Board of Directors
President - Amy Swaminathan
Amy Swaminathan, CPLP® loves helping others reach their full potential. She’s a champion for driving your own career through ongoing development, learning from others, and knows the value of member networking and development offered by ATD global and ATDKC membership. Over the past 19 years, Amy has grown her talent development career experience in Kansas City, working at Sprint, H&R Block, Payless and a start-up joint venture, backed by Sprint. She’s an experienced instructional designer, facilitator and consultant. In her current position at Terracon Consulting in Organizational Development, she is consulting with business line leaders to impact employee development and change adoption. Amy earned her B.S. in Communication Management from Missouri State University. She is a certified Development Dimensions International (DDI) leadership facilitator and recently earned the ATD Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP). She finds great joy serving as an advocate for protecting the elderly and making memories with her husband and son. Contact me for more information. |
Past President - Shannon Swift
Shannon Swift has been in the field of training and development for over 25 years. Currently, she is an Organizational Development Consultant at Lockton Companies. Her role includes designing and delivering Lockton’s leadership programs, building talent acquisition tools and training, managing the assessments used for hiring and coaching, and competency identification and career development. What she enjoys most about her role at Lockton is not only helping Lockton’s associates grow, but also establishing the infrastructure necessary for Lockton to grow exponentially in the coming years. She has held training and development roles at Empower Retirement (formerly J.P. Morgan), Infinium, H&R Block Financial Advisors, and American Century Investments. Shannon earned a bachelor’s degree in music-vocal performance from Rice University and a Masters of Education degree with a focus on adult learning from Park University. She is an ATD National member and has been a member of ATDKC off and on throughout most of her career. Outside of work, Shannon enjoys spending time with her family, watching birds, collecting vintage clothing, reading, and dabbling in the arts. Contact me for more information. President Elect- Art Gangel
Art Gangel is a learning and leadership development professional with over two decades of professional experience. He is a seasoned training developer and facilitator who demonstrates excellence in using Adult Learning principles to create innovative learning solutions. His passion is to help people grow and flourish in all aspects of life. Art is certified to train VitalSmarts Influencer program and is also a certified Kolbe consultant.
Contact me for more information. Director of Volunteers - Tyler Dixon
I am a Learning & Development Business Partner at the Kansas City National Security Campus managed by Honeywell. My focus is managing L&D projects for the manufacturing division. I’m always looking for a new show to binge watch. Let me know your recommendations! Contact me for more information. VP of Marketing & Communications -Tracy Roudebush
Tracy has a B.A. from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. Her professional development includes certification in Criterion-Referenced Instruction, as well as numerous courses from industry leaders such as Langevin, Harless, and Darryl Sink. Tracy is passionate about helping her clients select learning solutions for the right reasons. In her personal time, she enjoys cooking, reading, yoga, and spending time with her family and friends. Contact me for more information. Director of Social Media - Megan Galloway
Megan Galloway is a talent development and culture leader at nbkc bank. She believes all companies can unlock fulfillment and engagement for their people with the right tools and conversations. She specializes in learning and development growth at organizations that have not formally had talent development programs. Previously, she led a ground-up training program to rank #19 in the ATD Best Awards. Megan has her undergraduate degree from the University of Kansas and her MBA from the University of Colorado. Contact me for more information. Director of Technology - Rachel Haynes
Rachel Haynes has been in the training and development field for 10 years and has worked in education for almost 20 years. She currently works in Staff & Organizational Development at Johnson County Community College (JCCC). Her role includes analyzing, designing and implementing technical training to JCCC’s employees. Rachel earned a bachelor’s degree in Developmental Psychology from The University of Kansas and a Master of Science degree in Instructional Design & Technology from Emporia State University. She also completed a graduate certificate for eLearning & Online Teaching through Emporia State University. Outside of work, Rachel enjoys spending time with her family, reading, watching sports, and volunteering at her two sons’ school. Contact me for more information. VP of Programs - Piper Childs
