People you might find interesting

These are the people I think of as my informal board of directors: the people I learn from (among others, certainly); the people I seek out for advice. In alphabetical order...

Gary Dickelman Gary worked for me at Aetna some years ago. He played a critical role in advocacy for performance support systems, versus smaller-scale tools. The strengths I attribute to Gary are his understanding of performance centered design from the IS department perspective, and his major contributions to design methodology. Today, Gary is a consultant developer of performance centered systems and manages "EPSScentral".

Gloria Gery Gloria is a consultant recognized as a pioneer in articulating the notion of performance support. She offers the triple-threat combination of being articulate, outspoken, and right. Her sense of irony is well honed and her presentations always have the audience laughing - intentionally, I should add. I owe Gloria a special debt: as my predecessor and founder of the learning technologies function at Aetna, she built the fine sandbox in which my staff and I played happily for many years.

Judy Issokson is an original thinker, original doer, and lifestyle pioneer (she lives on a cabin cruiser, got married in a hot air balloon, and shares ownership of an award-winning restaurant with her husband, Chef Willie Pelletier). Professionally, Judy got her start in the interactive video era working for ITS-Spectrum Interactive. From there she went to Apple, Sun, HP, and Agilent before setting out as a consultant. While versed in technology-based solutions and learning measurement, he focus recently has been on leadership development.

Malcolm Roberts Malc is responsible for the Distributed Learning and Performance Support unit at the Bank of Montreal (and affiliates like Harris Trust in the U.S.). His understanding of technology applied to learning is broad and deep, but what sets him apart in my mind is his skills in building partnerships with his business sponsors. Case in point: only about 10% of his staff of 80 or so are paid from his budget. All the rest are funded directly by his clients. In my experience, it's rare to find theoretical, technical skills and business savvy in the same person. Malc (and Karie Willyerd, mentioned below) are notable exceptions.

Ian Rose Ian is a Vancouver-based consultant who I've worked with many times in the past few years. Ian managed several of the best-practice studies sponsored by members of the STEP consortium. His work is simply first-class. Lately, he has begun offering a new service: presentations (his own and those of trusted colleagues) on topics critical to the success of training and organizational development objectives.

Marc Rosenberg Marc is a former ISPI President, AT&T STEP representative, and a pioneer of performance support. Several years ago, he began a new phase of his career, leaving AT&T to consult for OmniTech Consulting Group, later becoming a principal of DiamondCluster International, and now independent. Like Gloria Gery, Marc is a great speaker, passionately outspoken on issues of corporate learning, knowledge management, and performance. His book on e-Learning is a must-read.

Chris Shafer When Chris worked for me at Aetna, he was responsible for some of our most advanced designs - so advanced in fact that I still demonstrate them today, roughly ten years later (an eternity in computer-years). Chris now works for ModemMedia. Several years ago, Chris helped me design this web site. If there's some aspect of it that you like, it was probably his idea. (Conversely, anything you don't like is probably my fault.) If you'd like to see more of Chris' work, please visit his web site. First and foremost an artist, if you ever meet Chris you must ask to see his milk-carton animal collection. Fantastic!

Karie Willyerd Karie is one of those all-too-rare people who combine an advanced theoretical interest in performance improvement with the business savvy essential to earning "permission" to implement her ideas. What a combination: someone with the energy and clout to get the right things done! Karie invited me work with her at Lockheed Martin in Fort Worth (they build F-16 fighters and parts of the F-22). Under her leadership, we pioneered a comprehensive technology-based approach to individual learning plans linked to company strategy. I also worked with her designing a technology strategy in support of executive leadership at HJ Heinz. It has always been my pleasure to work with her: I feel I always learn as much from her as I contribute to her projects. Karie is now Vice President of Leadership Talent for Solectron in the Silicon Valley.