Karen Main

2013 Incoming President,2012 President Elect

Karen Main is a speaker, writer, teacher and consultant specializing in the design and delivery of innovative leadership development programs. Her work has been awarded recognition from Mountain States Employer’s Council, Rocky Mountain ASTD, IPMA-HR and the Asch Center at The Harvard Kennedy School. She is a graduate of Denver University and certified by Harvard in “The Art & Practice of Leadership Development.” Currently she is the Training Specialist for the City of Englewood and owner of Innovations In Training, a Denver-based training & consulting firm. She is also adjunct faculty at DU’s University College. Karen brings first-hand, practical experience to her work with Rocky Mountain ASTD. “At first glance, you wouldn’t necessarily guess that I’m a bit of a daredevil! I just completed my second Polar Plunge on New Year’s Day, 2012 and successfully finished the Tough Mudder in 2011. I’m absolutely focused on setting goals for myself and pushing myself to succeed. I try to bring that same passion and energy to my work with clients and students.”

E-mail: KMain@englewoodgov.org | Phone:>720-272-3433

 

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Becky Magnotta

2013 President Elect,2012 Vice President Membership

Becky’s unique background covers leadership development, training, public speaking, finance, marketing, sales and the management of people, programs and contracts. Her experienced spans furniture retail, non-profit, mining, energy, telecom and pay-TV industries. At DISH Network, Becky is Senior Manager of Leadership & Development. She is responsible for development programs for DISH managers, and high potential employees.

Becky was a member of both the Economics and Transportation Committees of the National Mining Association, and served on the board of the Western Coal Transportation Association and Freedom Service Dogs, a non-profit organization that saves dogs from shelters and trains them to help people with disabilities, including wounded warriors.

She has a bachelor degree in piano performance from the University of Denver, and an M.B.A. with a finance emphasis from Regis University in Denver.

E-mail: Rebecca.Magnotta@dishnetwork.com | Phone: 303-723-1445

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Kevin Preston

2013 Past President, 2012 Chapter President

Kevin Preston is the Learning Effectiveness Director for Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI). He is an expert in the learning and employee development field with 18+ years of experience including facilitation, instructional design, eLearning, organizational development, performance improvement, knowledge management, and curriculum management. His passion is in improving organizational performance through workforce development. Kevin also has a strong interest in the strategic alignment and management of performance and learning functions within organizations.

Kevin’s career began as an instructor for technical and leadership skills before moving on to instructional design of instructor-led and web-based courses. His experience also includes managing large curricula, leading learning teams, developing other learning practitioners, and driving learning strategies. Kevin currently uses these skills at CHI, a large non-profit healthcare system operating hospitals and long-term care facilities across the nation. Kevin leads the learning strategy for CHI by managing a team of learning practitioners dedicated to supporting learning needs for strategic priorities and learning technologies.

Kevin has a long list of academic and practitioner experiences in the learning field including a Doctor of Philosophy in Organizational Performance & Change with an emphasis in learning evaluation as well as a Masters of Education in Human Resource Development – both from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. Kevin’s Bachelor’s of Science degree is in Business Administration with a focus on Human Resources and International Business from Regis University in Denver, Colorado.

For more information about Kevin, see his Linked In profile at:

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kevin-f-preston-phd/1/722/28b

E-mail:kevinpreston@catholichealth.net | Phone: 303-725-1853

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Gretchin Irvin

2012-2013 Treasurer

Gretchen Irvin is a new addition to Denver from Minnesota in January of 2011.  She is a graduate from Winona State University with a double major in Business Administration and Human Resources with a focus in training and development.  She is currently a manager with Wells Fargo Bank and shadows with the learning and development team often.  

 

I love helping others learn and truly believe that adult education will help our country's future be brighter.  I enjoy hiking, skiing and all of the outdoor beauty that Colorado has to offer.  I am excited for a wonderful 2012 with ASTD and can't wait to see what adventures I will embark on this year! 

 

E-mail: Gretchen.irvin@gmail.com | Phone: 303-486-3560

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2012-2013 Vice President Communications

Tara Powers is a Cultural Alignment Expert and Business Acceleration Coach. For over 12 years, Tara has partnered with both medium sized corporations and small business owners to help align their business culture to their values and strategy.

