SEWI-ATD upcoming events

New Member Orientation (October 27, 2026)

Tue, 27 Oct 2026 17:00:00 GMT

Member Orientation: Maximizing Your SEWI-ATD Membership

Join us October 27th via Zoom from Noon - 1 PM for an informational and networking session on how to get the most of your membership with SEWI-ATD.

Please register soon to secure your spot!

Talent Development Forum 2026: Managing Change & Creating Safe Spaces in the Times of AI (October 30, 2026)

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 13:00:00 GMT

A SEWI-ATD Signature Event

Managing Change & Creating Safe Spaces in the Times of AI

The upcoming Southeast Wisconsin Association for Talent Development (SEWI-ATD) Talent Forum Annual Event will bring together Learning & Development (L&D) and Talent professionals to tackle the dual challenge of driving AI-driven change management while safeguarding organizational and individual well-being.

Key Learning Objectives:

Gain practical strategies for leading AI-driven workplace change.
Build AI literacy alongside essential human skills such as empathy, adaptability, and collaboration.
Learn how to strengthen psychological safety, employee engagement, and organizational resilience.
Discover proactive ways to manage workload, reduce burnout, and support well-being.
Connect with talent development peers and learn from experienced industry leaders.

The event will feature a panel discussion with Dr. Kate Walker, Vice President of Learning & Development at MRA – The Management Association, Jill Busch Director, Learning & Development of ManpowerGroup, North America and Steve Buchman Principal Consultant for i4cp’s advisory practice. Panelists will examine how artificial intelligence may influence learning and development and how organizations can facilitate the transition through upskilling, reskilling, and employee engagement.

We’ve also invited, Nicole Eull, psychologist, speaker, consultant, coach, podcast host, who will focus on improvisational agility and how it can help professionals strengthen the skills AI cannot replicate—authentic empathy, adaptability and collaborative innovation.

Lastly, Beth Ridley, Founder and CEO of the Ridley Consulting Group will share what new positive psychology and workplace well-being research reveals about reducing burnout through how we work, not simply recovering after work.

Gain practical insights, enjoy engaging learning, and build valuable connections!

Join us and other talent development professionals driving growth through change. Register today!

Dr. Kate Walker

VP of Learning & Development

MRA - The Management Association

Jill Busch

Director of Learning & Development

ManpowerGroup

Steve Buchman

Principal Consultant

i4cp

Nicole Eull

Psychologist, Consultant, Coach

Beth Ridley

Founder/CEO

Ridley Consulting Group

Agenda:

Time	Function	Room Location
8:00-8:30 a.m	Arrival, Networking And Breakfast	Training Rooms 1-4
8:35-8:45 a.m.	Program Start: Opening Remarks	Training Rooms 1-4
8:45-9:35 a.m.	Dr. Kate Walker, Jill Busch, Steve Buchman	Training Rooms 1-4
9:35-9:50 a.m.	Break	Training Rooms 1-4
9:50-10:10 a.m.	Networking Activity	Training Rooms 1-4
10:10-11:10 a.m.	Nicole Eull	Training Rooms 1-4
11:10-11:20 a.m.	Break	Training Rooms 1-4
11:20-12:20 p.m.	Beth Ridley	Training Rooms 1-4
12:20-12:30 p.m	Program Wrap Up: Closing Remarks	Training Rooms 1-4

* Cancellations made after October 21st (1 week out from the event) will not be refunded.

Parking Instructions:

Parking is available in the lot attached to the MRA building.

Thank you to our Forum Exhibitor!

Instructional Design PDN—Speaking the Same Language: Effective Communication Between SMEs and IDs (November 13, 2026)

Fri, 13 Nov 2026 14:00:00 GMT

Instructional Design PDN—Speaking the Same Language: Effective Communication Between SMEs and IDs

Subject matter expert (SME) relationships directly impact the success of your learning projects. What SMEs have become roadblocks rather than guides? Which ones have made the most effective collaborators? In this interactive in-person session, we will walk through the SME life cycle and how you, as the ID, can influence (and navigate) the process. You will discover practical strategies that will help you turn experts who assume "learners should already know this" into collaborative partners.

Agenda

Time	Function
8-8:30am	Arrival and networking
8:30am	Program start
9:50am	Program conclusion

Parking

Paid parking is available in the 16^th St. Parking Structure or metered on the street.

Bring Your Toughest L&D Challenge: A Hands-On AI Working Session (January 15, 2027)

Fri, 15 Jan 2027 14:45:00 GMT

Bring Your Toughest L&D Challenge: A Hands-On AI Working Session

Many learning and development professionals have experimented with AI and identified promising use cases, but getting consistently useful results remains a challenge. In this highly interactive workshop, participants will explore how adding clearer context and direction can improve AI-generated results. Rather than presenting a single "right" way to write prompts, we will introduce several approaches to prompt development and help attendees recognize which types of information meaningfully guide AI versus adding unnecessary noise. Through brief instruction, real-world examples, and facilitated discussion, participants will discover how different methods can lead to different outcomes and how to choose the right level of detail for a given task.

This session is built around practice, comparison, and peer learning. Participants should bring a laptop, access to the AI tool of their choice, and a real learning, performance, communication, or development challenge. In small groups, attendees will write the prompt they would normally use, evaluate the initial result, enhance the prompt using one of several approaches, compare the revised output with the original, and share what changed and which prompt elements had the greatest impact. Together, the group will identify common patterns and practical techniques that can be applied across AI tools.

Participants will leave with a stronger understanding of how to improve AI results, practical prompt-building strategies they can use immediately, and new ideas from fellow L&D professionals. Attendees using public AI tools will be reminded not to enter confidential company, customer, employee, or personal information.