About the Editor and Contributors
The Editor
Larry Israelite
Larry Israelite was born and raised on a small chicken farm in Upper Black Eddy, Pennsylvania. Since moving to the big city, he has spent more than 30 years trying to answer the question, how can we improve business results through learning?
Currently, he is the senior vice president of assessment solutions at Smarterer, a Boston-based startup that provides testing technology to quantify skills and inform professional opportunities. At Smarterer, he is responsible for developing a comprehensive library of assessments that helps current or aspiring professionals make better decisions about their interests, capabilities, and career opportunities. He has held senior learning and talent management positions at several large organizations, including Liberty Mutual Insurance, Pitney Bowes, John Hancock Financial Services, and Oxford Health Plans. He holds a bachelor’s degree in theater from Washington College, as well as a master’s degree in instructional media and a doctorate in educational technology from Arizona State University.
The Contributors
Michael W. Allen
Michael W. Allen, chairman and CEO of Allen Interactions and Allen Learning Technologies, has had a long and lauded career in e-learning. He has worked on IBM’s Coursewriter system; directed research and development for Control Data Corporation’s PLATO system; developed the Authorware software, one of the most successful authoring tools; and introduced ZebraZapps, the most advanced visual authoring and multiplatform publishing system. He has been recognized with prestigious career awards from ATD, Ellis Island, the eLearning Guild, and many other organizations. And he has authored eight books on effective e-learning, including the ATD bestseller Leaving ADDIE for SAM (ASTD Press 2012). He is an adjunct associate professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School. He holds a doctorate in educational psychology from the Ohio State University.
Tina Busch
Tina Busch is the director of human resources for Kimberly-Clark’s Global CFO Organization, leading the end-to-end talent lifecycle through the human resources business partner and functional talent management teams. With more than 15 years of experience leading learning organizations and driving global talent initiatives, Busch’s work centers on the passionate belief that people and their knowledge are an organization’s most vital competitive advantage. She is based in Dallas, Texas, and holds a doctorate in human resource development from Texas A&M University.
Mindy Jackson
Melinda (Mindy) Jackson is an instructional designer at Enspire (www.enspire.com), an industry leader in custom learning and simulation development. She enjoys the challenge of designing learning experiences that inspire change and enable performance improvement. She has presented on the topics of games, simulations, and other interactive learning environments at such conferences as SXSW, Training, TechKnowledge, ISPI, and I/ITSE. She is published in books, journals, and magazines, including E-Learning Magazine, On the Horizon, Journal of Educational Computing Research, and Lies About Learning (ASTD Press 2006). She received a master’s degree in instructional technology from the University of Texas at Austin.
Doug Lynch
Doug Lynch, the chief academic officer for CorpU, has been a leading thinker in corporate learning for almost 20 years. Before joining CorpU, he was the vice dean at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education and also served as a director for the Wharton School’s Aresty Institute of Executive Education and as a senior fellow at the Fels Institute of Government. A frequent speaker at conferences around the world, he has published widely in both education innovation and work-based learning. He recently served as the chair of ATD’s Public Policy Committee, spearheading its initiative Bridging the Skills Gap. In 2013, he was voted by Harvard Kennedy School’s EducationNext one of the most important thinkers in education. He holds a doctorate and an MPhil in economics and education from Columbia University. He did doctoral work in evaluation at Arizona State University, where he also received a bachelor’s degree in economics. In addition, he has a master’s of business administration in international finance from New York University.
Elliott Masie
Elliott Masie is a leading researcher, analyst, thought leader, and futurist in the fields of learning, collaboration, and workforce effectiveness. He is the chair of The Learning CONSORTIUM, a coalition of 200 global companies focused on the future of learning and knowledge. In addition, he is the host of Learning 2015 and the CEO of The MASIE Center, a think tank focused on the intersection of learning, education, and technology. He serves as an adviser to major companies, government agencies, and educational institutions on the changing nature of learning and knowledge as a component of performance and readiness. Recognized as one of the first analysts to use the term e-learning, he has 30 years of experience as a vendor-neutral advocate and analyst of the knowledge field. He is the author of more than a dozen books, including Big Learning Data (ASTD Press 2013). He has served on a wide range of corporate and nonprofit boards, including Skidmore College, the Central Intelligence Agency University Board, and the FIRST Robotics Competition.
Annmarie Neal
Annmarie Neal is the former chief talent officer at Cisco Systems and First Data Corporation. She is also the founder of the Center of Leadership Innovation—a worldwide consulting firm that specializes in business innovation and transformation through leadership and organizational excellence. She brings more than 25 years of global experience consulting with business executives and senior leaders across a range of industries to her writing, speaking engagements, business management, and consultation. She is the author of the recently published book Leading From the Edge: Global Executives Share Strategies for Success (ASTD Press 2013).
Daniel Sonsino
Daniel Sonsino is the vice president of talent management, learning, and development at Polycom, where he is responsible for global talent acquisition and management. He has 23 years of human resources and talent expertise with such companies as Polycom, HP, Raytheon, Bank of America, Sun Microsystems, and others. His focus is on building individual, team, and organizational capabilities in global companies.
Terry Traut
Terence (Terry) Traut is the president and CEO of Entelechy, a training design and development company based in New Hampshire that creates customized performance solutions for companies throughout the world. He has more than 25 years of training and management experience, and he has worked with more than 50 of today’s top leadership gurus, including Jack Welch, Warren Bennis, Marshall Goldsmith, Bill George, and John Kotter. He has designed, developed, and delivered hundreds of courses in the areas of management, sales, customer service, and training. And he has developed training in a variety of media, including web-based training, computer-based training, self-paced instruction, and classroom training. He holds a bachelor’s degree in education from St. Cloud University in Minnesota and a master’s degree in human services administration from Boston University. He has also completed all coursework for a doctorate in human development and education from Boston University.
Edward A. Trolley
Edward A. Trolley is widely recognized for having started the training outsourcing industry when he orchestrated the first comprehensive training outsourcing deal between DuPont and The Forum Corporation in 1993. After joining The Forum Corporation, he continued to advance this outsourcing concept with leading companies such as The Moore Corporation, NCR, Texas Instruments, KPMG Canada, SmithKline Beecham, and Irving Oil. He has orchestrated more comprehensive training outsourcing relationships than anyone on the planet. He is co-author of the book Running Training Like a Business: Delivering Unmistakable Value (Berrett-Koehler 1999). He is also a contributing author to two ATD books: In Action: Building Learning Capability Through Outsourcing (ASTD Press 2006) and Lies About Learning (ASTD Press 2006). He is a highly requested presenter at industry conferences, and has spoken at major events such as the ATD International Conference & Exposition, TechLearn, World Outsourcing Summit, HRO World Outsourcing Conference, and, most recently, Outsourcing Summit 2014 in India. His concepts and ideas have been included in hundreds of business publications around the globe.
David Vance
David Vance is executive director of the Center for Talent Reporting and co-author of Talent Development Reporting Principles (TDRp). He was president of Caterpillar University from 2001 to 2007, and was named 2006 Chief Learning Officer of the Year by Chief Learning Officer magazine. Caterpillar was named Corporate University of the Year in 2004 and ranked number one in the 2005 ASTD BEST Awards. He is the author of The Business of Learning: How to Manage Corporate Training to Improve Your Bottom Line (Poudre River Press 2010). He received a bachelor’s degree in political science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1974, a master’s degree in business administration from Indiana University South Bend in 1983, and a doctorate in economics from the University of Notre Dame in 1988. He teaches in the doctorate programs at Bellevue University and the University of Southern Mississippi, and he is also the lead independent director for State Farm Mutual Funds.