Announcements

We are pleased to announce our 2022 Dan King Scholarship Recipients: Jessica Bullock, Elizabeth L. Burke, and Eileen Terrell. CARA’s co-founder, Dan King, was a lifelong learner who believed in human potential and that is why he started this business. In honor of Dan, CARA provides annual scholarships to eligible consultants who have demonstrated a commitment to CARA and their own continuous learning.

Jessica Bullock

Jessica exemplifies the goals of the Dan King Scholarship through her ongoing commitment to continuous learning and dedication to the broader profession. Jessica, a dedicated Organizational Change Management consultant, has made significant contributions over the past two years on a large-scale, global transformation initiative. She has also written CARA blog posts and was recognized as a CARA PURE Award winner in 2021, has presented at conferences, and mentored young professionals.

Jessica plans to use her scholarship to further refine her coaching skills through an Agile Coaching certification.

Elizabeth L. Burke

Elizabeth is a dedicated Communications Specialist supporting a wide range of client needs and industries, allowing her to bridge information gaps based on these diverse experiences. Her focused approach in developing thorough technical documentation allows for efficient execution of tasks.

Elizabeth’s enthusiasm to share information convinced her to serve on the Chicago – Society for Technical Communications Administrative Counsel. Her contributions as a manager of several committees ultimately led her to serve two terms as President.

Elizabeth intends to use her scholarship in two ways: 1. Attending 2022’s in-person eLearning & Technology Showcase to learn of the changes in technology use and communication trends brought on by the pandemic and 2. Exploring technology tools through LinkedIn training to grow her technology tools knowledge.

Eileen Terrell

Eileen has worked with CARA for over 10 years both as a staff employee (Service Delivery Manager) and consultant. Eileen has had the opportunity to wear many hats: learning strategist, project manager, and instructional designer on a variety of client projects. Networking and building authentic relationships are important to Eileen and she is currently serving as a National Advisor for Chapters through ATD (Association for Talent Development) as one way to stay connected with other talent development professionals.

Eileen has a passion for continuing to enhance and build her capabilities and plans to use her scholarship funds to obtain a certification in Change Management.

Thank you, Jessica, Elizabeth, and Eileen, for consistently demonstrating your commitment to CARA and to Change, Learn, Grow.

 

 

The CARA Group is honored to be named to Training Industry, Inc’s 2022 Custom Content Development Watch List.

“We are proud to be recognized by Training Industry, Inc., as we believe this award speaks to our ability to understand the unique needs of each client, and design, manage, and deliver best-in-class solutions to drive workforce performance,” said Michelle Reid-Powell, CARA President and CEO.

Tom Whelan, Director of corporate research at Training Industry, Inc. had this to say regarding these Watch Lists¹: “The emerging companies chosen for our Custom Content Development Watch List create a learning environment with their comprehensive solutions to align with business objectives,” said Tom Whelan, director of corporate research at Training Industry, Inc. “These companies create this learning environment through developing engaging content with the latest learning technologies in gamification, eLearning and virtual training.”

Contact us to learn more how CARA can partner with you to help you achieve your learning goals.

 

About The CARA Group

The CARA Group is a consulting firm focused on change management, learning, and communications solutions that enable the workforce of the future. Our unparalleled commitment to the success of our clients and consultants makes CARA solutions unique. https://www.thecaragroup.com.

About Training Industry, Inc.

Training Industry (https://trainingindustry.com) is the most trusted source of information on the business of learning. Our authority is built on deep ties with more than 450 expert contributors who share insights and actionable information with their peers. Training Industry’s courses, live events, articles, magazine, webinars, podcast, research and reports generate more than 10 million industry interactions each year, while the Top 20 Training Companies Lists help business leaders find the right training partners.

Footnotes:

1. Training Industry 2022 Custom Content Development award press release

 

 

 

The CARA Group is pleased to announce the addition of two new members to the Project Solutions team: Maureen Heideman, Senior Solutions Consultant, and Gary Krukar, Engagement Manager, effective March 2022. Maureen and Gary will report to Melissa Noonan, Senior Director, Project Solutions.

“I am excited that both Maureen and Gary are officially part of the broader CARA team”, said Melissa. “Their skills, expertise and contributions will be critical to positioning CARA for continued growth and our ability to offer increased value to our clients through CARA’s project solutions.”

Maureen Heideman

Maureen is a solutions consultant and instructional designer who has worked with Fortune 500 clients and government agencies to create interactive training solutions that balance training, performance support, assessment, coaching, critical thinking, and refection to encourage high-level transfer of learning.

As a learning lead in instructional design, Maureen has been recognized with four Brandon Hall awards.

Gary Krukar

Gary is a hands-on practitioner, consultant, and manager with over 25 years of experience. He has provided instructional analysis, design and development, project management, and process improvement consulting services to a variety of clients in many industries, embracing change and encouraging growth through knowledge sharing along the way.

