Get our official event app,
For Blackberry or Windows Phone, Click here
For feature details, visit Whova

Our Keynote Speakers

Hadiya Nuriddin

"Rewriting Belonging: How Storytelling Opens New Possibilities"

This thoughtful keynote examines how our personal narratives influence where and how we experience belonging. Through research, engaging storytelling, and practical exercises, participants will explore how the stories we tell ourselves often shape our feelings of inclusion or exclusion. The keynote presents a practical framework for narrative reflection that helps individuals become more conscious of these patterns and create new possibilities for belonging.

Participants will discover how this process of narrative awareness enables them to not only enhance their own sense of belonging but also create environments where others can discover and share their authentic stories – stories that may make designing authentic learning experiences easier.

By understanding the connection between personal storytelling and belonging, we gain valuable tools for building more inclusive communities in our personal and professional lives.


Jenn Whitmer

"Joyosity: More Fun, Less Drama, and Real Results at Work"

Joy? Really? Ok, so let's think about it for a moment. Workplace stress, disengagement, and burnout aren’t just personal struggles—they cost organizations productivity, retention, and profit. (Let's talk about the more than $190 billion...) 

But another initiative or team-building event isn't going to cut it. You need joy. Research shows that leaders who cultivate joy-based cultures see higher engagement, stronger collaboration, and lasting success. In this engaging and interactive keynote, Jenn Whitmer unpacks the science and strategy of joy, proving that joy isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s the missing piece to thriving teams and profitable organizations.

Through compelling stories, practical frameworks, and immediately actionable strategies, you’ll discover how to embed joy into daily work, creating an environment where people want to show up, contribute, and succeed. Joy is more than feeling good. It’s about unlocking performance, reducing workplace friction, and fostering innovation. Walk away with a clear roadmap to transform your workplace from a culture of stress and survival to one where both people and business flourish.

Breakout Session Descriptions & Learning Objectives

Topics and speakers are subject to change without notice.


Ali Carson

Session Title: Oh, That's Why I Do That: The neuroscience behind our best (and worst) behavior

Have you ever had a moment where something happens and—before you're even fully aware—you react, only to later wonder, “Why did I do that?” This session introduces the SCARF model, a brain-based framework that explains the five key domains that drive our behavior in social and work situations: Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness, and Fairness. Through engaging discussion and reflection, participants will explore typical responses to workplace dynamics, build awareness of what triggers them (and others), and learn practical strategies to respond more effectively. You'll walk away with increased insight, empathy, and tools you can use to navigate professional relationships with greater impact.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Describe the five domains of the SCARF model and explain how each influences behavior in workplace interactions. 
  2. Identify personal patterns and emotional triggers using the SCARF framework in real-life professional scenarios.
  3. Apply practical strategies to manage reactions and demonstrate more intentional, effective responses in workplace situations.



Angela Astuto

Session Title: Design Hacks

Need quality on a budget? Overwhelmed with the number of tools available? We’ll look at some of the low-cost tools for learning designers, focusing on features you can leverage for a polished appearance that is optimized for learning. We'll review color, coding, hierarchy, graphics, and more!

Learning Objectives:

  1. Participants will understand the components of an ecosystem needed for effective learning design.

  2. Participants will apply basic principles in color, graphics, and visual hierarchy to various tools.

  3. Participants will explore sample tools that could be used in designing learning experiences.


Artrell Williams

Session Title: Working Out Loud with AI: Building Transparent Learning Practices

AI is no longer a future concept—it’s a present-day reality reshaping how organizations learn, adapt, and grow. In Learning & Development, we have a unique opportunity to lead the way by not just using AI tools behind the scenes, but by bringing them to the forefront to model inclusive, collaborative innovation.

In this engaging, hands-on session, participants will explore what it means to create an AI-Inclusive Learning Culture—one in which AI tools are not hidden in silos but embraced as visible thinking partners in solving real-world challenges.

You’re invited to bring your own device and actively participate. Working in small groups, you’ll collaborate to tackle a shared L&D challenge using AI tools of your choice. We’ll then come together to reflect on strategies, share group-generated solutions, and explore how we can demystify AI usage for our colleagues and stakeholders.

Whether you're just starting your AI journey or already integrating tools into your workflow, this session offers a safe space to learn, try, and reimagine how AI can be part of your team culture—not just your toolkit.

Key Takeaways:

  1. Understand the mindset and practices behind fostering an AI-inclusive learning culture 
  2. Experience a live, collaborative AI problem-solving process 
  3. Explore practical ways to share and model transparent AI use with your organization 
  4. Gain confidence using AI tools through hands-on group work and collective reflection


Beat Bartlome


Steve Hoerner

Session Title:  Press Play: Leveraging AI Podcasts for Communication and Learning Engagement

Join us as we explore how AI-driven podcast storytelling can transform your communications and learning engagement. We’ll take you behind the curtain and share our approach, tools, and examples to help you get started. Warning: May cause sudden inspiration and an urge to podcast everything.

Learning Objectives: 

  1. Analyze how generative AI can be applied to generate audio formats like podcasts to increase learner engagement and retention in general communications and training programs.
  2. Evaluate potential use cases for AI-generated podcasts within their own learning and development initiatives, identifying benefits and limitations.
  3. Design a concept for integrating podcast-style reinforcement or promotion into an existing or upcoming training program.


Blake Martin

Session Title: 7Taps Live Demo and Q&A

7Taps is the world’s #1 Microlearning Platform. Come join us for a 20 min demo followed by Q&A.

