After completing 50 interviews surveying the jobs and work of L&D professionals, Surveying the L&D Landscape host Abigail Wheeler Charlu sits down with her boss and mentor Emily Frieze-Kemeny to recap learnings from the 50 podcast episodes.

Timestamps:

(00:00) - Introduction and background on Emily Frieze-Kemeny

(03:30) - Abigail's journey to L&D and starting the podcast

(10:00) - Key learnings from 50 episodes about L&D work

(16:30) - Importance of connecting L&D to performance

(22:00) - Challenges of creating relevant, accessible content

(28:00) - Critical role of leadership development

(33:00) - Reflections on interviewing L&D professionals

(38:00) - Variety of L&D roles and responsibilities

(45:00) - Advice for people interested in L&D careers

(50:00) - Abigail's experience working with Emily

(55:00) - Closing reflections on the podcast journey

In episode 50 of the Surveying the L&D Landscape podcast, I sit down with Bree Champagne to analyze her role as a Organizational Development and Effectiveness Expert at Bayer.

During our conversation, we unpack:

• How talent marketplaces help companies become skills-based organization and prepare for the future of work
• Various methods you can leverage to communicate, education, motivate, and ensure someone adopts a new skill, behavior, or tool
• A workshop she led with leaders in the organization to help increase talent profile adoption
• How she and her team conducts retrospectives after each project completion to evaluate efficacy and increase their impact
• AND SO MUCH MORE!

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Bree Champagne currently works as an Organizational Development and Effectiveness Expert on the Talent Impact Team at Bayer, where she supports the North America organization enabling change and driving culture to design the organization of the future.

Bree is a seasoned talent management, change management, and trusted HR business partner with experience in the fields of human resources across multiple industries. She is motivated by creating environments where people can realize their career dreams and reach their full potential, embracing change and building a growth mindset.

Her goal is to increase employee satisfaction and empower employees to take control of their career.

In episode 49 of the Surveying the L&D Landscape podcast, I sit down with Jesmin Mejia to unpack her role as a training and development specialist.

During our conversation, we unpack:

• How sitting under the Operations function of the business helps her and her team closely support the work of employees
• An effective system her team utilizes to receive, evaluate, and manage training and development requests
• How she helped train employees on the adoption of a new company-wide dashboard application

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Jesmin Mejia moved to the US on her own when she was 21. She had to navigate language, employment, and cultural barriers, which sparked her passion for Human Resources. Through diverse roles in HR, Jesmin honed her skills, eventually transitioning to Learning and Development. In her current role, she focuses on instructional design, leadership development programs, facilitation, and employee onboarding. She’s led by curiosity and a desire to continuously learn and evolve. Her goal is to drive organizational success and nurture employee talents.

In episode 48 of the Surveying the L&D Landscape podcast, I sit down with Jospeh Diaz to analyze his role as a Sales Enablement coordinator.

Joseph Diaz is an instructional designer with skills in project management, UX/UI design, and sales enablement. A former Spanish and Portuguese tutor, Joseph holds a master’s degree in Instructional Psychology and Technology.

During our conversation, we dive into:

• The L&D adjacent world of sales enablement
• How he gets to have a seat at the table and consult stakeholders on issues and potential training solutions
• Why knowledge management is critical to his approach, as he strives to make resources and tools easy to find and easy to apply
• AND SO MUCH MORE!

Let's dive in!

In episode 47 of the Surveying the L&D Landscape podcast, I sit down with JD Dillon to analyze his role as Chief Learning Architect at Axonify.

During our conversation, we unpack:

• Why he advocates for learning and design that fits operational realities
• How his company uses just-in-time microlearning and stretches onboarding over time for frontline success
• Why he obsesses over helping people and the building of solutions

ABOUT THE GUEST:

JD Dillon is a veteran talent development leader, former Disney cast member and dedicated Back to the Future aficionado.

JD became a learning and performance expert over two decades working in operations and talent management with dynamic organizations, including The Walt Disney Company, Kaplan, Inc. and AMC Entertainment. A respected international speaker and author of The Modern Learning Ecosystem, JD continues to apply his passion for helping people do their best work every day in his roles as Axonify's Chief Learning Officer and founder of LearnGeek, an insights and advisory practice.

You can find JD riding his Peloton, refusing to stand in line at Orlando theme parks or online at LearnGeek.co.

Ways to continue the conversation with JD:

• Connect with him on LinkedIn
• Follow his podcast In The Know
• Listen in to his interview on Jess Almlie's podcast L&D Must Change

In episode 46 of Surveying the L&D Landscape podcast, I sit down with Gretchen Pettet to analyze her role as Senior Talent Development Consultant.

During our conversation, we unpack concepts like:

☑️ Empowering individual contributors to drive change as informal leaders

☑️ Using leadership competencies as roadmaps to intentionally connect learning to business goals

☑️ Guiding leaders to model competencies like emotional intelligence and relational skills

☑️ Helping employees align their unique skills/passions with impactful opportunities across the organization

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Gretchen Pettet is a passionate and engaging leadership consultant and coach skilled in all aspects of talent and organizational development. Seriously, you name the L&D landscape role, Gretchen has filled it. Trainer, skills specialist, customer service effectiveness lead, performance consultant, VP of Talent and Culture -- she’s truly done it all. Gretchen is a high-energy optimist who believes anything is possible with a great team and actively works to grow and develop others through relationships built on mutual respect and trust. Connect with Gretchen on LinkedIn to continue the conversation.

In episode 45 of the Surveying the L&D Landscape podcast, I sit down with Stephen Mostrom to discuss his [former] role as L&D Product Manager at Silicon Valley Bank.

During our conversation, we unpack how Stephen:

☑ Built a peer-based, learning community program, making it fun to practice and adopt new skills

☑ Utilized agile project management tailored to business cycles and stakeholder needs when managing L&D programs

☑ Demonstrated his impact through metrics like retention and skills fostered across the organization

☑ AND SO MUCH MORE!

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Stephen Mostrom spent a decade building internal L&D programs first at Bank of America and later at Silicon Valley Bank.

Stephen has several letters behind his name – JD, MBA, PMP. But he says that his most important titles are: DaDa and Founder. In the last year, Stephen made the jump to entrepreneurship. He’s the Founder of Develop Daily, a career development consultancy firm. When Stephen’s not delivering workshops, he’s busy reading and crushing it on LinkedIn, where he publishes his Develop Daily newsletter. He enjoys hiking, red wine, podcasts, traveling, and a good indie film.

WANT MORE OF STEPHEN?

Connect with Stephen on LinkedIn and follow his Develop Daily content!

In episode 44 of the Surveying the L&D Landscape podcast, I sit down with my friend and mentor Jyssaka Myers as the Retail Learning and Development Manager at Commerce Bank.

During our conversation, we unpacked how she:

☑ Translated her experience across industries into the corporate L&D space

☑ Implemented an AI coaching pilot and key lessons learned

☑ Defines metrics and success for learning programs aligned to business goals

ABOUT THE GUEST:

Jyssaka Meyers serves as the Retail Learning and Development Manager at Commerce Bank, where she drives strategic learning initiatives to enhance employee performance and fuel organizational growth.

With a master’s degree in communication and a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership, Dr. Meyers leverages her expertise to shape effective learning strategies aligned with business objectives.

At Commerce Bank, Dr. Meyers is instrumental in empowering employees through innovative learning programs and technology-driven solutions. Her dedication to fostering a culture of continuous improvement and maximizing workforce potential underscores her commitment to driving excellence in performance and engagement.

WANT MORE OF JYSSAKA?

Connect with her on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jyssakameyers/