We sit down with Joe Stoup, Director of the Learning Experience Group at RealPage, Inc., where he oversees content development, content management and content delivery for a team of 32. Joe shares how AI is reshaping instructional design, why curiosity has become his team's most important skill, and why the research doesn't back up one of L&D's longest-held assumptions: learning styles.

Josiah Owens, Program Manager of Employee Development at INPO, talks about what it takes to build a career centered on impact rather than title. Josiah traces his path from video production and instructional design work to leading talent development inside the nuclear industry, and shares why he believes curiosity, more than expertise, is the most critical skill for learning and development professionals today. He also discusses his upcoming term as president of the ATD Greater Atlanta chapter, the mentor who shaped his leadership philosophy, and the book he recommends to every aspiring learning strategist building a career in talent development.

Blair Bekker, Director of Global Talent Development of Chewy, joins us to discuss why L&D must trade perfectionism for speed, how entire workforces learning new skills at once is turning L&D into a strategic partner to the business, and why proving measurable impact is what separates the leaders who move fast from the ones who stay stuck.

Christina Castelli, Head of Learning Operations and Measurement of Accenture, makes the case that L&D’s credibility with the business depends on one thing: connecting learning to outcomes before the training ever runs — not after.

Christina shares how she built Accenture’s SKY model, a learning-measurement framework designed to answer real business questions rather than justify program spend. She also explores what it means to use AI as an augmentation tool rather than a replacement, why discernment is the differentiating skill of the AI era, and how L&D professionals can start seeing generative AI as the opportunity to finally deliver the personalized, outcome-connected learning they’ve always wanted to build.

Scott Switalski, Director of Enterprise Learning and Development of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, joins us to explore why leadership is the most critical skill in any organization, how L&D professionals can function as cultural tugboats, and what it really means to develop people with courage, curiosity and compassion.

Scott brings three decades of L&D experience across healthcare, human services, contact centers and Native American tribal government. He shares how his team at CHOP thinks about AI as an augmentation tool rather than a replacement, why participant-centricity is reshaping how learning experiences are designed, and how L&D teams can earn their seat at the table by speaking the language of the business.

Peter Plumlee, Talent Development Manager of Ball Horticultural Company, explores why human connection remains L&D's most essential competency in an age of automation, what it really takes to lead a volunteer organization and how vulnerability is reshaping what great leadership development looks like.

Dr. Katie Campbell, Senior Director, Learning and Talent Management of Equifax, shares how she approaches L&D strategy within one of the company's largest business units — bridging corporate vision and workforce execution across performance, succession planning and learning.

Katie shares how she thinks about AI's role in reshaping workforce capabilities, why the shift to skills-based models is making learning ROI less squishy, and what Microsoft's sweeping HR overhaul signals about where org design is heading.

Demetrice Bryant, Senior Director, Support Services, Workforce Enablement (Customer Care) of Priceline, joins us to discuss the shift from training delivery to enablement partnerships — covering human-centered design, continuous learning, growth mindset, and what it means to connect L&D directly to business outcomes.

Phil Rhodes, Chief Learning Officer of Phillips 66, joins us to discuss what it means to shift L&D from a deliverable function to an enablement function — covering leadership capability, business acumen, data-driven credibility and the test-and-learn mindset he has applied across his 30-year career.

From his early days in the Peace Corps to leading enterprise L&D at an operating company, Phil brings a perspective rooted in behavioral science, experiential learning and the practical reality of driving change at scale.

Mary Cooper, Director of Learning and Development at P.F. Chang's, joins us to make the case that L&D leaders who can't speak the language of the business will keep losing the budget fight. 

Mary draws on her path from operations to the L&D function to show why business acumen is now a core skill for talent development and learning strategy leaders. For training professionals navigating tighter budgets and higher scrutiny, her advice is direct: tie your learning solutions to sales impact, cost reduction and measurable business outcomes.

Laura Campion, Director, Revolution Learning Specialist at Pfizer, joins us to discuss how L&D is evolving in the age of AI — from microlearning and embedded performance support to the diagnostic skills that no algorithm can replace.

We’re joined by Anita Zanchettin, Director, Talent Development of DoorDash, to discuss why leaders are the number-one customer of L&D, how to bring development into the flow of work, and what it really means to adopt a learner mindset in a world of constant change. 

Anita shares how she builds leadership training and development strategy at a global scale across DoorDash, Wolt and Deliveroo — moving corporate L&D from isolated events into everyday workflow. She also dives into using AI as a delivery mechanism for personalized learning solutions and why fungibility matters more than any single competency for talent development today.

Dr. Hope Eady, Learning and Development Director, Housing Opportunities and Mission Engagement, of Habitat for Humanity International, believes the most important skill in L&D is the ability to think alongside the business as a true consultative partner. Hope shares how she approaches learning as a transformational experience designed to meet people where they are. Leading L&D across nearly 1,000 staff and a global network of affiliates in 60+ countries, her perspective on what it takes to do this work well is expansive and grounded.

Jessica Fraser, Director of Learning of Floor & Decor, joins us to discuss how agile methodologies are reshaping instructional design, why a solid process foundation is the prerequisite for effective AI adoption and what it means to move an L&D team from order takers to strategic partners.

To celebrate our 100th episode, Brandon Carson, Chief Learning Officer and Founder of L&D Cares, joins us to discuss the three shifts redefining L&D in the AI age, why the content factory model is ending and what it means for leaders to truly create value in the workforce.

Brandon is the award-winning author of “L&D’s Playbook for the Digital Age” and a frequent keynote speaker and executive advisor, helping organizations redesign work, leadership and learning for the AI era.

Rapti Khurana, Talent Squad Advisor of PortlyAI and former VP of Talent Engagement and Development of the NFL, discusses the shift from content-centric to capability-centric L&D, what the future of learning looks like and why combining scale with intimacy is the defining challenge for learning leaders today.

Dr. Darick Bryant, Director of Learning and Organizational Development of Clean Harbors, joins us to discuss how AI is reshaping L&D, why empathy has become an essential leadership skill and how organizations can use learning as a strategic retention tool for the next generation of workers. 

We’re joined by Amanda Archer, Director of Learning Experience at Advocate Health, to discuss how AI is reshaping L&D, why adaptability is the defining skill of this moment and what it really takes to lead a learning team through constant change.

Jason Berry, Director of Talent Management of Nolan Transportation Group, joins us to explore how L&D is evolving into a more data-driven, business-aligned function. He shares how teams are proving impact through metrics, adapting team structures with AI and shifting from training delivery to performance enablement.

AI, agility and business alignment are reshaping the role of L&D.

Karen Massey, Senior Director of Training and Qualification of AWP Safety, joins us to discuss how L&D teams can create measurable business impact. She shares how organizations are embedding AI tools into everyday workflows, why L&D must operate as a strategic partner, and how leaders can use data and metrics to connect learning initiatives to real performance outcomes.