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Hi! I’m Shelley, a learning professional with 10+ years as a learning and development professional with a Masters of Education in Instructional Design. I love training in all its forms, from informal mentoring to large-scale training events. I think training has the ability to truly transform organizations, improving the lives of employees while achieving and exceeding business outcomes.

From 2010-2015, while in the Canadian Armed Forces, I spent six years in progressively responsible training management roles. As a company-level training manager (250 people), I managed a team of two and coordinated role-specific training while designing confirmatory assessments that were effective and efficient (military exercises). As an organizational training officer (750 people), I managed a team of four in a high-visibility role that required extensive departmental and external stakeholder engagement, cooperation and coordination by building strong partnerships to share resources, solve problems and drive training excellence with shared ownership over solutions. My final military training manager role saw me as a company second in command, supporting the holistic management of a department within a training center of excellence. In this role, I used my mentorship and coaching skills to solve the challenges of running multiple courses with 3^rd party training experts that required rapid onboarding to deliver successful and impactful role-specific training across seniority levels. In the military, you wear many hats and lend a hand wherever needed; I acted as a course officer, evaluating assignments firsthand to a member on a progress review board, evaluating whether candidate should continue with training, which could have implications for their role-worthiness and career.

Between 2015 and 2020 I worked as a freelancer while undertaking care responsibilities for a sick family member. As a freelance learning strategist, I developed and delivered learning strategies and training plans that strengthened workforce capability, supported organizational change, and delivered measurable business results. I partnered with clients to assess needs, close performance gaps, and create engaging learning experiences aligned with culture, goals, and emerging skill demands. My work included advising on building and scaling training teams, annual planning for organizational growth, and succession planning with corresponding training development. I conducted needs analyses, facilitated stakeholder alignment, integrated analytics to measure impact, and guided organizations through culture-building and change management initiatives.

In 2020, I worked as a program manager at the Atlantic Association of CBDCs non-profit. Being plugged into the entrepreneurial and business community, I was immersed in a culture focused on providing value, understanding market dynamics, and meeting businesses’ needs. I conceptualized and developed the CBDC Learning Library to address these needs. I created the CBDC Learning Library during the pandemic to address the skills gaps for rural businesses in getting their businesses online during the rapid digitization that occurred when we went into lockdown. Designing the CBDC Onboarding Course was an important project for me, having experienced the importance of effective onboard training myself. Intending to provide the courses necessary to allow our business clients to upskill effectively, we listened to our community needs and further developed a suite of courses across various curriculum areas.

My most recent role finds me at a life sciences training agency where I work as a senior instructional designer, designing and writing learning content from onboarding and leadership training to sales and communication skills workshops. I’ve designed learning assessment strategies and strategic thinking and planning training resources.

I bring a deep understanding of leadership, organizational behavior and training management every role I’ve been in. As a lifelong learner, my experiences have given me perspective and diverse experience on the receiving end of training in all its forms. I love a challenge, taking a job and making it my own, identifying opportunities, improving every day, pushing the envelope and being proactive in building for the future.