Happy May everyone. I hope you and your family are doing well as we begin to emerge from the COVID-19 Pandemic. We have had a great first four months of 2021 that included a fantastic technology conference put on by our programs team. I wanted to send this note out to our membership to provide you an update on where ATD Houston is on moving back to in-person events as well as provide an update on our virtual programming. 

At our Board Meeting on May 3, the Board of Directors voted to begin a hybrid version of programming beginning in July. A hybrid version means that there will be both in-person and virtual options of the meeting available. The plan is to begin with our General Meeting for that month. Naturally this will only occur if we stay on the current trajectory. During May and June we will be developing the protocols for meetings to ensure everyone’s safety and those will be announced in late June. 

With this change to our programming we will also make another change. At the beginning of the pandemic your Board of Directors shifted all programming to virtual only. Recognizing that times were difficult we also suspended payments for all programs so that we could support the Talent Development community in the Houston area. Like many of you, 2020 was a difficult time for the Houston ATD Chapter. Our chapter relies on three primary streams of income: memberships, programs, and sponsors. The pandemic disrupted two of those streams; programs and sponsors. While the board was diligent and reduced as many expenses as possible we do have fixed costs that cannot be changed. While we have maintained a positive balance thanks to our previous years where we managed to save reserves, our income dropped significantly. With this in mind we will also be moving back to a fee based approach for all of our programs in July as well. This will help us continue to support the Talent Development community in the Houston area by keeping the chapter on a stable financial footing. 

If you have any questions regarding this change please feel free to reach out to me or any of our board members. I look forward to the rest of 2021 and seeing everyone very soon. 

Robert Cocheu, CPTD
2021 President
ATD Houston

Good Monday morning ATD Houston. I am honored to be moving into the office of President for ATD Houston for 2021 in January. It is a huge privilege and responsibility. Before we go any further, I want to extend the most heartfelt gratitude to our 2020 President, Debbie Richards for all of her hard work this past year. As a board, she has led and mentored us, and made sure we met the needs of ATD Houston during this incredibly difficult time. We could not have done any of it without her. I also want to thank the 2020 board. This group of individuals has worked with their teams to ensure we filled programing needs during 2020.

I believe we hold the future of work in the Houston area in our hands and it is up to us to ensure that individuals have the skills necessary to do that work. One way we do that is by ensuring that our programs match what our community, (you) tells us they need. We do this by issuing an annual survey. You should have received the survey last week. I want to encourage every one of you to go out and take the brief survey. 

Thank you for your hard work and I look forward to serving all of you during 2021.

2020 has been a challenging year! Thank you so much for your support of the chapter this year. We had two in-person events this year before switching to virtual events. Our events teams were quick to "adapt and swivel" as we had a number of webinars and on-line events - everything from our two-day Fall conference to informal meet-ups just to stay in touch.  We hope our programming was interesting and engaging for you! 

The annual Employee Learning Week events are scheduled for the week of Dec. 7-11. We hope you will take the time to celebrate learning in your organization as well as take time for your own professional development. Please join us!

The ATD Houston Gives initiative for 2020 will benefit the Houston Food Bank. Please consider at least a $10 donation to help those Houstonians in need. Go to https://app.mobilecause.com/vf/Celebrations/Fundraiser452 to make your donation. Thanks in advance for helping with our fund raising effort.

It has been my honor to serve as President of the 2020 ATD Houston board. I now move forward into the role of past president and mentor. I look forward to "seeing" you virtually soon - and with high hopes of seeing you in-person in 2021. 

Exciting news for our ATD Houston Virtual conference attendees! We have a ATD certificate program registration (up to $1600 value) to raffle off.

See certificate program details here:  https://www.td.org/education-courses/certificate-programs

How to win: Be the most active in the Whova app during the conference, and you will be entered into a drawing to win the conference grand prize!  Attendees with the top activity on the following will be entered into the drawing: Whova app leader board, completed session evaluations, exhibitor passport stamps and of course photo contests!!

The winner will be announced during the conference closing session. Good Luck and Happy learning, sharing and networking! 