As CEO of Powers Resource Center, Tara’s training organization takes special care to understand your big picture goals, objectives, values, culture, relationships and success measures. We then work closely with you to implement programs and coaching designed to align your communication, behaviors and relationships with where you want to be. PRC services have been proven to have a positive impact on performance, satisfaction and business culture and our workshops and programs have been described as progressive, innovative and highly interactive.

A sample list of happy clients that have real results from working with Tara and Powers Resource Center include Crocs, Janus, Aflac, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, University of Colorado, Caterpillar, Leopard, and Key Equipment Finance.

Tara earned her undergraduate degree in Business Administration and a graduate degree in Organizational Management. She is a certified Training Manager/Director and an active member of the ASTD. Tara served as the Chair of the Boulder Business Women’s Leadership Group and VP of Education for the Boulder Chamber Speakeasy Toastmaster’s Club. She has taught management courses at the University of Phoenix and Front Range Community College, and is certified on a variety of assessment tools that can be integrated into her training programs and workshops to provide participants with insights on their effectiveness.

Tara lives in Colorado with her husband, two little girls and their Plott Hound, Guinness. She is an avid hiker and an occasionally karaoke star.

tara@powersresourcecenter.com Phone: 303-875-5011 

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Mark Bower

 

2012-2013 Vice President Distance Learning

Mark Bower, Principal of Edge Interactive provides clear insight into the trends and issues facing leaders in learning. Mark has held a number of learning management positions with IBM and other industry leaders bringing over 25 years of experience to his clients. His background includes responsibilities as Training Executive, Entrepreneur, and Management Consultant.

 

Mark has also sat on a number of national advisory committees directing the effective use of technology including designing a number of nationally recognized information automation projects. Mark has extensive experience if all facets of learning management having managed over 220,000 hours of professional services to learning leaders in developing the strategies, processes, assets, and governance that will maximize workforce impact in achieving business objectives.

 

Mark is a past ASTD Board Member and Vice President, Strategic Partnerships as well as a Senior Judge in the 2010 Brandon Hall, Excellence in Learning Awards.

 

He is a writer and speaker in the eLearning community whose articles can be seen in CLO magazine and other industry periodicals.

 

Mark holds a BS in Learning Theory from University of Massachusetts and an MBA from

Boston University.  

E-mail: mbower@edgeinteractive.com | Phone: 303-488-0048

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Yvonne Bogard

 

2012-2013 Vice President Technology and Social Media

 

 

Yvonne joined Regis University, College for Professional Studies (CPS) in 2009 as an Instructional Designer at the Denver, CO campus. In 2007, Yvonne earned her second Master’s degree in the fully online Information Learning Technologies (ILT) program with an emphasis in Instructional Design and Adult Learning from University of Colorado at Denver (UCD). Prior to joining Regis University, Yvonne served as the Director of Technology and Distance Education for University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS), College of Education. Additionally, she has taught as an adjunct in the Linguistically Diverse Education (LDE) master's program for eight years so she has been on both sides of the virtual desk.

In 2002, Yvonne earned her first Master’s degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from Northern Arizona University (NAU) and went on to teach western business culture and language to Samsung managers in South Korea. Prior to her change in career directions, Yvonne earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Management Information Systems (MIS) with a minor in Computer Science at Florida State University. She went on to work as a Programmer/Systems Analyst for Motorola Semiconductor Products sector in the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) marketing development area. Her short claim to fame was the development of the world-wide change order management system which she wrote/programmed and installed in the U.S. and in Hong Kong. Additionally she trained Motorola users in both Hong Kong and Singapore on how to use the new change order management system.

WIth Yvonne's background in technology, teaching and instructional design, she says she finally found what she wanted to be when she grew up.

Yvonne has a strong interest in all aspects of eLearning and eTeaching, emerging technologies and trends, and she is dedicated to learn more ways to utilize social media in social learning environments. In addition to her role on the Board this year, she is a working member of the national ASTD Social Media Team. Further, she is committed to completing the ASTD certification to become a Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP) during 2012. If you are interested in joining a study group for this CPLP certification, feel free to contact Yvonne for more inform.

