Kevin Preston
Chapter President
Kevin Preston is the Learning Effectiveness Director for Catholic Healthe Initiatives (CHI). He is an expert in the learning and employee development field with 17+ years of experience including facilitation, instructional design, eLearning, organizational development, performance improvement, knowledge management, and curriculum management. His passion is in improving organizational performance through workforce development. Kevin also has a strong interest in the strategic alignment and management of performance and learning functions within organizations.
Kevin’s career began as an instructor for technical and leadership skills before moving on to instructional design of instructor-led and web-based courses. His experience also includes managing large curricula, leading learning teams, developing other learning practitioners, and driving learning strategies. Kevin currently uses these skills at CHI, a large non-profit healthcare system operating hospitals and long-term care facilities across the nation. Kevin leads the learning strategy for CHI by managing a team of learning practitioners dedicated to supporting learning needs for strategic priorities and learning technologies.
Kevin has a long list of academic and practitioner experiences in the learning field including a Doctor of Philosophy in Organizational Performance & Change with an emphasis in learning evaluation as well as a Masters of Education in Human Resource Development – both from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado. Kevin’s Bachelor’s of Science degree is in Business Administration with a focus on Human Resources and International Business from Regis University in Denver, Colorado.
For more information about Kevin, see his Linked In profile at:
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kevin-f-preston-phd/1/722/28b
E-mail: kevinpreston@catholichealth.net | Phone: 303-725-1853
Sandi Ruther
Past President
Sandi Ruther is the founder and principal of ProGold Consulting, LLC, a successful documentation, training, and consulting firm, whose mission is to help businesses improve efficiency and profitability by aligning people, processes, and systems. Bringing more than eighteen years of experience in business process optimization, auditing, technical writing, training, facilitating, and consulting, ProGold Consulting, LLC helps clients eliminate organizational roadblocks and implement cost-effective solutions.
With a degree in Psychology and certifications in technical training, internal auditing, and software testing, Sandi can bridge the gaps between people, processes, and systems. Whether functioning as a "translator" between software development and end users, facilitating business process changes during a software implementation, or managing training programs for multi-national companies, ProGold Consulting, LLC brings a unique perspective and global approach to strengthening an organization and implementing positive change.
As a program manager, technical writer, internal auditor, software tester, and trainer, Sandi has contributed to the success of several Fortune 500 companies, mid-size corporations, foreign multi-national corporations, and start-up companies. A short list of clients includes Oracle, PeopleSoft, JD Edwards, Molson Coors, LaFarge, TriZetto, Cegetel, Kasema, and Jones Cyber Solutions.
Sandi is an active member of ASTD-Rocky Mountain Chapter, Denver Coach Federation, and NSA-Colorado Speakers Academy.
E-mail: sandiruther@comcast.net | Phone: 303.875.1373
Karen Main
President Elect
Karen Main is a speaker, writer, teacher and consultant specializing in the design and delivery of innovative leadership development programs. Her work has been awarded recognition from Mountain States Employer’s Council, Rocky Mountain ASTD, IPMA-HR and the Asch Center @ The Harvard Kennedy School. She is a graduate of Denver University and certified by Harvard in “The Art & Practice of Leadership Development.” Currently she is the Training Specialist for the City of Englewood and owner of Innovations In Training, a Denver-based training & consulting firm. She is also adjunct faculty at DU’s University College. Karen brings first-hand, practical experience to her work with Rocky Mountain ASTD. “At first glance, you wouldn’t necessarily guess that I’m a bit of a daredevil! I just completed my second Polar Plunge on New Year’s Day, 2012 and successfully finished the Tough Mudder in 2011. I’m absolutely focused on setting goals for myself and pushing myself to succeed. I try to bring that same passion and energy to my work with clients and students.”
E-mail: KMain@englewoodgov.org | Phone: 720-272-3433
Gretchin Irvin
Secretary/Treasurer
Gretchen Irvin is a new addition to Denver from Minnesota in January of 2011. She is a graduate from Winona State University with a double major in Business Administration and Human Resources with a focus in training and development. She is currently a manager with Wells Fargo Bank and shadows with the learning and development team often.
