Leading Learning Podcast

A passionate advocate for the global association community, Peter O’Neil is a seasoned leader known for transforming organizations by creating high-performing, diverse, and inclusive teams and cultures. Since 2016, he has been CEO of ASIS International, which serves over 30,000 security management professionals from around the globe. In this episode of the Leading Learning Podcast, co-host Jeff Co...

After not attending in-person conferences for a couple of years due to COVID, we had the chance to attend several. That return to in-person sparked some serious thinking related to learning (or not) at conferences. In this episode of the Leading Learning Podcast, we apply our unscientific but deep first-hand knowledge of the world of conferences to unpack key elements conference planners need to i...

David M. Rozsa is CEO of Metacred, an association management company dedicated to developing, managing, and growing the best credentialing programs in the world. They act as the certification or accreditation department for its clients, which include both not-for-profit associations and for-profit companies. In this episode, co-host Celisa Steele gets David’s expert perspective on the world of cre...

Diane Elkins, founder of Artisan E-Learning and E-Learning Uncovered, is passionate about helping others design thoughtful, equitable, and impactful learning experiences. She has over two decades of experience in the e-learning industry, speaks regularly at national conferences, and is co-author of E-Learning Fundamentals: A Practical Guide and the E-Learning Uncovered book series. In this episode...

Whitney Johnson is an innovation and disruption theorist and CEO of the tech-enabled talent development company Disruption Advisors. She hosts the long-running Disrupt Yourself Podcast and is the author of multiple books, including Disrupt Yourself: Putting the Power of Disruptive Innovation to Work and, most recently, Smart Growth: How to Grow Your People to Grow Your Company . Leading Learning P...

Workforce development and credentialing have both been the focus of recent episodes. Though we didn’t set out to treat these as a series, some common themes have naturally emerged that we would like to call out and connect. In this episode of the Leading Learning Podcast, we synthesize our thoughts around workforce development and credentials, and the related challenges and opportunities they pres...

Jenna Cohen is the workforce product manager at ACT. where their mission is to help people achieve education and workplace success. ACT’s mission is to help people achieve education and workplace success. It serves millions of people around the world with learning resources, assessments, research, and credentials to help them succeed from elementary school throughout their careers. In this episode...

It’s hard to believe, but here we are at episode 300 of the Leading Learning Podcast. When we sat down to record episode 1 back in 2015, we had no idea we’d make it this far. We are truly grateful for the thousands of learning business professionals who tune in each month and make this show part of their own lifelong learning. Milestones are a natural time to pause and reflect, so we’re doing exac...

Having escaped with her family from the Vietnam War to start again in the U.S., Van Ton-Quinlivan is passionate about paying forward the opportunities that an education afforded her. She has built a career as a highly impactful workforce development expert and currently serves as CEO of Futuro Health, a nonprofit with the mission of improving the health and wealth of communities by growing the lar...

Jim Fong is chief research officer at the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA), where he and his research team help university leaders understand the trends impacting higher education. They also support the development of new programs and credentials to meet the complex needs of the ever-changing learner and the new economy. In this episode of the Leading Learning P...

When it comes to workforce development, learning businesses play a critical role in identifying and then delivering the skills employees need and those that employers want. From attracting and educating workers new to the field to upskilling and reskilling those already working, learning businesses can have a significant impact on the profession or industry they serve. In this episode of the Leadi...

Clare Marsch is senior vice president of training and development at the  American Bankers Association  (ABA). Throughout her career, she’s been involved in developing training and learning programs for customers, members, and clients across a wide range of industries and in a variety of formats. In this episode of the Leading Learning Podcast, co-host Jeff Cobb talks with Clare about her role in...

Credentials offer more potential than ever to learners and to the organizations offering them. And learning businesses in particular are uniquely positioned to leverage them to address challenges and create opportunities for the people and industries they serve. In this episode of the Leading Learning Podcast, we share the key macrotrends making credentialing even more valuable today and what lear...

Tamer Ali, a seasoned learntech entrepreneur and founder of Authentic Learning Labs, believes in the power of technology to deliver transformative learning experiences. Authentic aims to address the challenges and elevate the status of learning within organizations through learning technologies and a global team to support initiatives. In this episode of the Leading Learning Podcast, co-host Jeff...

Courtney Vital, vice president of learning at the Association for Talent Development, describes herself as a learning leader for learning leaders—and for good reason. ATD is the largest association for professionals who develop others in the workplace, and its membership reflects individuals from all over the world, in all industries and sectors. ATD is focused on advancing talent development, con...

As CEO of Web Courseworks, Amber Winter is committed to helping their clients maximize value and deliver high-quality, impactful professional development to their learners. In this episode of the Leading Learning Podcast, Jeff talks to Amber about her transition to the CEO role, the state of the learntech industry, and which trends are having an impact on learning businesses and learntech. They al...

Learning businesses often rely on subject matter experts (SMEs) to develop and deliver learning products. But those SMEs—although highly regarded experts in their particular field—likely don’t know how to develop and deliver products in ways that align with brain science and adult learning principles. In this episode, we focus on the importance of going beyond telling presenters what they need to...

Longtime listeners of the Leading Learning Podcast have heard us talk about the Learning Business Maturity Model™ before. We’ve dedicated entire episodes to it in the past, covering what it is and how to leverage it. In this episode, we focus less on the logistics and specifics of the model and more on the purpose of the maturity model. We explain how the model can be used by learning businesses f...

As CEO of Vista Cova and a Certified Professional Facilitator, Lowell Aplebaum collaborates with organizations to create transformative dialogue around vision, strategic planning, community, and value. He’s passionate about building a better future and his inclusive, learning mindset carries through in his work helping others recognize their potential for lasting impact. In this episode of the Lea...

As professor emeritus and senior fellow at the University of Illinois Springfield and senior fellow at the University Professional and Continuing Education Association (UPCEA), Ray Schroede is a leading expert in higher education and online learning. With decades of experience teaching, leading, curating, and writing, Ray brings unmatched knowledge and passion to the conversation around emerging t...

The turning of a calendar from one year to the next is a natural time for reflection and preparation. In the previous episode , we looked back at the year that was for learning businesses. In this episode we turn forward to focus on the year that is. Drawing on data collected at the end of 2021, we uncover the top areas that learning businesses are prioritizing in the new year. We also reveal thre...

As we just said goodbye to 2021 and rang in a new year, it feels only natural to pause and take a moment—or, in this case, an episode—to reflect. And, as learning business leaders, we know what a profound impact reflection can have on learning. That’s why in this first new episode of 2022, we’re looking back at the broader learning landscape and larger trends that shaped the previous year, includi...

We’ve covered a lot of ground in the first six “courses” in the series for our mythical learning business MBA, and we’ve mostly focused on what —identifying the key skills and knowledge learning businesses need to survive and thrive. The what is important, but so too is the who —finding people with the key skills and knowledge and cultivating those skills and knowledge in your team. This includes...

We've reached our next-to-last installment in our learning business MBA series, where we're continuing to explore the question "What kinds of skills, knowledge, and behaviors do learning businesses need to be successful?" A common theme has emerged as an answer. (1) You have to know your market and audience, and (2) you have to get product development right. But there's another...

Steven Schragis is founder and director of One Day University, an adult education program that brings the best and most popular professors from all over the country to develop fun and engaging talks that inform and inspire adult “students-for-a-day.” At One Day U, learning isn’t driven by career advancement goals or earning a degree; it’s for people who simply want to engage in the pure joy of lif...