Throughout his career, Gary has successfully managed, coached, and led others to design, develop, and implement learning solutions that drive human performance and successful business outcomes.

The CARA Group is pleased to announce the hiring of Melissa Noonan to the position of Senior Director, Project Solutions. Melissa is a member of the Executive Leadership Team and reports to CARA’s SVP, Talent Management, Allyson Carter. In this role, she will focus on ensuring CARA effectively delivers high-impact, client-focused solutions that consider each unique individual organization and their needs.

“CARA is committed to ensuring we design, manage, and deliver best-in-class solutions and that starts with ensuring a deep understanding of our client needs and an exceptional team to deliver beyond expectations. I am excited about the addition of Melissa to our CARA team as she has the passion, experience and expertise to ensure we deliver on our promise!” Allyson Carter, SVP Talent Management

Prior to joining CARA, Melissa held several strategic leadership roles in broader Talent Management, Learning and Change at companies including Andersen Consulting / Accenture, Hewitt & Associates (Aon) and ULTA. In these roles, she was instrumental in re-engineering key practices and programs, helping to commercialize services and position organizations for long-term, profitable growth. She also led high-performing teams acknowledged by Brandon Hall. Additionally, she has served in key leadership roles helping small to mid-tier consulting companies prepare to scale and grow through client-centric business development practices, restructuring, and implementation of repeatable methodologies and offerings. In these roles she had the privilege of applying her extensive experience and expertise using structured consulting methodologies to scope, frame, and deliver consulting engagements that delight various clients across industries spanning the mid-market to the Fortune 500.

Melissa holds a Master of Arts in Learning Sciences from Northwestern University and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Northern Illinois University. She is a trained CTI Coach and a consummate learner. She is forever reading articles, listening to podcasts, or enrolled in training. To evolve as a person and a leader, she believes in personal development and margin; she makes it a practice to preserve time for both. She enjoys attending, serving, and volunteering in her church. When the weather is warm, you can find her enjoying time with her husband John and their four children, Evelyn, Kennedi, Olivia and Bennett boating in Illinois and Wisconsin.

The CARA Group is excited to announce the promotion of Allyson Carter to Senior Vice President, Talent Management.

Allyson joined our leadership team in 2019 with the goal of positioning CARA for exponential growth. During her tenure, she has led the transformation of every aspect of CARA’s talent lifecycle, managing large-scale internal change while supporting both our team and our Fortune 500 clients through the disruption of a global pandemic.

Allyson works passionately to ensure each CARA team member is supported in achieving their full potential as we deliver innovative, human-centered solutions to our clients. She has not only honored and fortified our strong, values-based culture, she is a role model of Professionalism, Understanding, Responsibility, and Excellence.

Please congratulate Allyson on this well-deserved promotion.

In celebration and gratitude,

Your Friends at CARA

The CARA Group is pleased to announce the hiring of Sheryl James to the position of Account Executive. In this role, Sheryl is responsible for creating customized learning, change management, and communications solutions for her client portfolio.

“Sheryl’s extensive sales background will be a valuable asset as she integrates her professional expertise into our Account Executive team”, said Barry Larson, Director, Sales and Solutions. “We are very excited to have her join CARA to help us expand our footprint across the Midwest.”

Sheryl, with a passion for consultative sales and performance management, has built her career on developing exceptional client relationships and creating customized solutions to consistently exceed client expectations. She comes to CARA with over 20 years of global management consulting, learning and development, and performance improvement experience at Accenture (Andersen Consulting), Baxter, Ceridian, and MB Financial Bank. As a strategic advisor, she has partnered with senior executives to create custom solutions to reduce cost, improve efficiencies, increase employee effectiveness, and catapult customer service levels.

Sheryl is a published author, motivational speaker, and Certified Professional Coach. She has an International MBA from the American Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird), studied in Paris at the Sorbonne, and lived/worked in nine different countries in Western Europe. Sheryl’s personal passions are family, faith, travel, and cooking.

 

The CARA Group is pleased to announce the hiring of Alisha Blanchard to the position of Account Executive. In this role, Alisha will support clients by providing customized learning, change management, and communications solutions.

“Alisha brings to CARA a rich background as a learning practitioner, which provides a solid foundation to support her new Account Executive role,” said Barry Larson, Director, Sales and Solutions. “We are thrilled to have her join our growing team and put her expertise to work as she develops client partnerships.”

Alisha comes to CARA with an M.Ed. in Instructional Design and 15 years in learning and development customizing learning solutions for clients in the higher education, corporate, nonprofit, and healthcare spaces. Most recently, Alisha served as Senior Manager, Learning Experience Design, where she led and managed teams of instructional designers and technologists who developed custom learning solutions for a variety of clients.