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ATD Greater Twin Cities

Joy of Learning

Events

ATD-GTC New and Prospective Member Welcome – June 2025

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June 13, 2025

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM – Virtual Event

New to ATD Greater Twin Cities or curious about our chapter programming? We’d like to invite you to a new member welcome and orientation so that you can take advantage of everything that our local chapter has to offer.

Spend an hour with us to learn about our various communities of practice, series of events, and ways to get involved so that you can get involved, meet other practitioners, and experience the joy of learning with ATD-GTC!

This program is FREE for all to attend.

By registering for this event, you consent to the use of your image and likeness in photographs and videos taken at the event. These images may be used by ATD-GTC for promotional purposes, including but not limited to, social media, website, and printed materials. 

Register for the Event

June 2025 – Community Of Practice: Small Yet Mighty L&D Teams – STRATEGY: Is Training Really the Answer?

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June 25, 2025

9:00 AM – 10:30 AM – In-Person @ ModernWell: 2909 S. Wayzata Blvd. Minneapolis, MN 55405

This event is limited to 28 participants

Modernwell is a members-only coworking space. We are excited to hold our events in their beautiful space, but can not extend access beyond the event time. Once the event ends, all attendees are expected to depart the building OR they can purchase a day pass at a discounted rate of $30 for the remainder of the day. Please stop by the ModernWell front desk before or after the event to purchase your pass.

When a performance issue arises, training is often the first suggestion. But that doesn’t mean it’s always the right solution. To work more strategically, we need to confidently determine when training will truly make an impact, and when it won’t. In this session, we’ll explore a powerful starting point, a simple decision-making framework, and a key assumption that will help you move beyond taking every request at face value. We will also discuss practical tips for productive conversations with stakeholders when training isn’t the best solution. By applying this daily, you’ll start to say “yes” and “no” strategically, using your time and expertise more effectively, and step fully into your role as a strategic business partner.

This is the first installment of a three-part series occurring throughout 2025. You are welcome to attend any or all of the sessions as your schedule permits. These sessions will cover three essential aspects of L&D: Strategy, Measurement, and Design. We’ll explore how a Small Yet Mighty L&D team can effectively implement each.

Our Speaker:

Jess Almlie is a former Vice President of Learning and a dynamic leader in the learning and development field. She is passionate about empowering L&D professionals to increase our impact by evolving from order takers to strategic business partners. With three decades of experience and a proven track record of driving strategic initiatives, Jess helps organizations solve talent challenges and improve performance. In addition to consulting and speaking, Jess hosts the podcast, L&D Must Change and is author of the book, L&D Order Taker No More! Become a Strategic Business Partner, to be published by ATD Press in September 2025.

This program is FREE for all ATD-GTC members. Members may bring one complimentary, registered guest. 

By registering for this event, you consent to the use of your image and likeness in photographs and videos taken at the event. These images may be used by ATD-GTC for promotional purposes, including but not limited to, social media, website, and printed materials. 

Register for the Event

Lead and Learn: Instructional Design & Ice Cream 

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June 25, 2025

4:30 PM – 6:00 PM – Sugar Factory, Mall of America

The nearest parking is on the P4 – Florida level of the East Parking Ramp (enter from 24th Avenue South). Use the mall entrance at the Level 3 East doors.

This event is limited to 15 people

Are you curious about instructional design or eager to deepen your expertise? Whether you’re just starting out or a seasoned professional, this interactive session offers a welcoming space to connect, share and grow.

Join us for a semi-structured gathering where participants will explore key topics in the field, including:

  • Essential skills for instructional designers
  • Popular frameworks and go-to resources
  • The evolution of instructional design tools and technology

Bring your insights, questions and curiosity—and yes, there will be ice cream!

This program is FREE for all ATD-GTC members. Members may bring one complimentary, registered guest. 

By registering for this event, you consent to the use of your image and likeness in photographs and videos taken at the event. These images may be used by ATD-GTC for promotional purposes, including but not limited to, social media, website, and printed materials. 

Meet Our Co-Hosts:

Kaydra Weigel, MEd, is a Talent Development Consultant at Noridian Healthcare Solutions. She has a diverse array of facilitation and instructional design experience that ranges from education to talent development. In her current role, she supports the onboarding experience for new employees, develops performance-based instructor-led trainings and eLearning courses, coaches trainers and facilitators in advanced facilitation and engagement techniques, partners with cross-functional teams to support organizational development, and facilitates professional learning opportunities for a company with an employee base of more than 2,000 people. Additionally, she has presented at IUPUI’s Assessment Institute, an event focused on assessment and improvement, and at ATD-GTC’s ‘Unlearning to Drive Change Vision’ event.