 E-mail: ybogard@regis.edu | Phone: 303-458-4037

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Michele Padilla

 

2013 Co-Vice President of Professional Development - Speakers (Programs)

 

Michele Padilla has a decade of strategic, effective, and complex training and development expertise. Michele has worked for several Fortune 500 companies and has a diverse back ground ranging from the multibillion dollar cosmetics and weight loss industries to finance, as well as the office supply industry. Michele has led training and development programs in many multi-faceted and complex business departments including, but not limited to customer service, sales, management, leadership development, and global operations.

Michele has worked on numerous large scale training and development implementations which have driven companies’ profitability, process improvements, and boosted employee productivity and sales by sixty-five percent (65%).  Most recently, Michele consulted on the design and development of an inside sales organization for a Fortune 200 company.  Michele analyzed training needs and co-developed a training program for 200 newly hired employees that covered products, sales tools, relationship selling skills, and ongoing coaching and mentoring learning modules.

Additionally, Michele has a wealth of knowledge working on global implementation projects in a highly regulated anti-money laundering and compliance environment. Michele designed, developed, and piloted a program that was rolled out to over 10,000 front line money transfer agents along the United States and Mexico border in conjunction with compliance managers in the same region. 

Michele has been described as a “champion” of training and development due to her constant drive to sharpen her skills and employ innovative methods of curricula design and facilitation. Michele believes that training and development of staff motivates and empowers workers to perform at their optimal capacity.  Michele also recognizes the importance and difference of learning styles, along with evolving generational learning needs.  Staying current on training and design methods and adult learning theory is paramount for successful training and curricula design in the corporate world.

Michele owns and operates a boutique training consulting firm 5280 Training & Development, LLC. She earned her Master’s Degree in Information & Learning Technologies from the University of Colorado, Denver and her Bachelor of Arts in History with a Minor in English from Radford University in Radford, Virginia.

Scott Davis

 

2013 Vice President of Membership

 

 

No bio available.

scott.davis@phoenix.edu

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Nan Berrian

2013 Vice President Volunteer Engagement

Nan Berrian is a passionate proponent of lifelong learning, both individual and organizational. She thrives on the process of driving organizational goals through the maximization of human potential. Nan recently returned to the Denver area from Nashville, where she served ASTD of Middle Tennessee as Co-VP of Community Relations.

 

In Nan's 18+ years in the field of training and development, she has gained experience as a teacher, trainer, technical writer, instructional designer, project manager and training manager. Her multifaceted career has afforded her opportunities to work with such diverse companies as JD Edwards, PeopleSoft, Oracle, Cracker Barrel, Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee, and Dialysis Clinics, Inc. Notable areas of strength include employee development, teambuilding, organizational development, performance management, mentoring/coaching and leadership development.

 

Nan holds a graduate degree in Human Resource Development from Colorado State University and a BA in Spanish/Psychology/Secondary Education from Muskingum University. Since 2005, she has been certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and is also an active member of both SHRM and CHRA. In her leisure time, Nan enjoys hiking and a variety of outdoor activities, and has acquired numerous construction skills volunteering with Habitat for Humanity.

 

Email: nanberrian@gmail.com / Phone: 303-881-2034

 

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Guy Greenbaum

Vice President of Partnerships and Sponsorships

Guy is an entrepreneur focused on emerging opportunities at the intersection of elearning and marketing. With 15 years of experience in marketing and elearning, he has held key roles at innovative startups in a variety of areas including creative, marketing, business development and production.

Guy attributes his youthful vigor to his pursuit of lifelong learning, and to the pursuit of one very vivacious toddler.

Specialties: Elearning, Marketing, Creative Direction, Project Management, and Web Development.

Check out Guy's "Featured Expert" elearning podcast at SuccessFactors (SAP) at http://ow.ly/eAKgg. Llearn more about Guy at http://guygreenbaum.com.

Email: guyg@astdrmc.org