Connect 5 ATD Central Iowa

Is there anything she can’t do?! We don't think so, so join us for our Season 1 finale where we'll dig into what each of us can do to make our learning programs more accessible, how to tap into the power of Power Apps and the connection between game design and instructional design.
We’re wrapping up Season 1 with instructional designer extraordinaire and all-around incredible human being, the amazing Mary Roth, Instructional Design Consultant at Principal Financial Group!
 
About Mary Roth 
Mary has been in the L&D field since 2008 and has done a little of everything from facilitation, to design, eLearning development and audio/video production. Her career started in a call center, followed by supporting a call center with training facilitation and then training design (along with few different roles in process management and knowledge management). Today, she makes her living as an instructional designer at Principal Financial Group.
Outside of her talent development role, she’s married to her fabulous spouse, Joe. They have two elementary-aged girls who have their own unique personalities. Mary and her husband Joe and own The Dealt Hand, a company that hosts board game night and game-related events around the Des Moines metro! Their biggest event of 2024 is called Camp Refresh held at the Y Camp in Boone, IA. 

Connect with Mary! 
Website: www.thedealthand.com  
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-roth-b377905/  

Learn more about ATD Central Iowa by visiting ⁠www.atdiowa.org⁠! 

The secrets about creating and curating content for learning, what L&D professionals can steal from marketing and what it takes to build a following and showcase your personal brand. Come along for an exciting conversation with content curation guru and learning consultant, Mike Taylor! 



About Mike Taylor 

Mike Taylor is a teacher at Franklin University in a program focused on how to create effective educational courses and support materials. With an MBA from Ohio University and a specialized Master's from San Diego State, he's got both the business and tech skills to back it up.  

Mike currently leads cybersecurity training and awareness at Nationwide, but before that, he did consulting and worked in an agency. He also spent two years as a Community Manager for Articulate and their eLearning Heroes community. 

Mike has taught ATD Certification course in Storyline, Instructional Design, and eLearning, and he’s a speaker who's been invited to events worldwide. So, in a nutshell, Mike’s got a ton of experience in education, technology, and public speaking, and loves sharing what he knows and helping others level up their skills. 



Connect with Mike! 

Website: https://mike-taylor.org  

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/miketaylor  

 

Learn more about ATD Central Iowa by visiting ⁠www.atdiowa.org⁠! 

Insights about the secrets to discovering your career path, becoming an eLearning superhero and how AI may (or may not) change the game for instructional designers and eLearning creators. This week, we’re talking to Tim Slade, Creator of The eLearning Designer’s Acadamy and one of the industry’s leading voices in eLearning! 



About Tim Slade 

Tim Slade is a speaker, author, and award-winning freelance eLearning designer. Having spent the last decade working to help others elevate their eLearning and instructional design content, Tim has been recognized and awarded within the learning and development industry multiple times for his creative and innovative design aesthetics.  

Tim is also a regular speaker at international eLearning and instructional design conferences, a recognized Articulate Super Hero, a LinkedIn Learning instructor, author of The eLearning Designer’s Handbook, and creator of The eLearning Designer’s Academy.



Connect with Tim! 

Website: www.eLearningAcademy.io  

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sladetim/  

 

Learn more about ATD Central Iowa by visiting ⁠www.atdiowa.org⁠! 

Preparing students for their post-college career, the evolving needs of the emerging workforce and the best things leaders can to do support young professionals. Join us for a special conversation with Kristin Economos, Senior Director of the Adam’s Leadership Institute at Drake University and owner of The Life Skills Launch, LLC! 

About Kristin Economos  

Kristin Economos is the owner and founder of the Life Skills Launch; a consulting business that equips young professionals with skills for the launch to adulthood. She also serves as the Director of the Adams Leadership Institute at Drake University; an undergraduate leadership program designed to train students in self-awareness, collaboration, and organizational skills.  

Prior to her current roles, Kristin earned her bachelor and master’s degrees from Iowa State University and has worked professionally for 14 years in college admission, academic advising, curriculum design, and leadership development.  

In her free time, she works toward her annual 30x30 project - a personal goal to read 30 books a year, each year of her thirties. She loves cooking, hosting, and her drooly golden retriever, George. 

Connect with Kristin! 

Website: www.lifeskillslaunch.com 

The secrets to designing engaging and compelling eLearning courses, honing your craft as a designer and what makes for an ideal onboarding program. Join us as we talk with Jeni Johnson, Senior Instructional Designer at Traliant, for a wide-ranging conversation and peek behind the curtain about how to create stunning and meaningful training courses. 

About Jeni Johnson  

Jeni has been involved in learning and development in some capacity her whole life. As the oldest, she grew up teaching her sisters, and in college, one her first jobs was teaching other students how to create photographs for their design portfolios. It may sound corny, but mentoring, teaching, and guiding others is in her blood and is truly who she is. 

While in L&D, she’s been able to work with various industries like healthcare, non-profit, government, higher education, and corporate. 



Connect with Jeni 

LinkedIn 

 

Learn more about ATD Central Iowa by visiting ⁠www.atdiowa.org⁠! 

The secrets and research behind why psychological safety is critical for the modern-day leader, what’s trending in leadership development and how emerging technology like AI is shaping the talent development game. Tune in for an exciting conversation with Molly Mackey, longtime supporter of ATD Central Iowa, KAT Director for Optimae Lifeservices and Chief Learning Officer of the LEAdeRNship Institute! 

About Molly Mackey 

Molly J. Mackey is a speaker, author and trainer of leaders. She believes that by intentionally intersecting the ongoing journeys of leadership and learning we can create better leaders and Better Leaders = Better Lives™. 

Molly is the founder and chief learning officer of the LEAdeRNship Institute. She also serves as the Director of Knowledge Acquisition and Transfer at Optimae LifeServices. Molly has over 18 years of business and speaking experience. She has a passion for business, strategy, leadership and learning. She has taught business classes at a collegiate level since 2009 and currently partners with community colleges and other organizations offering training. 



Molly lives in Jesup, IA with her partner and has four children ages 1 to 16. 



Her books include: 

“52 Powerful Reflection Questions for Leaders” 

“52 Powerful Reflection Questions for Emotionally Intelligent Leaders” 

"52 Powerful Reflection Questions for Teams" 

Connect with Molly 

LinkedIn 

Website   



Learn more about ATD Central Iowa by visiting ⁠www.atdiowa.org⁠!