Young Professionals SIG Meeting
(For Young Professionals 35 and below)
The Young Professionals SIG is a tri-chapter SIG, broadening the borders for networking and learning.
Description:
This session will feature a panel of young professionals from the talent management, organizational development, and instructional design spaces. Let’s be honest – as early career professionals, it can be hard to break into a field and find a way to make our mark. You’re not alone! We’re all trying to navigate our career paths in the talent development field, and there’s no better way to do it than to learn from our peers.
Each of our panelists have worked in a variety of roles and are ready to share their experiences, best practices, and advice on what it means to be a young professional breaking into this field. Are you ready for your glow up? Join us for some real talks in this moderated panel discussion.
Panelists:
Rachel Bravo, Learning & Development Professional
Susan Guadarrama, Talent & Organizational Development Manager (Instructional Designer)
Kevin Pappas, Learning & Development Analyst
Naz Tadjbakhsh, Talent Management & Learning Leader
Rosalyn Vargas, Talent Development Manager
Agenda
6:00 - 6:15 PM: Check-In & Networking
6:15 - 8:00 PM: Program
Panelist Bios:
Rachel Bravo - Rachel Bravo has a strong learning and development (L&D) background serving as a L&D Specialist and L&D Consultant in her most recent years. She has served in numerous industries, such as utilities, healthcare, and finance, by creating evidence-based solutions for onboarding, training evaluation, and other issues. Her main purpose is to help employees be their best self at work while assisting organizations in fostering a culture that allows their employees to do so.
Susan Guadarrama - Susan Guadarrama (she/her) has been in the talent and organizational development space for 6 years.Susan is currently a Talent & Organizational Development Manager at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) where she works to design learning solutions using learning science, change management, and inclusive design principles.Prior to joining GIA, Susan worked as a Senior Learning & Organizational Development Specialist at the County of Orange and as an Organizational Effectiveness & Learning Specialist at UC Irvine. Susan received a B.A. in Psychology from USC.
Kevin Pappas - Kevin Pappas works as a Learning & Development Analyst for Chipotle Mexican Grill where he supports the leadership growth of Chipotle employees through facilitation, instructional design, and talent planning. Prior to joining Chipotle, he worked as the Training & Development Manager for OneOC, a Management Services Organization that helps nonprofits become as effective as they are passionate about their missions. For the past 6 years, Kevin has held positions that have allowed him to build programs and learning experiences that help others develop and live out their full potential. Kevin has a passion for leadership development and improving organizational effectiveness by growing employees’ knowledge and skills so that they can more effectively succeed in their jobs. He holds a BA in Psychology from Westmont College and an MS in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Vanguard University.
Naz Tadjbakhsh - Naz, Ph.D., is an organizational psychologist and talent development consultant. She has helped design and deploy 50+ learning and development programs at numerous companies from small businesses to Fortune 100 firms. Naz holds a Ph.D. and M.S. in Organizational Psychology from Alliant International University, and a B.A. in Psychology & Social Behavior from University of California, Irvine, with minors in Art History and Education. Naz currently practices as a talent development consultant at Match Group (Tinder), and teaches training and development courses for aspiring learning professionals.
Rosalyn Vargas - Rosalyn works as a Talent Development Manager at DISQO. Prior to DISQO, Rosalyn was a people leader in her own right within the retail world. She made the transition to the start-up environment a few years ago, building several training programs from the ground up for customer-facing roles. In addition, Rosalyn is on the cusp of completing her Masters in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University, which happens to be one of the preeminent universities when it comes to the integration of Servant Leadership into their executive education programs.
Cancellation Policy