Piper Stone is a talent development professional with over 15 years of experience, specializing in onboarding, team coaching, and culture evolution. She currently serves as the AVP of Enrollment at MidAmerica Nazarene University leading teams who focus on program recruitment for working professionals planning to start, or finish a degree while working full-time and juggling their many other responsibilities. Piper has a BA in English and a BS in Education from Kansas State University, and an MA in Conflict Management and Dispute Resolution from Baker University. She was a nominee for the Kansas City Business Journal NextGen Leaders class of 2019. Becoming a local and national member of ATD has fed her hunger and personal drive for continued professional development. As the VP of Programs for the Kansas City chapter she is thrilled to provide development opportunities for the Kansas City community by securing programming for monthly chapter meetings and webinars. She also works alongside our Director of Events and Director of SIGs to plan special interest group meetings, EIP awards, and the Fall Conference. This year Piper will be working with our new Director of Geographical Interest Groups (GIGs) to help a few surrounding cities join the fun. When she is off the clock, Piper plays volleyball, reads, teaches fitness classes, and volunteers for a few animal shelters in the KC area. She and her husband have fostered over 160 dogs and puppies in the last two years, and have three personal dogs of their own. Contact me for more information. Director of Events-Angela Buzard
Angela has a passion for teaching and learning! She fits right at home in her role at K-State Olathe as Manager of Training and Development. She is charged with developing and managing all campus continuing education programs and activities that enhance workforce development in Greater Kansas City. This work includes the delivery of targeted workshops, seminars, conferences and customized trainings, largely in the animal health, food science, agriculture, and engineering sectors. Prior to joining K-State Olathe, Angela served in a variety of training and development roles for over 10 years at Wichita State University. While there, she developed, managed and delivered self-supporting training programs to a variety of state and local government audiences on a technical and management topics. Angela earned her master's degree in public administration along with graduate certificates in economic development, city/county management and public finance from Wichita State University. She has a bachelor's degree in environmental studies from the University of Kansas. Outside of work, Angela enjoys being outdoors, reading, and spending time with family. Contact me for more information. Director of SIGs - Crystal Askew
Crystal has spent the past year developing and implementing the onboarding special interest group and has now stepped into this newly created role overseeing all of the special interest groups. She’s passionate about creating opportunities for people to connect and learn from one another. In her free time she enjoys hanging out with her husband, son and puppies. Contact me for more information. Director of GIGs - Jana Meyers
Jana Meyers is the Manager of Corporate University and Delivery at H&R Block. Her passion is for growing leaders and helping each person find the leader within themselves. She currently runs an internal program at Block with associates and leaders to develop presentation and facilitation skills. Over the last 20 years, she has worked for both small and large companies in insurance, commercial real estate, investments, and tax preparation services. She has overseen teams in call center support and operations, knowledge management, consulting, and learning and development. Jana has a B.A. in Business from Baker University, and an MBA in Finance from Keller Graduate School of Management. She earned an MSEd in Adult Learning and Leadership and a Graduate Certificate in Leadership Dynamics from Kansas State University. Jana is a Lean Six Sigma certified Yellow Belt and serves as adjunct faculty at Baker University, teaching Management and Leadership. Outside of work, she enjoys reading, time with friends and family, and classic movies. Contact me for more information. vp of membership - paul christianson
His past roles with SCI have included Funeral Director, Location Manager, Regional Vice President – Training, Area Vice President, and Field Training Manager. Paul has a B.A. in English from Carthage College (Kenosha, WI), a Master of Divinity from Luther Seminary (St. Paul, MN) and a B.S in Mortuary Science from the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN). When away from work, Paul enjoys attending live concerts with his wife, Lee Ann, learning to play guitar, reading and building his music collection (digital, vinyl, CD and cassette). Contact me for more information. Director of Member Outreach - Debbie Rulo
I have been in Workforce Development for 29 years. I have worked at Johnson County Community college for the last 23 years. My current role at JCCC is Direct of Workforce Development and Strategic Partnerships. I work with businesses and a variety of organizations within the metropolitan area. I earned a bachelor’s degree in General Business Administration from Kansas State University and a Master of Science in Management degree from Baker University. When I’m not working, I like to spend time at our cabin, deep in the woods, with family and friends enjoying the great outdoors. Contact me for more information. Director of Membership Data - Dee Ruggles
Since discovering her passion for training more than fifteen years ago, Dee has been obsessed with learning about learning – taking classes, certifications, or hanging out with the best and brightest colleagues and mentors. As a Learning and Development Consultant, her recent focus has been guiding clients to embrace modern learning innovations that drive success in today’s four-generation diverse workplaces. She is designing innovative ways to create amazing content and a collaborative learning experience with multi-generational appeal. Dee is delighted to join the ATD KC board as the Director of Mentoring to aid in the learning, development and growth of our talented members. Any free time is spent with her family or studying to earn the CPLP designation. Contact me for more information. VP of Finance - Sally Koppy
