ATD Puget Sound Chapter upcoming events

ATD Puget Sound Mentorship Program - Kick Off Meeting for members of the 2H2026 Cohort Only (July 30, 2026)

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 19:00:00 GMT

We're excited to welcome you to the ATD Puget Sound 2H2026 Mentorship Program, and it all begins with our Kickoff Session on July 30!

Welcome to a community where learning is shared, meaningful connections are built, and everyone has something to contribute.

This cohort's theme, Learning in Community, reflects what we've seen across multiple mentorship cohorts: professional growth is stronger when it's shared.

Over the next 4.5 months, you'll exchange ideas, challenge one another's thinking, build meaningful professional relationships, and learn alongside a community of talent development professionals who share your passion for developing people.

Whether you're joining as a mentor or a mentee, this kickoff marks the beginning of a collaborative learning journey, and we can't wait to get started together.

What to Expect at the Kickoff

During this interactive session, you will:

Learn how the program is structured and what to expect over the next 4.5 months
Meet your mentor or mentee and begin building a strong mentoring partnership
Review key milestones, resources, tools, and program expectations
Explore how to establish meaningful development goals using the ATD Capability Model
Connect with fellow participants and begin building relationships across the cohort
Learn how workshops, office hours, Slack, networking events, and other program activities will support your learning throughout the journey

This is a relaxed, community-focused session, so feel free to bring your lunch, your curiosity, and your questions as we begin this experience together.

What We'll Build Together

Together, we'll:

Build a supportive learning community where everyone contributes and everyone learns
Develop meaningful professional relationships across the ATD Puget Sound community
Strengthen leadership, coaching, communication, and talent development capabilities
Foster continuous learning through reflection, feedback, and practical application
Learn from one another through mentoring, workshops, networking, and shared experiences

Program Commitments

To make the most of the experience, participants are asked to:

Commit to the full mentorship cohort, July 30 - December 14, 2026
Meet regularly with your mentor or mentee, approximately 2 hours per month
Participate in workshops, networking events, Slack discussions, and program surveys
Join the program Slack workspace and stay connected throughout the cohort
Reach out to the program team if you need support at any point during your mentorship journey

Before the Kickoff

Before we meet on July 30, please:

Complete your Slack setup
Review your mentor or mentee profile once matches have been announced
Watch for program communications and important updates leading up to the kickoff
Come ready to connect, learn, and begin building new professional relationships

We're thrilled you've chosen to be part of this cohort, and we can't wait to see the ideas you'll share, the relationships you'll build, and the growth you'll experience together.

Professional growth is stronger when it's shared.

See you on July 30!

If you're unable to attend the kickoff session, please contact:

Maria Kolesnikoff

MentorManager@atdpugetsound.org

ATD Capabilities - Career & Leadership Development, Lifelong Learning, Performance Improvement

Registration:

This event is limited to attendees accepted into the Mentorship Program.

Seattle Networking Interest Group (August 06, 2026)

Fri, 07 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Seattle Networking Interest Group

Our Networking Interest Group meets virtually the first Thursday of every month for connection, conversation and conviviality! Whether you’re a current member or curious about becoming one, these structured gatherings are intentionally designed to help you:

Meet talent development professionals from across the Puget Sound region
Discover new ways to get involved with our Chapter
Get the most value out of an ATD Puget Sound Membership
Engage with Chapter Leaders
Experience and learn fun virtual connection building activities you can use at work

Whether you’re an experienced trainer, facilitator, coach, instructional designer, consultant, or aspiring to work in one of the many fields of L&D, these meetings give you the chance to learn from and with others, feel more connected to the industry and get inspired to be an active member of the ATD Puget Sound community.

Can’t join us for the full 90 minutes? No problem! This is your open invitation to a virtual open house: anyone can "Zoom" by, whenever, and for however long you can stay.

Pre-registration is required to have the Zoom log in information sent. Also, there is no real time assistance available for this program.

Individual Development Plan (IDP) Workshop (August 12, 2026)

Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Join us in a two-part workshop focused on understanding, designing, and completing an Individual Development Plan (IDP).