Jami Dix

Session Title: Level Up Your Training: The Shift from Delivery to Facilitation

Great training isn’t just about what you say—it’s how you guide the room. Explore practical strategies used by Chapman & Co. facilitators to foster engagement, adapt in real time, and create impactful learning experiences.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Differentiate between traditional training and facilitation approaches in group learning environments.
  2. Understand how facilitation principles support engagement, shared ownership, and adaptability.
  3. Uncover key strategies used by Chapman & Co. facilitators to lead dynamic, high-impact sessions.



Jeff Koziatek

Session Title: The Champion Within: A Leadership Mindset

Discover how to lead with clarity, confidence, and resilience—especially under pressure. This session equips professionals with a practical mindset framework to increase influence, prevent burnout, and lead with greater intention.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

  1. Identify the “Champion Cornerstone” mindset that supports resilient, sustainable leadership.

  2. Apply six keys to strengthen personal leadership and model growth-oriented behavior.

  3. Evaluate and adjust current leadership responses to increase influence and learning transfer within their teams.

  4. Organize a plan to foster leadership through Personal Impact



Jesse Favre

Session Title: The Viral Power of Social Contagion: Is Your L&D Program Spreading Belonging?

Explore how social contagion shapes workplace culture—and how L&D can harness it to spread belonging, trust, and inclusivity. Discover strategies to design learning that creates positive ripple effects across teams and leaders.

Learning Objectives

  1. Define social contagion and explain how it influences behavior, emotion, and culture within workplace learning environments.

  2. Identify specific leadership and peer behaviors that can positively or negatively “spread” psychological safety, trust, and belonging.

  3. Apply at least two strategies for intentionally designing learning experiences that leverage social contagion to reinforce inclusion and connection across teams.

Natalie Gillard

Session Title: "Playing" It Forward: How Gamification Unlocks Lifelong Learning

What if the key to sustained growth, deeper awareness, and true belonging isn’t another meeting but a shared, immersive experience?

In Playing It Forward, participants engage in a gamified learning session that transforms abstract concepts like empathy, trust, and inclusion into lived, tangible moments. This is not a lecture. It’s an interactive, experiential simulation designed to challenge assumptions, reveal hidden dynamics, and spark critical reflection. These are essential skills for anyone committed to lifelong learning and leadership.

During this simulation, participants will step into a fast-paced experience that highlights how identity shapes access, communication, and connection. The format encourages vulnerability and honest introspection while modeling how immersive education can deepen learning in ways traditional methods often cannot.

By exploring lived experiences different from their own, participants build self-awareness, develop perspective-taking, and strengthen adaptability. These qualities are foundational to lifelong learning in today’s evolving workplace and social climate.

Whether your focus is leadership, talent development, or team cohesion, this session offers practical, people-centered strategies to foster curiosity, resilience, and belonging. You will leave with a renewed understanding of how immersive learning not only drives individual growth but also enhances collective success.

Learning Objectives:

Participants will be able to:

  1. Articulate how lived identity-based experiences shape interpersonal dynamics and recognize how awareness of these differences contributes to trust and belonging within teams. 
  2. Reflect on and evaluate their own assumptions and behaviors to better understand their role in creating psychologically safe, inclusive, and trust-driven environments.
  3. Integrate empathy-driven approaches into their leadership or collaborative practices to cultivate inclusive, learning-rich environments where belonging and vulnerability are supported.



Nate Rowlan

Session Title: Storytelling - Making Mythology Motivate Learners

Learn to use the power of myth and the hero’s journey to craft engaging, motivational training. This session blends storytelling with adult learning theory to help you design content that resonates, inspires action, and boosts retention.

Learning Objectives

1. Identify and apply the core elements of the monomyth to craft compelling stories for instructional use.

2. Leverage adult learning principles to integrate storytelling effectively into diverse instructional settings.

3. Analyze and select mythological narratives relevant to specific learning goals and target audiences.



Raye Shilen

Session Title: Planning for Accessibility: A Blueprint for Crafting More Inclusive E-Learning Experiences

Become an “accessibility architect” as we lay the foundation for building inclusive e-learning experiences. We'll focus on reducing timelines and increasing efficiency when developing courses in Articulate 360 tools, ensuring accessibility for all learners.

Learning Objectives

In this session, attendees will learn to: 

  1. Approach the graphic design phase of e-learning development with a level of intentionality that not only supports WCAG 2.2 requirements but also considers inclusivity and representation.
  2. Distinguish which e-learning interactions are fully accessible, partially accessible, or inaccessible while reimagining ways to create engaging content. 
  3. Utilize the options available in their preferred development tool to ensure optimal course functionality.



Stuart Morse

Session Title: The Power of the 'CREATE Mindset' to Energize & Enable Belonging

This interactive session will explore and bring greater clarity to how the 'CREATE Mindset' is a key enabler that has a positive and energizing effect on belonging for individuals, teams and organizations. 

Participants will learn how to enable key aspects of belonging with a wholistic methodology to drive better outcomes across the dynamic interplay of Strategy, Culture and Leadership. 

Learning Objectives

Participants will:

  1. UNDERSTAND the 'Create Mindset' and its connection to belonging

  2. APPLY the structures of the create mindset and belonging to their own situation

  3. EVALUATE their own experience of the impact of the create mindset on their sense of belonging

  4. Discuss what can be CREATED outside of the session by embracing and taking action on the 'Create Mindset'


THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!









Association for Talent Development, Saint Louis Chapter, 331 North New Ballas Rd. Suite 410945 St. Louis, MO. 63141
Questions about this website? Contact Us.
Chapter Incentive Program (ChIP) code: CH6012 - For use in the ATD Store
Promote your business with ATD STL: Become a Sponsor or Post a Job

© 2025 ATD St. Louis

Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software