As our chapter’s VP of Finance, I serve as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the chapter. The VP of Finance is member of the executive board who manages the assets of the chapter and has the following responsibilities: keeps current and accurate financial records has a thorough knowledge of ATD’s Chapter Affiliation Requirements (CARE) works with the VP of Membership, the VP of Programs, and other officers to ensure the chapter’s financial health ATDKC has provided me with an incredible network of talent development professionals and learning opportunities. I am committed to the chapter. It is my intention to continue leading, energizing, and engaging the chapter’s members and board of directors. I am a supervisor of Instructional Design at Optum Enterprise, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group. I married my childhood sweetheart. I have three daughters and eight grandchildren. In my free time, I enjoy travel, hiking, camping, and motorcycling. Contact me for more information. |
As the Director of Volunteers, I match volunteers to volunteer opportunities. I serve as a contact for volunteers and work to ensure their needs are met. I didn’t realize there were so many others in the field of People
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Tracy Roudebush has been in the field of training and development for 20-plus years. Currently, she is a Director and Learning Consultant in the Professional Development Program at PwC. Her role includes learning strategy consultation and creation, gap identification and assessment, and leadership of teams providing learning design and development services for PwC's external clients. Over her career she has designed, developed, and managed successful programs for large-scale corporate clients and high-growth international startups. 
Crystal Askew has been in the field of human resources for over 10 years. Currently, she works at Burns & McDonnell and leads their new employee onboarding efforts. Crystal earned her master of science in organizational development from Avila University. She also completed a graduate certificate in leadership coaching. 
Paul is a Senior Learning Manager for Service Corporation International, a funeral and cemetery management company, where he has worked for over 26 years. His present role focuses on the planning and development of training products aimed at improving the overall performance of the company’s associates. This includes training design, curriculum development, and project management.
As Director of Member Outreach, I provide monthly debriefs of activities to the VP of Membership and work with ambassadors, making contact with new members each month. I may also help with Check-in at monthly meetings/events and looks forward to meeting new members!
Dee Ruggles is a technologist-turned-project manager-turned-trainer. She earned a BS in Computer Information Systems, only to discover that she didn’t like programming computers. So, she used her tech knowledge to become a technology project manager.That led to becoming a technical writer, and then trainer to translate the geek speak into information palatable to diverse groups – the board of directors or Patty Public.
Director of Finance Reports and Chapter Secretary - Mikki Johnston
The greatest strength of ATD Kansas City is its membership, and Mikki has enjoyed forging friendships and collaborations with a variety of learning professionals from the area. The resources offered by ATD and ATD Kansas City have proven invaluable, and she is eager to give back to the organization. Currently working developing training for customer service professionals at H&R Block, the bulk of Mikki’s professional experience has been in the world of K-12 education. A yarn enthusiast – both knitting and crocheting – in her free time, she is married to her college sweetheart and acts as social director for three teenagers. Contact me for more information. Director Of Strategic Partnerships - Kara DoakAs our chapter's Director of Strategic Partnerships, I'm honored to lead activities related to securing partners, sponsors, and advertisers. We're grateful to these organizations as they allow us to continue offering wonderful programming to the Greater Kansas City professional Talent Development Community. As the premier community for knowledge sharing and though leadership in the Talent Development space, ATDKC has provided me with tremendous network to learn from and grow within, and a chance to work along side a fantastic group of volunteers! As a Client Partner with FranklinCovey, I work with companies to identify pockets of greatness within their organizations and scale those behaviors organization-wide. Specifically, I work with companies to develop leaders, execute strategy, build high-trust cultures, increase productivity, and improve customer loyalty. I also love serving as a Mentor with my daughter's high school FIRST Robotics team. Contact me for more information. |
Mikki will be filling two roles on the ATD Kansas City BOD: Chapter Secretary and Director of Financial Reporting. As Chapter Secretary, she is responsible for accurately documenting the official business of the BOD. The role of Director of Financial Reporting is a support position designed to assist the VP of Finance.