Register before Oct 1, 2020 for a chance to win an Apple iPad plus start networking now with attendees, speakers and sponsors.

• View the Conference Schedule: Schedule
• View the Speaker Lineup: Speakers
• View the Sponsor Information: Sponsors
• Sign up as a sponsor: Chapter Sponsors Benefits and Become a Sponsor
• Register for the conference: ATD Houston 2020 Virtual Talent Development Conference

New to the conference

• Creating Personal Growth: The conference presentation provides ideas, examples, and a challenge. In the second follow-up session (after the conference) the speaker will debrief their application and provide feedback so all can learn through actual and shared experience.
• Mentors!: A chance to engage with "mega-mentors" who will lead a session focused on one of the ATD Capabilities.

At the conference, you will be able to watch live educational sessions via video streaming and participate by asking questions, leaving comments and joining activities in real time. If you miss a session, you will be able to watch the recording later.

Your registration also includes access to our mobile app - network with attendees, speakers and sponsors - before, during and after the conference.

Reskilling and job search assistance

LinkedIn, Microsoft, and GitHub are offering free learning paths mapped to jobs that are in-demand, discounted Microsoft certifications to validate skills, and best practices for job searching and interview prepping, so you can put your best foot forward. Start developing your skills for free with learning paths from LinkedIn Learning and Microsoft Learn, then practice tech skills in the GitHub Learning Lab.

Go to https://opportunity.linkedin.com/ to get started.

Diversity and inclusion

Understanding and creating diversity, inclusion, and belonging are essential to building a better workplace and society. Here is a free learning path to help us all recognize unconscious bias, communicate across cultures, and have inclusive conversations.

We are continuing to host free webinars and opportunities for your to engage with the ATD Houston community. Please let us know if there is any topic that would interest you.  We'll do our best to bring it to you! We are especially excited to share four special opportunities with you! 

Speaker RFPs for Sept Conference

Please submit your RFP for the ATD Houston 2020 Talent Development Conference to be held on Sept 17th!  We are not sure if this conference will be in-person or virtual yet. But we are excited to begin working on it! Go to https://tdhouston.org/2020-TD-Conference-Speaker-RFP.for details and to submit your RFP.  If you have never spoken before, have a topic to share, and would like to get coaching, please contact speakerchair@tdhouston.org.

Thank you to our generous chapter sponsor! Experience Skillsoft Percipio, an intelligent online learning experience platform that delivers an immersive learning experience. This is a benefit just for members.

Log in at  https://tdhouston.percipio.com/login.html#/ using the email that you use for the tdhouston.org website.  If you have any issues logging into the site, contact feedback@tdhouston.org. By the way, anyone can sign up for the free Skillsoft Perspectives conference. Go to https://www.skillsoft.com/perspectives/ for details.

May Membership Drive

Join (or rejoin) the ATD Houston chapter at a reduced rate in May! Use the code "MayMember" to save $25 off your general membership rate. Help support our chapter and get access to member-only special offers such as the Skillsoft Percipio platform. Application for Membership

ATD is launching its first-ever Virtual Conference: Building Capabilities and Connection, June 1–5. This event will connect you with subject matter experts, leading thinkers, and visionaries in our field, while learning about important trends and core capabilities that are especially relevant for times like this. Join our global talent development community to learn, collaborate, and network in a safe and responsible way. 

Chapters with five or more members attending the virtual conference are eligible for exclusive rates ( $370 for ATD national members and $470 for nonmembers). Contact feedback@tdhouston.org to be a part of our team and get the discounted rate.

Want to brush up on existing skills or learning something new?  Here are upcoming  free or low-cost online webinars and conferences.

Skillsoft Perspectives - FREE 24 hour conference
May 13 - https://www.skillsoft.com/perspectives

Online Conference of the International Association for Blended Learning
April 22 - https://iabl.org/First-OnlineWCBL2020/.  

Here’s your chance to participate in a one of a kind conference experience and learn from experts worldwide! For 24 hours on April 22, at 10 A.M. EDT, come learn about moving and teaching online at the Online Conference of the International Association for Blended Learning, all for only 20€ (about $22). You will also receive links to all recordings. 

