ATD Greater Cleveland upcoming events

2nd Annual Impact Day: Designing for Our Community (October 24, 2026)

Sat, 24 Oct 2026 13:00:00 GMT

Designing a Strong Start at Blossom Hill

Join fellow talent development professionals for a day of meaningful, hands-on work that supports our local community.

This year, we are partnering with a local non-profit Blossom Hill, a 24/7 residential organization that supports individuals with disabilities and their families. Blossom Hill has shared its current training materials and onboarding checklist and is looking for help strengthening the onboarding experience specifically for early-career employees.

Together, we will review their existing resources and collaborate to create practical, engaging onboarding tools that help new team members understand the purpose behind their work, feel prepared for the role, and build confidence from day one.

You will have the opportunity to:

Collaborate with other L&D professionals on a real-world training challenge.
Apply your instructional design and adult learning expertise to a meaningful community need.
Create or adapt onboarding content, activities, and tools that Blossom Hill can use with new employees.

This is a working session, so come ready to share ideas, create, and make an impact. A lunch break is included, and Zoup! is conveniently located next door.

Accessible, abundant parking is available onsite.

Learn more about the important work Blossom Hill does and follow Blossom Hill on LinkedIn to stay connected.

This session ties to the ATD Capability Model in the following areas:

Instructional Design
Consulting and Business Partnering

Program Details

Date	Saturday, October 24, 2026
Time	9:00 am - 4:00 pm - Working Session *We will take a lunch break next door at Zoup.
Location	7080 Engle Rd, Middleburg Heights, OH 44130 *There is plenty of FREE parking available!
Cost	Current ATD Greater Cleveland Chapter Members: $25 Current Members of any Ohio ATD Chapter: $25 Non-Members & Guests: $35

Facilitator/Coordinator: Brad Withers

Brad Withers is the President of the ATD Greater Cleveland Chapter. He has presented over 1700 program days in 46 states, 10 countries and six provinces. He has taken classes from Robert Fritz, Peter Senge and Thiagi.

Please contact programs@atdgreatercleveland.org with event/registration questions.

New and Prospective Member Welcome (November 11, 2026)

Wed, 11 Nov 2026 17:00:00 GMT

New and Prospective Member Welcome

New to ATD Greater Cleveland (ATD GC) or curious about what our chapter offers within Northeast Ohio? Whether you a new member or considering membership, please join us for a free welcome and orientation so that you can take advantage of everything that our local chapter has to offer. The session is facilitated by ATD GC board members and we will chat about member benefits, our in-person and virtual events, ways that you can get involved, and the opportunities to connect with others in the community. Please join us!

This session ties to the ATD Capability Model in the following areas:

Building Professional Capability
Networking and Partnering

Program Details

Date	Wednesday, November 11, 2026
Time	12:00pm – 12:45pm - Session
Location	Virtual Google Meet
Cost	This event is FREE!

Presenter: Jess Pischel

Jess Pischel works with leadership teams to turn AI from an overwhelming set of possibilities into clear, prioritized decisions that drive real business value. Her work sits at the intersection of strategy, operations, culture, and change helping organizations adopt AI in ways that actually stick.

With a background spanning consulting and in-house leadership roles, Jess brings a practical, human-centered lens to AI strategy. Her experience includes working with nationally recognized brands such as KeyBank, Lexus, Celebrity Cruises, and Lush Cosmetics, supporting initiatives across customer experience, employee experience, and operational effectiveness.

Jess is known for translating complex ideas into clear roadmaps, facilitating productive executive conversations, and helping leaders focus on where AI can save time, reduce errors, and create measurable ROI without losing sight of people, trust, or adoption.

She holds an MBA, is Prosci Change Management Certified, and has completed executive education in AI and business strategy through MIT. Her approach combines structured strategy with real-world pragmatism, helping organizations move forward with confidence rather than hype.

Please contact programs@atdgreatercleveland.org with event questions.

Applied AI for Learning and Development (November 12, 2026)

Thu, 12 Nov 2026 22:30:00 GMT

How AI Is Transforming the L&D Space

AI is transforming how learning and development professionals create content, design training, and deliver results, and the L&D teams that embrace it now will build a significant competitive advantage for themselves and their organizations. In this talk, Mike will teach you how to go further with AI in your L&D work, including:

Tangible AI use cases and tools you can start using today to drive productivity and performance in learning and development.

Examples of AI in action across real-world L&D use cases like writing, ideation, and content creation.

Step-by-step instructions on how to get started with AI, no matter what you do or your AI skill level.

The result?

You'll come away with the precise guidance you need to get started with AI right away in your organization and career, no matter your role or background.

This session ties to the ATD Capability Model in the following areas:

Building Professional Capability
Developing Technology Application

Program Details

Date	Thursday, November 12, 2026
Time	5:30pm – 6:30pm - Session
Location	Virtual Zoom Meeting
Cost	Current ATD Greater Cleveland Chapter Members: $10 Current Members of any Ohio ATD Chapter: $10 Non-Members & Guests: $15

Presenter: Mike Kaput

Mike Kaput is the Chief Content Officer at SmarterX and a leading voice on the application of AI in business. He is the co-author of the book Marketing Artificial Intelligence and co-host of The Artificial Intelligence Show podcast.

Please contact programs@atdgreatercleveland.org with event questions.

Beyond the PowerPoint: Using Simulations to Make Learning Stick (November 18, 2026)

Wed, 18 Nov 2026 22:30:00 GMT

Beyond the PowerPoint: Using Simulations to Make Learning Stick

Business simulations turn training from something participants hear into something they experience. In this interactive session, you’ll learn how to design and facilitate simulations that create meaningful decisions, consequences, discussion, and discovery. We’ll explore how to turn real workplace challenges into engaging learning experiences without expensive technology or complicated game design. You’ll leave with a practical framework for building simulations that strengthen leadership, teamwork, communication, problem-solving, and business acumen while making training more memorable, relevant, and fun.

This session ties to the ATD Capability Model in the following areas:

Building Professional Capability
Networking and Partnering

Program Details

Date	Wednesday, November 18, 2026
Time	5:30pm - 6:00pm - Networking & Light Snacks Provided 6:00pm - 8:00pm - Program
Location	North Royalton Public Library, 5071 Wallings Road, North Royalton, OH, 44133
Cost	Current ATD Greater Cleveland Chapter Members: $20 Current Members of any Ohio ATD Chapter: $20 Non-Members & Guests: $35

Facilitator: Ned Parks

Ned Parks has been in the L&D business starting 1986 as a classroom instructor and helicopter flight instructor in the US Army. Today he runs Aegis 360 Consulting providing workforce and leadership development and strategic planning to organizations around the world.

Please contact programs@atdgreatercleveland.org with event / registration questions.

ATD Greater Cleveland Holiday Meet & Greet (December 03, 2026)

Thu, 03 Dec 2026 22:00:00 GMT

ATD Greater Cleveland Holiday Social Hour

Join us for some time to have a chat, share a snack, spin a prize wheel, and make new local connections among learning and development professionals.

Join us for heavy appetizers and some great conversations. We look forward to connecting with you!

Please register so we know how many to accommodate in our space. Questions? Please email programs@atdgreatercleveland.org.

Event Details

Date	Thursday, December 3, 2026
Time	5:00pm - 7:00pm
Location	The Hooley Pub & Kitchen 10310 Cascade Crossing Brooklyn, OH 44144
Cost	Registration will cover the group appetizers! Drinks can be purchased individually Members: $15 Members of any chapter: $15 Non-members $20