Candidate Statements

Each year, the membership of ATDChi elects the executive members of the ATDChi board. Read the responsibilities of each of these offices at Executive Board Position Descriptions. A nominations committee recruits and vets ATDChi members for your consideration to server on the Executive Board. They offer the following for your consideration. Each candidate has provided a statement for your review.

President: Jason Berry
President-Elect: No Candidate
Vice-President of Membership: Maureen Hannan
Vice-President of Programming: Caitlin Ryder
Vice-President of Marketing & Communications: Amber Briggs
Vice-President of Finance: No Candidate

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President

Jason Berry

My passion for leading and growing others has been present for as long as I can remember; dating back to my days as captain of my soccer teams through college. Through a winding journey that I’m happy to share more detail about at any time, I now find myself in the role of Director of Talent & Development at Echo Global Logistics. I oversee a team of about 17 employees, covering the gamut of all new hire sales and operations training for 30+ locations, as well as personal and professional development from an L&D perspective. Along with that, I play a leading role with employee engagement; event planning, employee recognition, etc.

My goal for ATD in 2023 is to bring that same energy to our Chicagoland chapter. Events, social media presence, and just the overall feeling of connection and pride for being part of what can be a very helpful and useful organization! I believe there are some simple but effective steps we can take to increase our presence and really help members find joy out of being a part of this club. Let’s call it Chicago’s premier cool kids club

Long story short, I’m excited for the experience and opportunity and am looking forward to the growth this will provide for me professionally and personally as well!

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President-Elect

No Candidate

Vice-President of Membership

Maureen Hannan

For most of my life, I’ve focused on how to serve and create behind the scenes, whether as an educator, community volunteer, parent, journalist, editor, or curriculum designer. I value good leadership. (Who doesn’t?) But until recently, my own professional ambitions have centered on simply knowing how to do good design, producing creative work I love, and mentoring early-career professionals in my space. I’m careful about how and where I offer my time, because the “craft” side of my work in instructional design is intense. It demands my time and focus, and mastery of tools and technologies gives me a whole lot of joy.

So, I suppose I’ve arrived at leadership by an indirect route. I’m a creative--when I lead well, it’s generally because I’m putting learning and producing first. I volunteered with ATD Chi earlier this year to lead the mentorship program for exactly that reason. I’m happy to lead when learning is the star of the show. Moreover, the importance of investing in others’ growth has been much on my mind in recent years. I reject the notion that any of us can go it alone. As a woman (and single mom) who was a professional late bloomer, I’ve heard plenty of cheap advice about “just leaning in.” But until others invested in me, freely offering guidance and sponsorship and community, I struggled to advocate for myself. I didn’t know what it meant to insist on my own professional worth.

Why am I exploring this VP of Membership leadership opportunity with ATD Chi? Because learning and development is a vocation and an endless exploration of work that’s worth doing. I care very much about helping others in this vocation find support, friendship, fair pay, encouragement, balance, and thriving communities of practice. And I’m persuaded that ATD Chi is an organization that cares very much about these things too.

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Vice-President of Programming

Caitlin Ryder

I come from a family of teachers and artists. From a young age, I have always looked for opportunities to be creative. I have worn many titles: tutor, author, painter, seamstress, coordinator, instructor. But one of my favorite opportunities is to watch the light bulb switch on in someone's mind as they start to apply a concept to their own life.

I have been in learning and development in some form since graduate school. Over the course of the last 10 years, I have worked on growing my skills with the help of ATD. I have a passion for instructional and graphic design.

It is a privilege to work with other like-minded life-long learners in Chicago to create a place (in-person and virtually) where we can continue to grow personally and professionally.

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Vice-President of Marketing & Communications

Amber Briggs

Education and development has been a life long passion of mine, as has been a deeper understanding of human behavior and learning capabilities. Wanting to further my involvement in these areas, I began volunteering with ATD Chicago in 2021 and have loved every minute of it since!

Spending the past couple of years on the Marketing Team has been an amazing experience. I’ve been able to learn, absorb, and be involved, all while getting the chance to meet so many great people. My love for this chapter runs deep, and as such, I’m so excited to take on the additional responsibilities that come with being the VP of Marketing & Communications. I believe the knowledge and experience I’ve gained over these past couple of years has truly set me up for success. I can’t wait to help lead a team of fellow, eager L&D professionals as we work to grow the chapter and promote even more initiatives in 2023!

Here’s to a great rest of 2022. I wish continued success and blessings to all my fellow ATDChi advocates and members!

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