President’s Message
Monica Quijada, ASTD Valley of the Sun Chapter President 2011
Hello ASTD Valley of the Sun!
I am quite pleased to serve as your President for 2011. I have been a member of this chapter for more than 7 years and served as a volunteer for the past three years. In my undergraduate studies at ASU, I earned a certificate for non-profit management and spent 5 years in the non-profit industry. I am excited to be on the volunteer side of the equation because volunteerism is an integral part of who I am. As for learning, I have been in this industry for over 10 years, earned a master’s degree in Adult Education, and worked at some of America’s largest and best companies. I look forward to meeting you at one of our many events!
I am very excited in helping you gain the skills you need to make 2011 the year that your career moves forward. The ideas the board and I have put together will help make that happen. Here’s a quick peek at some of our major initiatives for the year.
First, is the introduction of special interest groups. Previously, this was billed as communities of practice. Successful in their own right, we realized that we had separate groups coming to separate topics. That signaled that the time was now to move to specialization. These groups will continue to be self-run. Topics will be decided and presented by the attendees. The first three special interest groups (SIGs) that are being formed are around the topics of e-Learning, ROI and leading the learning organization. If you have a topic, idea or presentation, please contact Michelle Sterling with your thoughts.
In addition to these SIGs and our monthly meetings, we plan to offer a quarterly webinar. Hopefully this will allow those who cannot get away during the day the ability to partake in the offered programs. Please continue to share your thoughts and ideas about our monthly programs with Anna Dodds.
Finally, this year we are planning a bigger and better fall conference. But don’t worry. We realize that the economy hasn’t bounced back enough for you afford a much more expensive conference. We plan to partner with other organizations, local businesses, and sponsors to keep costs down. If you want to help volunteer to make this year’s fall conference one to be remembered, please contact Mike Abrams.
I know this year is going to be a great one, but I can assure you that it won’t be without issues. Nothing worth doing ever is! But we will continually strive to do better and better each month.
While I can assure you that we have a fabulous Board of Directors, they cannot do it alone. They need your help. Please contact any of them directly to volunteer your services.
Thanks again and we look forward to a prosperous year for all of us!
Monica Quijada
ASTD VOS President