Session 1 introduces Professional Development strategies, IDP best practices and myths, and self-assessment tools.

Session 2 provides guided, hands-on time to create and refine a personalized IDP and develop an actionable growth plan.

Takeaways:

Define the purpose and structure of IDPs
Identify strengths, growth areas, and development priorities
Create measurable and actionable development goals
Build and refine a personalized IDP
Learn strategies to maintain accountability and track progress

Competencies Developed:

Self-assessment and reflective practice
Strategic goal setting and development planning
Career growth and continuous learning
Action planning and accountability
Collaboration with managers and development partners

After participating in the workshop you'll:

Identify skill(s) you’d like to develop and/or knowledge you’d like to gain.
Build a development plan outlining your professional development goal(s).
Develop and document strategies for achieving the goal(s) you establish in the IDP.

Content to use immediately

A practical IDP framework you can apply right away
Templates for writing measurable development goals
Conversation prompts to use with managers or mentors
IDP Templates and then a completed (or nearly completed) Individual Development Plan

Charlotte McGuire is a recent graduate from Seattle Pacific University (SPU) with her MA in Industrial-Organizational Psychology, and is building a career as a HR and Learning & Development (L&D) professional to follows passions in helping employees grow and develop. From her studies, Charlotte has created and delivered products to clients in related areas including workshops on career development topics of succession planning and IDPs. Her professional experience spans recruitment, administrative operations, and customer-focused roles, giving her a grounded understanding of the employee lifecycle and how to design development experiences that truly support people.

ATD Capabilities - Communication, Collaboration & Leadership, Lifelong Learning, Career & Leadership Development, Coaching, Talent Strategy & Management, Performance Improvement, Future Readiness

Finding Your True North: Leading from Values and Guiding Principles with Keith Lewis (August 18, 2026)

Tue, 18 Aug 2026 19:00:00 GMT

ATDps: August 2026 Member Event

Finding Your True North: Leading from Values and Guiding Principles

with Keith Lewis | VeraSpark

Whether you're stepping into a new leadership role, navigating a career transition, or simply looking to lead with greater clarity and intention, this session is for you.

Drawing from his own journey and executive coaching experience, Keith Lewis will walk attendees through a powerful, practical process for uncovering core values, organizing them into meaningful themes, and translating them into a personal set of guiding principles.

Because great leadership starts from the inside out, and when you know who you are, every next step becomes clearer.

Takeaways

Leave with a framework you can begin applying immediately, whether you're in an interview, leading a team, or figuring out your next chapter.

Our guest: Keith Lewis, Facilitator/Speaker/Coach

Keith is the president of VeraSpark, LLC, a global executive/leadership coaching, facilitation, and keynote speaking company based in Austin, Texas since 2001.

Keith’s expertise and background includes the following areas:

Effective Leadership
Interpersonal Communication
Coaching for Performance Skills
Giving and Receiving Feedback
True Teamwork

Keith is the author of the book: Sparking Your Inner Leader: A Practical and Passionate Perspective from the Mascot Who Became an Executive Coach. Well known coach Marshall Goldsmith notes, “With a blend of humor, personal reflection, and practical wisdom, this book challenges traditional leadership perspectives and offers a fresh, engaging approach. No matter where you are in your leadership journey, this book will leave you with valuable takeaways and what it means to truly inspire and lead.”

As a senior consultant in Change Management with Anderson Consulting (now Accenture), Keith cultivated his knowledge in organization development, corporate culture and organizational communication. Keith also contributed to the growth of Eagle’s Flight, a global experiential training company, as a Vice President of Business Development. While managing a sales team in Austin, Keith added over $3.5 million in sales and delivered hundreds of programs.

Keith earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Education from Northwestern University, received a Masters in Business Administration from The University of Texas, has a certification in The Leadership Circle 360 Profile and Culture Survey, Accelerated Learning Design and Delivery, various business simulations, and is a graduate of Corporate Coach University.