ATD webcasts - https://webcasts.td.org/

The Staff Superhero: How to Save the Day and Keep Remote Employees Engaged
Tuesday, April 21, 2020 2:00pm - 3:00pm EDT
https://webcasts.td.org/webinar/3718

ATD’s Certifications and New Talent Development Capability Model
Thursday, April 30, 2020 8:00am - 9:30am EDT
https://webcasts.td.org/webinar/3749

How To Convert Workshops to Remote Training
Apr 29 - https://www.situationexpert.com/events/2300

How then do we cushion the impact on the way we do our training and learning when faced with a sudden crisis? How do we convert our classroom training into online learning with the least effort, lowest cost, and still make it effective, interactive and impactful?

ATD Houston is committed to providing a reliable and supportive educational environment, even during these difficult and uncertain times. The health and safety of our members and volunteers is of the utmost importance. We are here to support you, our colleagues, during this time.

• Our programming has moved to a virtual setting until we are able to come together in person again.
• We have postponed the Technology Conference until we can schedule an in-person event.
• General meetings and GIGs are still happening every month in webinar format.  These events will be free until we can return to our regular in-person events.
• Community Chats provide a break in your day to collaborate virtually with your peers.  Come with questions, challenges or just the opportunity to connect with others.
• Friday's Virtual Happy Hour is a fun way to end the week.

Additional Resources - Just for fun and relaxation

• Engage remote employees and retain customers. Create competitive quizzes, polls, and e-learning that anyone can play on any device. https://quizizz.com/business

• A Conference Call in Real Life.  https://youtu.be/DYu_bGbZiiQ

• Stay Home & Color: A collection of free coloring pages to help you relax.  https://dribbble.com/stories/2020/04/03/stay-home-and-color

• Watch movie-quality shows designed for your phone. New episodes every day. Sign up for Quibi now and get a limited time 90-day free trial. https://quibi.com/

If you have any questions or feedback on how we can best meet your needs, please don't hesitate to reach out to me at president@tdhouston.org.

Take care of yourself!

One of the core values of ATD Houston is taking care of our community. This enduring value guides us as we face the difficult challenge of responding to the coronavirus (COVID-19), which the World Health Organization declared a pandemic on Wednesday. Our hearts and thoughts go out to the people who have been affected by this unprecedented event and we appreciate the healthcare workers, local communities, and governments around the world who are on the front line working to contain this coronavirus.

At this time, we are in the process of setting up the infrastructure to allow you the option to attend ATD Houston programs virtually and to collaborate in online discussions. Please stay tuned as we make adjustments to our programming. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us!

For the latest coronavirus updates and resources in our community, please visit http://www.hcphtx.org/Resources/2019-Novel-Coronavirus

Here are learning resources to support those in your own organizations. If you have a specific need or question about moving to virtual meetings or training, please contact us. We will add a page on the ATD Houston site and update it with more resources as we get them. Please share these with others! 

• Resources for Virtual Training Design and Facilitation: https://www.td.org/virtual-training
• COVID-19: HELPING YOU HELP YOUR PEOPLE (includes assets for creating three essential courses (Take Precautions: COVID-19, Form Your Virtual Team and Lead Your Virtual Team): https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/covid-19-helping-you-help-your-people-megan-torrance
• Tips for Those Who Are New to Being an Online Learner: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/tips-those-who-new-being-online-learner-karl-kapp
• Remote Working: Setting Yourself and Your Teams Up for Success: https://www.linkedin.com/learning/paths/remote-working-setting-yourself-and-your-teams-up-for-success
• Tips to Level-Up Your Virtual Learning Game: https://learningrebels.com/2020/03/13/tips-to-level-up-your-virtual-learning-game/
• Virtual Training Resources: https://www.cindyhuggett.com/resources/#!/checklists
• Compiled list of resources for creating live virtual training (includes offers for online tools): https://airtable.com/shr80xyNQnIoDBi0s/tblq6Vs7UG85iJZsj?blocks=hide