I love helping others learn and truly believe that adult education will help our country's future be brighter. I enjoy hiking, skiing and all of the outdoor beauty that Colorado has to offer. I am excited for a wonderful 2012 with ASTD and can't wait to see what adventures I will embark on this year!
E-mail: Gretchen.irvin@gmail.com | Phone: 303-486-3560
Hannah Montroy
Vice President Professional Development (Programs)
Hannah Montroy is an expert in process improvement as well as learning development and deployment. In her current position as Enterprise Business Process Improvement Manager at Shamrock Foods Company she works with Branch and Enterprise leaders to identify key opportunities to develop and implement new and innovative processes to support new and evolving business strategies. She supports Enterprise training development and deployment to all levels of Shamrock employees.
Hannah has over 10 years in learning development and facilitation for both instructor led and eLearning courses. Focus on making learning engaging and results oriented, has earned her the respect of her peers and students as well as the ASTD Rocky Mountain “Best of the Best” STAR award.
She holds a Bachelor Degree in Human Resource Management & General Management from Eastern Washington University and has served on multiple advisory boards including the EWU graduate advisory board. Hannah loves volleyball, the outdoors and has recently starting running in triathlons. She lives in Denver with her husband and two children.
For more information on Hannah Montroy see her Linkedin profile at:
http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=29440216&trk=tab_pro
E-mail: hannah_montroy@shamrockfoods.com | Phone: 720-425-4047
Becky Magnotta
Vice President Membership
Becky’s unique background covers leadership development, training, public speaking, finance, marketing, sales and the management of people, programs and contracts. Her experienced spans furniture retail, non-profit, mining, energy, telecom and pay-TV industries. At DISH Network, Becky is Senior Manager of Leadership & Development. She is responsible for development programs for DISH managers, and high potential employees.
Becky was a member of both the Economics and Transportation Committees of the National Mining Association, and served on the board of the Western Coal Transportation Association and Freedom Service Dogs, a non-profit organization that saves dogs from shelters and trains them to help people with disabilities, including wounded warriors.
She has a bachelor degree in piano performance from the University of Denver, and an M.B.A. with a finance emphasis from Regis University in Denver.
E-mail: Rebecca.Magnotta@dishnetwork.com | Phone: 303-723-1445
Tara Powers
Vice President Communications
Tara Powers is a Cultural Alignment Expert and Business Acceleration Coach. For over 12 years, Tara has partnered with both medium sized corporations and small business owners to help align their business culture to their values and strategy.
As CEO of Powers Resource Center, Tara’s training organization takes special care to understand your big picture goals, objectives, values, culture, relationships and success measures. We then work closely with you to implement programs and coaching designed to align your communication, behaviors and relationships with where you want to be. PRC services have been proven to have a positive impact on performance, satisfaction and business culture and our workshops and programs have been described as progressive, innovative and highly interactive.
A sample list of happy clients that have real results from working with Tara and Powers Resource Center include Crocs, Janus, Aflac, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, University of Colorado, Caterpillar, Leopard, and Key Equipment Finance.
Tara earned her undergraduate degree in Business Administration and a graduate degree in Organizational Management. She is a certified Training Manager/Director and an active member of the ASTD. Tara served as the Chair of the Boulder Business Women’s Leadership Group and VP of Education for the Boulder Chamber Speakeasy Toastmaster’s Club. She has taught management courses at the University of Phoenix and Front Range Community College, and is certified on a variety of assessment tools that can be integrated into her training programs and workshops to provide participants with insights on their effectiveness.
Tara lives in Colorado with her husband, two little girls and their Plott Hound, Guinness. She is an avid hiker and an occasionally karaoke star.
E-mail: tara@powersresourcecenter.com | Phone: 303-875-5011
Debra Flick
Vice President of Partnerships
Vice President of Sponsorships
Debra Flick has led a multi-faceted career beginning with Accounting, then, Sales and Marketing, Process Improvement, and now Learning and Development. She leads the development of training materials for direct sales at Cbeyond, a nationally recognized leading provider of IT and Communications services. Debra develops product, sales, and sales management training courses that lead to positive behavior changes to ensure the sales force is knowledgeable, confident and successful. She was recognized as Cbeyond's Top Sales Training Team Performer of the year, 2009. Cbeyond University has received notable recognition for their programs, including the American Society for Training and Development Best Award in 2009 and named Training Magazine's Top 125 for 2010.