Mary Armstrong is an instructional designer at Aveda Corporation. Her previous 20-year career in journalism included staff jobs at the St. Paul Pioneer Press, Minnesota Public Radio and The New York Times. She is the secretary of the board for Wilson’s Image College Scholarship, a nonprofit benefiting African-American scholars from North Minneapolis, and a volunteer for the Association for Talent Development–Greater Twin Cities. Mary has journalism and political science degrees from Indiana University and a graduate certificate in instructional design and technology from Florida State University.

Click Here to Register for the Event

ATD Book Banter Community of Practice – AWE: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life 

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July 17, 2025

11:30 AM – 1:00 PM – Virtual

*You do NOT need to read the book to attend. You, your ideas, and your experiences are enough.

Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder explores how moments of awe can enhance mental and physical health, creativity, and productivity—critical elements for Learning and Development professionals. The book delves into how fostering a sense of awe in the workplace can boost engagement, reduce stress, and inspire innovation. By understanding the science behind awe, L&D professionals can learn how to create environments that cultivate awe, leading to improved outcomes and deeper connections among learners and teams.

Join us! We want to hear your perspective, and welcome you whether you’ve read the book, skimmed the book, read the chapters that interest you, read a summary, watched a YouTube summary, watched an interview with Dacher Keltner, or want to learn from your peers and share your experience. You are welcome!

ATD Book Banter meets bi-monthly on the 3rd Thursday of the month. Club meetings will last 90 minutes and start at 11:30 AM with time for virtual networking.

We believe learning and growing together is fun. In the sessions we will talk about the book, ideas in the book, and how those ideas apply to our work and lives.

Join us for a discussion of Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder, where we’ll explore how small moments of awe can transform learning experiences and drive growth. This book offers valuable insights for L&D professionals looking to inspire greater engagement and connection within their organizations. We look forward to sharing ideas and inspiration with you. Hope to see you there!

This program is FREE for all ATD-GTC members. Members may bring one complimentary, registered guest. 

By registering for this event, you consent to the use of your image and likeness in photographs and videos taken at the event. These images may be used by ATD-GTC for promotional purposes, including but not limited to, social media, website, and printed materials. 

Meet Our Facilitators:

Benjamin Borchert coaches and trains professionals like you on how to give more compelling, engaging, and memorable remote presentations. Benjamin delivers coaching & workshops from his home office in Minneapolis—where he likes to read, play music, and spend time with his wife, two kids, and dog. 

Michelle Kelly, is passionate about helping leaders and companies develop and retain their most valuable assets: people. As the founder of Empowering Performance, Inc., she and her team create engaging learning experiences that impact individual, team, and organizational performance. When not traveling, Michelle enjoys life in Northfield with her family and lots of books.

Click Here to Register for the Event

September 2025 – Community Of Practice: Small Yet Mighty L&D Teams 

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September 4, 2025

9:00 AM – 10:30 AM – In-Person @ ModernWell: 2909 S. Wayzata Blvd. Minneapolis, MN 55405

This event is limited to 28 participants

Modernwell is a members-only coworking space. We are excited to hold our events in their beautiful space, but can not extend access beyond the event time. Once the event ends, all attendees are expected to depart the building OR they can purchase a day pass at a discounted rate of $30 for the remainder of the day. Please stop by the ModernWell front desk before or after the event to purchase your pass.

A learning strategy builds buy-in and solidly connects learning to the business for greater impact. As small, yet mighty teams, we often seek greater impact in our organizations, and the tips you will learn and discussions you will have during this interactive session are sure to help. We invite you to connect with other small, yet mighty team members to learn, discuss, and share your insights into learning strategies.

This program is FREE for all ATD-GTC members. Members may bring one complimentary, registered guest. 

By registering for this event, you consent to the use of your image and likeness in photographs and videos taken at the event. These images may be used by ATD-GTC for promotional purposes, including but not limited to, social media, website, and printed materials. 

Register for the Event

September 2025 Change Leadership Community of Practice 

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September 12, 2025

9:30 AM – 11:00 AM – In-Person @ Location TBD

This event is limited to 50 participants

Join us for a highly interactive peer-led Community of Practice (CoP) event that encourages authentic networking by providing member-led discussions on a Change Leadership topic to advance the thought leadership in the area of Change.  

This program is FREE for all ATD-GTC members. Members may bring one complimentary, registered guest. 

By registering for this event, you consent to the use of your image and likeness in photographs and videos taken at the event. These images may be used by ATD-GTC for promotional purposes, including but not limited to, social media, website, and printed materials. 

Click Here to Register for the Event