Board of Directors
President - Claudia Mills
With over 20 years of experience in the learning and development field, Claudia is currently an Organizational Development Specialist at Terracon Consulting. Her role includes learning and development programs for company-wide leadership and initiatives to drive and inspire employee engagement. Over her career, she has worked in the mutual fund industry, pediatric health care, and engineering. Claudia has an M.A. in Human Resources with a concentration in Training and Development and a B.A. in Sociology. She is a Development Dimensions International (DDI) certified facilitator and Success Profiles analyst. Claudia is a Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP) after completing the certification in May 2016. She is a member of both the national and the Kansas City chapter of the Association for Talent Development. Outside of work, Claudia enjoys spending time with her family playing board games, attending musical theater performances of her daughters and giving back to the community. |
Past President - Christy Rogers
A degree in education from Kansas State University has supported her career path that included time educating students in a high school classroom, teaching for ExecuTrain, a nationwide technology training company and opening the doors of Training Umbrella in January 2011. Christy is active in the Leawood Chamber and the Kansas City Women’s Advisory Network. She enjoys summer weekends at the lake, reading and discovering new walking trails. |
Christy Rogers is the founder and lead instructor at Training Umbrella, a company that specializes in teaching Microsoft and Google Applications along with providing computer lab and event space rentals. She has been involved in the planning and training of multiple software migrations in the Kansas City area and across the United States. Christy is a Google Certified Individual and Microsoft Office Specialist. She believes that "Knowing the technology is not the same as knowing how to teach it.”President Elect - Peter Nielsen
As Leadership and Organizational Development Consultant for Performance Contracting Inc. (PCI), Pete is focused on company-wide talent management, building and delivering learning and development tools and strategies to enable leaders to execute organizational strategy. Prior to joining PCG, Peter led the global training and development function for several large companies in industries ranging from civil engineering and equipment finance to retail and transportation services. Peter began his career consulting in leadership and organizational development. With a bachelor’s degree from Bethel University, Peter has also completed graduate level coursework in industrial/organizational psychology at New York University and in human resources management at the University of Kansas. He is an expert in communications, management skills and personal effectiveness. |
VP of Marketing & Communications - Andrea Munson
Andrea Munson is currently the Director of Implementation and Projects for eSolutions Inc. In her role, Andrea is able to incorporate her passion for eLearning design and development along with her love of project management. Andrea has been involved in the Learning and Development community for roughly 10 years and was a 2016 KCATD Excellence in Practice award recipient. Andrea is currently pursuing her Master's in Instructional Design and Technology from Emporia State University and holds a Bachelor's in Business Administration from Columbia Southern University. Outside of work, Andrea enjoys spending time with her family and attending various sports games - anything from her daughter's basketball and softball games to watching the Chiefs, Royals, and SportingKC. |
Director of Social Media - Heidi Matthews
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Heidi Matthews is Training Manager for Terracon Consultants Inc., a national professional services firm headquartered in Olathe, Kan. Heidi has more than 20 years of experience in the learning and development field. Her professional background includes roles in management, instructional design, eLearning development, and facilitation building effective training and performance support tools. A former VP of Marketing & Communications of the Association for Talent Development (ATD) Kansas City chapter, she is also a member of the eLearning Guild.
Heidi earned a Bachelor of Arts in Secondary Education, Social Studies from Purdue University. She is a facilitator for the Circles program in Olathe, KS.
Outside of work, she spends time reading, doing art related activities, watching soccer, curling, and spending time with her friends and family.
