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| Lara Azcona | ![]() |
Volunteer Team
We couldn't do what we do without volunteers!
Michelle Barrett Volunteer | ![]() Your Name Here Volunteer |
2022 Board Member Profiles
Samuel Apata is a creative thinker with passion for creating motivational, meaningful, and memorable learning that deeply engages learners, develops skills, and inspires better performance. He has a bachelor’s degree in Animation and an M.A. in Instructional Systems Design, both from the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). In his current role as the President of the ATD Fort Worth/Mid-Cities Chapter, he works with a dedicated board of directors to create value for members and the larger community through effective talent development programs. Samuel is also a Senior Instructional Designer with over seven years of experience developing and retaining talent for global organizations like T-Mobile, American Airlines, GM Financial, and currently Fossil Group. Prior to these roles, Samuel worked in advertising as a Copywriter, and Branding Consultant. He is a regular contributor to the Articulate E-Learning Heroes Community where his projects have been featured multiple times. He currently leads the Special Interest Group (SIG) on e-learning. You can check out his website and portfolio at http://samuelapata.com/. |
President Elect - Lara Azcona
Last year as I prepared to return to my corporate career, leaving the public-school classroom, I found ATD. Because I live midway between Dallas and Fort Worth, I chose to join both ATD Dallas and ATD Fort Worth/Mid-Cities. I met fantastic people in both organizations and had the opportunity to co-chair SWLS, the ATD Dallas conference for learning professionals. At ATD Fort Worth/Mid-Cities, I attended every chapter meeting and special interest group (SIG) meeting that was offered from the time I joined in January through October and was never disappointed. The speakers at this group are among the absolute best of any professional organization in the metroplex. As a continuous learner, I can’t wait to see what’s in store for next year at ATD Fort Worth/Mid-Cities! Top |
Past President - Jeremy Jameson Jeremy Jameson is a leadership development coach and consultant, a Resilience-Building Leadership Program instructor, and a HeartMath Add Heart facilitator. His purpose is to help all types of leaders become more self-aware, more effective at building resilient teams and more content in life. Jeremy retired as a Naval Flight Officer in 2018 after a 20-year career in the U.S. Navy. During his military service, he qualified as a Weapons and Tactics Instructor for the Navy and Air Force and logged more than 2,500 hours of flight time in multiple aircraft, most of which were during combat in the skies over Afghanistan and Iraq. Jeremy also served as a tactical leader in two squadrons, taught Leadership and Ethics to graduating seniors at Old Dominion University, directed talent management for the Tactical Support Wing in Fort Worth, Texas and commanded the Navy Operational Support Center in Cincinnati, Ohio. Today, Jeremy works with various companies to improve their business resilience and to establish strong leaders and strong teams through his companies, Collective Resilience Institute and Alpha-Logos. He supports the learning and development profession by serving as a volunteer leader of the Association for Talent Development Fort Worth/Mid-Cities Chapter, an organization which champions professionals in talent development through outstanding programs and opportunities to build relationships. Top |
Director of Finance - Rebecca Johnson TBD |
VP of Hospitality - Open
TBD |
Vera Wallace is a Senior Technical Writer and Trainer with over 18 years’ experience. She has a background of improving operations by developing. informative documentation and training materials. She strives to share information, whether in written, verbal, or digital format, in a manner that others can receive, retain, and implement. As the daughter of a career Army officer, she lived in and traveled to a variety of states and countries. She credits these experiences with instilling in her an appreciation for meeting new people and learning about different cultures and customs. Being comfortable meeting new people and respecting diversity helps her research programming ideas from a myriad of people and sources. Vera has been a member of ATD for over seven years. She has been involved in our local ATD chapter, ATD Fort Worth/Mid-Cities, for more than four years. She appreciates how the resources provided by the local and national organizations helped her to enhance her facilitation skills and adult learning knowledge. She has created and/or facilitated over 900 training classes on numerous topics including computer training, soft skills, and mortgage industry topics. Her soft skills course “Keeping It Professional,” while originally developed for one division, was deemed so useful it was changed to required training for the entire company in all three divisions. Vera graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BA degree. In her free time, Vera enjoys playing the piano and singing (especially with choirs and Praise teams). She is an avid reader and movie fan. She enjoys being outdoors and appreciating the beauty of nature. |
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VP of Marketing and Communications - Open
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VP of Membership - Anthony Ormsbee-Hale
In his time away from work, Anthony enjoys spending time outdoors and can often be found in the garden or playing fetch with his dog, Jasper. Anthony is also Host of Human Kind Podcast for Leaders which highlights stories of kindness in business. Anthony’s Predictive Index Profile: Maverick | A Maverick is an innovative, “outside the box” thinker, who is undaunted by failure. |
VP of Technology - Lorie Brown
I am happy to be back in the land of Y'all and look forward to continuing my career in Talent Development. I've been a member of the Fort Worth/Mid-Cities chapter for 4 years and a board member for 3 years. I'm excited to see what 2021 brings. |
VP of Special Projects - Susan Wines ![]() Susan Wines has worked at Thomson Reuters for almost 25 years and is aligned with the product brand, Checkpoint Learning, which is one of the leading providers of continuing professional education (CPE) for certified professional accountants (CPAs) and enrolled agents (EAs). One of the most exciting aspects of working at Thomson Reuters is the opportunity to innovate. A self-admitted geek, Susan is often researching or implementing process changes that simplify workflow or adapt to new technology. She is the sole or co-author and the instructional designer for five courses are currently for sale on their website, cl.tr.com. The titles reveal the passion that Susan has for learning and has shared in her 6+ years involvement with ATD Fort Worth / Mid-Cities chapter.
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VP of Professional Development - Jessica Buhl
Jessica is originally from Philadelphia, PA and now lives in Fort Worth with her husband and three children. She enjoys traveling, long-distance running, and spending time with her family. |
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VP of University Relations and Student Mentoring - Sandy Robinson
Sandy is currently a Human Resources Consultant with Thomson Reuters and has previously held HR Leadership roles with American Express, Honeywell and major nonprofits. A few highlights of Sandy's background include coaching and consulting senior leaders on strategy achievement through people initiatives, organization design and transformation, optimizing business models, leading mergers and acquisitions, and leading the development of a comprehensive eLearning curriculum for leaders. Sandy holds a Bachelor's in Business from Indiana State University and a Master's in Human Resources Management from Concordia St. Paul University. She is a Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) Certified Practitioner and holds the Senior Professional Human Resources (SPHR) designation. She has also been a long-time member of the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM), National Association of African-Americans in Human Resources (NAAAHR) and is a member of DallasHR. Sandy loves nature, and enjoys biking, hiking, public speaking, and book clubs. |