Keith’s clients have included USAA, Advanced Energy United, Advanced MicroDevices, Freescale Semiconductor, Shell E&P and Shell Services, Baker Hughes, Inc., Granite Construction, Texas Instruments, Leadership Austin, Brinker International (Chili’s), Chick-fil-a, Interos, Enterey Life Sciences Consulting, University of Texas Development, Dell Medical School, Executive Education at Notre Dame, Texas Mutual Insurance, Essential Anesthesia Management, The Business Leadership Center at SMU’s Cox School of Business, The McCombs School of Business at the University ofTexas and the Stagen Leadership Institute.

Keith is a member of the Association for Talent Development (founder of the Collaborative Consultant special interest group) and the International CoachFederation.

Finally, Keith is proud of the fact that: he’s been married for over 30 years, he has 3 wonderful kids, he is a 5 th generation Texan, he served as Willie the Wildcat forNorthwestern University for four years and as Bennie the Bull for the Chicago Bulls for two seasons.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/keithdlewis/

Career & Leadership Development, Emotional Intelligence & Decision Making, Lifelong Learning, Performance Improvement, Compliance & Ethical Behavior

Registration:

Pre-Registration - Members attend at no charge. There is no walk in availability. Pre-registration is mandatory.

Pre-Registration - Non-Member $20.00. There is no walk in availability. Pre-registration is mandatory.

We are not able to issue refunds after the Friday prior to the meeting. Substitutions are encouraged.

Individual Development Plan (IDP) Workshop (August 19, 2026)

Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Join us in a two-part workshop focused on understanding, designing, and completing an Individual Development Plan (IDP).

Session 1 introduces Professional Development strategies, IDP best practices and myths, and self-assessment tools.

Session 2 provides guided, hands-on time to create and refine a personalized IDP and develop an actionable growth plan.

Takeaways:

Define the purpose and structure of IDPs
Identify strengths, growth areas, and development priorities
Create measurable and actionable development goals
Build and refine a personalized IDP
Learn strategies to maintain accountability and track progress

Competencies Developed:

Self-assessment and reflective practice
Strategic goal setting and development planning
Career growth and continuous learning
Action planning and accountability
Collaboration with managers and development partners

After participating in the workshop you'll:

Identify skill(s) you’d like to develop and/or knowledge you’d like to gain.
Build a development plan outlining your professional development goal(s).
Develop and document strategies for achieving the goal(s) you establish in the IDP.

Content to use immediately

A practical IDP framework you can apply right away
Templates for writing measurable development goals
Conversation prompts to use with managers or mentors
IDP Templates and then a completed (or nearly completed) Individual Development Plan

ATD Capabilities - Communication, Collaboration & Leadership, Lifelong Learning, Career & Leadership Development, Coaching, Talent Strategy & Management, Performance Improvement, Future Readiness

Seattle Networking Interest Group (September 03, 2026)

Fri, 04 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Seattle Networking Interest Group

Meet talent development professionals from across the Puget Sound region
Discover new ways to get involved with our Chapter
Get the most value out of an ATD Puget Sound Membership
Engage with Chapter Leaders
Experience and learn fun virtual connection building activities you can use at work

Can’t join us for the full 90 minutes? No problem! This is your open invitation to a virtual open house: anyone can "Zoom" by, whenever, and for however long you can stay.

Pre-registration is required to have the Zoom log in information sent. Also, there is no real time assistance available for this program.

ATD Puget Sound Chapter upcoming events

ATD Puget Sound Mentorship Program - Kick Off Meeting for members of the 2H2026 Cohort Only (July 30, 2026)

H2026 Kickoff Meeting Invitation

What to Expect at the Kickoff

What We'll Build Together

Program Commitments

Before the Kickoff

Seattle Networking Interest Group (August 06, 2026)

Seattle Networking Interest Group

Individual Development Plan (IDP) Workshop (August 12, 2026)

Finding Your True North: Leading from Values and Guiding Principles with Keith Lewis (August 18, 2026)

Individual Development Plan (IDP) Workshop (August 19, 2026)

Seattle Networking Interest Group (September 03, 2026)

Seattle Networking Interest Group