VP of Programs - Shannon Swift
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. Shannon’s research focused on ways to overcome public speaking anxiety, and she has incorporated those techniques into her training programs for sales and client service professionals. Director of Certification Programs - Mike Edwards
Mike has held various positions within the military from jeep driver to instructor. It was while serving as an instructor and coach that sparked Mike’s interest in the learning profession. In addition to his bachelor’s degree in Humanities, Mike’s academic background includes a master degree in International Relations and a doctorate in Educational Leadership. Director of Events - Angela Viehland
Angela is a Training Specialist at Shook, Hardy, & Bacon L.L.P. She transition into the world of legal training and development to gain additional skills in a new area and bring together her passion of training and development and project management. Prior to Shook, Angela worked in the high tech world as a Lead Trainer and Instructional Designer for Apple Inc. and Training Partner at KUMC, working on the University side supporting their HR teams. Angela has over 15 years of corporate training and development , focused on driving cultural change, team development and facilitation of global technical training programs. Prior to joining the corporate training world, Angela taught middle school and high school math and science, focusing on integrating technology into the classroom before the days of iPhones and iPads. Angela holds a MA in Curriculum Design & Assessment from Columbia College and a B.S in Biology and a B.A. in Psychology from Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri. Angela recently completed her Lean Six Sigma green belt certification and is slated to finish her second Masters in Project Management from Avila University in May 2018. She is active in the KC community, volunteering for WIN for KC and Great Plains SPCA. When she has free time, she is usually training for a crazy athletic event or cooking. |
Shannon Swift has been in the field of training and development for 25 years. Since 2006, she has been training and coaching at Empower Retirement (a division of Great-West Financial),focusing on presentation skills, persuasive conversations, positioning bad news, Gallup’s Discover Your Strengths, and management skills. Previously, Shannon was an independent consultant for Communico, Ltd, and Infinium, training customer service and coaching skills, creativity and innovation. She was a call center manager at H&R Block Financial Advisors, marketing and business development manager for the Institute for Performance Culture, and held a variety of training related roles for American Century Investments.
Roland “Mike” Edwards currently serves as the Training Officer in the Kansas City District office of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Prior to assuming those duties, Mike spent 3 years as an instructor and curriculum developer with the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Mike began his professional career when enlisted in the U.S. Army while still in college. Mike’s military career allowed him to live and work in far flung locales such as Germany, Korea, Kuwait, Angola and Iraq. 
VP of Membership - Amy Swaminathan
Amy is an experienced instructional designer, facilitator and training consultant. She’s recently joined Sprint Connect, LLC, a joint venture between big Sprint and Connected World Services, a UK-based retailer. In her role as a training consultant with Sprint Connect, she is the design lead for the training program that prepares new retail sales reps and store leaders who will be part of 200 plus new store openings by 2017. She has a passion for talent development, spanning a career in Learning & Development over the past fifteen years working with Sprint, CenturyLink, H&R Block, Payless, and now Sprint Connect. Amy earned her B.S. in Communication Management from Missouri State University. Amy is certified Development Dimensions International (DDI) facilitator and is preparing to take the CPLP certification exam this year. She is an ATD Professional Plus member, engaging in local and global education resources for members. Outside of work, Amy enjoys her family, biking, running and travel. Director of Ambassador Program - Tracie Glasscock
Tracie holds an M. A. in Communication from the University of Illinois, Chicago and a B. A. from Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI. In addition to her involvement in local and national ATD, she is an active member of the International Coach Federation. When not working, Tracie enjoys traveling, ballroom dancing and spending time with family. Director of Mentoring Program - Marva Allen-Fowler
Marva is completing her Bachelor’s degree in Communication Arts at Park University, and plans to begin graduate studies in 2016. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and writing, and spending time with her family and friends. |
Tracie is a certified learning and performance professional (CPLP) and principal of BLC Performance Solutions, a consulting firm focused on improving workplace performance with an emphasis on emotional intelligence. She has over 25 years’ experience training, coaching and consulting with companies in the insurance, healthcare and manufacturing industries. Additionally, Tracie works as a consultant in the Continuing Education Department of JCCC.
Marva Allen-Fowler is an Instructional Designer at OptumRx. In her current role, she specializes in creating and maintaining curriculum for the OptumRx Specialty Pharmacy department. She has over 15 years of experience in call center supervision, facilitation of soft-skill and technical training programs, and instructional design of instructor-led and eLearning content. VP of Finance - Bob Barickman
Bob is an EBSCO Information Services Representative and manages sales activities in nine states throughout the Mid-West and Great Plains (MO, MN, KS, TX, OK, AR, LA, NE, IA, ND, SD, WY and MT). Bob is in charge of maintaining and developing sales of all product lines including R & D databases, Journals and eBooks to the corporate market. Bob has more than 15 years of experience in the publishing industry working with Corporate and Academic customers. Bob graduated from the University of Missouri – Kansas City with a BA and BS in Elementary Education. |
Association Executive - Lori MaherLori Maher is the owner of Maher Group, LLC, an association management and consulting firm. |