live, synchronous class sessions; using blogs and social media to enhance engagement; and using video and tools such as Google Docs to support distance learning. She is also a graduate of MSLOC.
Larry Straining, CPLP, is the Founder and New Media Technology Coach at Larry's Training, LLC. He helps people reach their goals using creative and innovative technologies. Larry is also an adjunct professor at Tulsa Community College and Brown Mackie College. He is a Certified Professional in Learning and Performance™ (CPLP) through ASTD. His passion is exhibited in presentations at ASTD's International Conference and Exhibition and his book Learniappe...111 Creative Ways to Use QR Codes.
Ralph Strozza is the President & CEO of Interpro Translation Solutions, Inc., which he co-founded in 1995. He has worked in the translation industry since 1982. Ralph has B.S. degrees in Marketing and French and a minor in Spanish from Northern Illinois University and a Master's Degree in French and Italian from Northwestern University. He conducts introductory workshops in Trados translation tools for undergraduate and graduate translation courses at Northern Illinois University.
Niraj Swami has been involved in elearning since 2003. He creates custom learning, blended solutions, and tablet-based assessment engines, and he has been the lead developer of a cloud-based elearning authoring tool. Currently, he serves as the Director of Technology for ellegro Learning Solutions. Niraj has an MBA in Strategy, Economics, and Entrepreneurship from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business. In 2008, Google named him a top-50 Android developer.
Jim Wallace has spent 30 years in the training industry, and for 15 of those years, he has been a consultant working on successful projects for a wide variety of clients. His expertise covers most of the elearning and instructional technology tools that have been popular in the marketplace during his career. Jim has an M.S. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is currently Consultant Manager for Hudson's Learning and Performance practice.
Sue Weller, CPLP, SPHR, is an Associate Director of Curriculum Management at Quintiles Transnational. Sue creates global learning solutions for strategically aligned business initiatives. She holds a Master’s in Training and Development and a Graduate Certificate in Performance Consulting from Roosevelt University. Sue is the 2012 President of CCASTD.
Nicki Woolsey is a corporate trainer for the Walsh Group, a national construction company. For 4 years, she has been responsible for the creation and implementation of elearning and instructor-based training. Before taking on her training role, Nicki managed several large construction projects in the Chicago area. She holds a Master of Science in Civil Engineering and Master of Architecture from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
Theano Yerasimou, Ph.D., has over 10 years of experience in the training industry and is currently a learning program manager at Deloitte. She facilitates training programs in online, blended, and face-to-face formats, and she is experienced in multicultural, international, corporate, and educational settings. She holds a Ph.D. from Indiana University School of Education, where she taught courses that trained teachers on successfully delivering instruction through technology use and integration.