In developing sales and product training, Debra Flick's diverse expertise gives her a competitive edge. Whether it's helping sales professionals understand how to integrate ROI into their presentation, presenting with impact, uncovering needs and opportunities or closing the deal, she utilizes her skills, knowledge and experience to help develop others. Debra develops bi-weekly online training for Cbeyond's 800 + sales force; these online trainings reinforce key product information, company initiatives, and offer sales strategies and tips.
Debra received a Master's of Science – Organizational Leadership degree from Regis University, Denver, CO and a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration/Finance from the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN. She actively gives back to the community with various organizations, including the Dominican Sisters, Toys for Tots, and Family Tree. She enjoys endurance sports and golf to keep the balance in her life. She finished the Twin Cities marathon, completed three Ride the Rockies bicycling tours and dared to ride the Triple Bypass in Colorado.
E-mail: debra.flick@cbeyond.net | Phone: 303.261.3637
Mark Bower
Vice President Distance Learning
Mark Bower, Principal of Edge Interactive provides clear insight into the trends and issues facing leaders in learning. Mark has held a number of learning management positions with IBM and other industry leaders bringing over 25 years of experience to his clients. His background includes responsibilities as Training Executive, Entrepreneur, and Management Consultant.
Mark has also sat on a number of national advisory committees directing the effective use of technology including designing a number of nationally recognized information automation projects. Mark has extensive experience if all facets of learning management having managed over 220,000 hours of professional services to learning leaders in developing the strategies, processes, assets, and governance that will maximize workforce impact in achieving business objectives.
Mark is a past ASTD Board Member and Vice President, Strategic Partnerships as well as a Senior Judge in the 2010 Brandon Hall, Excellence in Learning Awards.
He is a writer and speaker in the eLearning community whose articles can be seen in CLO magazine and other industry periodicals.
Mark holds a BS in Learning Theory from University of Massachusetts and an MBA from
Boston University.
E-mail: mbower@edgeinteractive.com | Phone: 303-488-0048
Yvonne Bogard
Vice President Technology and Social Media
Yvonne joined Regis University, College for Professional Studies (CPS) in 2009 as an Instructional Designer at the Denver, CO campus. In 2007, Yvonne earned her second Master’s degree in the fully online Information Learning Technologies (ILT) program with an emphasis in Instructional Design and Adult Learning from University of Colorado at Denver (UCD). Prior to joining Regis University, Yvonne served as the Director of Technology and Distance Education for University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS), College of Education. Additionally, she has taught as an adjunct in the Linguistically Diverse Education (LDE) master's program for eight years so she has been on both sides of the virtual desk.
In 2002, Yvonne earned her first Master’s degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from Northern Arizona University (NAU) and went on to teach western business culture and language to Samsung managers in South Korea. Prior to her change in career directions, Yvonne earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Management Information Systems (MIS) with a minor in Computer Science at Florida State University. She went on to work as a Programmer/Systems Analyst for Motorola Semiconductor Products sector in the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) marketing development area. Her short claim to fame was the development of the world-wide change order management system which she wrote/programmed and installed in the U.S. and in Hong Kong. Additionally she trained Motorola users in both Hong Kong and Singapore on how to use the new change order management system.
WIth Yvonne's background in technology, teaching and instructional design, she says she finally found what she wanted to be when she grew up.
Yvonne has a strong interest in all aspects of eLearning and eTeaching, emerging technologies and trends, and she is dedicated to learn more ways to utilize social media in social learning environments. In addition to her role on the Board this year, she is a working member of the national ASTD Social Media Team. Further, she is committed to completing the ASTD certification to become a Certified Professional in Learning and Performance (CPLP) during 2012. If you are interested in joining a study group for this CPLP certification, feel free to contact Yvonne for more inform.
E-mail: ybogard@regis.edu | Phone: 303-458-4037
