ATD Charlotte upcoming events

The Reengagement Opportunity: Activating Leadership from the Inside Out (18 Jun 2026)

Thu, 18 Jun 2026 21:45:00 GMT

The Reengagement Opportunity: Activating Leadership from the Inside Out

Registration Deadline: June 11

In today’s labor market, where unemployment remains low and employees have greater choice than ever before, organizations face increasing pressure to retain talent and accelerate performance. Many efforts focus on preventing disengagement. The greater leadership opportunity is maximizing reengagement.

Reengagement is not a morale initiative. It is a performance strategy. It begins with leaders assessing what is real, celebrating what is already working, and activating personal alignment before attempting to influence others. Leadership energy shapes culture. Culture shapes results.

This high-energy, activation-focused session introduces the A.W.E.S.O.M.E.™ framework as an inside-out leadership pathway. Participants will engage in real-time assessment and momentum-building experiences designed to shift perspective from deficit management to opportunity maximization. Rather than concentrating on disengagement trends, the focus is on strengthening identity, reinforcing belief, and activating measurable leadership impact.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

- Reframe the current labor market not as a disengagement crisis, but as a reengagement opportunity.

- Assess their own leadership alignment and influence before attempting to shift team performance.

- Apply key elements of the A.W.E.S.O.M.E.™ framework to activate identity-driven leadership.

- Commit to one measurable leadership action that strengthens momentum within 30 days.

Participants will engage in a fast-paced activation experience that includes:

- A guided “Assess” moment to surface what is real and celebrate what is already working.

- Individual reflection aligned to core elements of the A.W.E.S.O.M.E.™ framework.

- Real-time leadership activation designed to reinforce ownership and forward momentum.

- A personal commitment anchored in immediate application.

Register Now!

Presented by:

Michelle McKown-Campbell

Michelle McKown-Campbell is a Transformational Keynote Speaker and Employee Reengagement Strategist and the Founder of Activate the Awesome®. With over 25 years of experience in HR, talent development, and leadership coaching, she helps organizations shift from managing disengagement to maximizing reengagement. Michelle is the creator of the A.W.E.S.O.M.E.™ framework, an inside-out leadership approach that activates identity, belief, and momentum to strengthen culture and performance. Known for her high-energy, experiential sessions, she equips leaders to move beyond surveys and initiatives and model reengagement in real time.

Register Now!

Join ATD Charlotte for our monthly chapter meeting. Meet other talent development professionals in the Charlotte area, discover job opportunities and - if you're recruiting - connect with job seekers, hear about the latest chapter news, and participate in a fantastic program.

We are looking forward to seeing you! Remember that in order to allow the caterer to order the correct amount of food and protect your membership dollars, ATD charges a $25 no-show fee. So if something comes up please cancel by Thursday (7 days prior to the event) 12 midnight. Thanks!!!

All times Eastern Time (US & Canada)

Location: NOTE: New Location!!

CPI Security Systems Corporate Office

4300 Sandy Porter Rd, Charlotte, NC 28273

Parking: please park anywhere in the parking lot (EV is for employees only, though).

Enter through the main entrance in the front of the building that faces Sandy Porter Road, please enter 4300 building (not 4200 building).

Check in: 5-6pm

Meeting start time: 5:45pm

Note: For any guests attending (without a guest pass), please select 'Guest-In Person' for your registration; the cost is $25 to cover the meeting and food.

Meeting Schedule:

All times Eastern Time (US & Canada)

5:45pm - Meeting starts
Dinner!
Networking & Job Forum
Chapter Announcements
Presentation
8:00pm - Meeting Concludes

June Lunch and Learn: ATD Career Pathways: Capability Model, APTD & CPTD Certifications (26 Jun 2026)

Fri, 26 Jun 2026 16:00:00 GMT

ATD Charlotte - Lunch & Learn series

Zoom Meeting: June 26; 12:00pm - 1:00pm (Eastern)

ATD Career Compass

Registration Deadline: June 26

Sylvia Yarborough

Register now!

ATD Capabilities:

Personal Capability

● Lifelong Learning

Professional Capability

● Career & Leadership Development

Objectives:

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

Define the three domains and 23 capabilities of the ATD Talent Development Capability Model and explain how they shape professional competency expectations in the field.
Distinguish between the APTD (Associate Professional in Talent Development) and CPTD (Certified Professional in Talent Development) certifications, including eligibility requirements, exam structures, and target audiences.
Self-assess their current strengths and development areas against the Capability Model using a structured reflection activity.
Identify a concrete 12-month career pathway that aligns with their professional goals, including a chosen certification target and three immediate next steps.
Locate ATD Charlotte Area Chapter and national ATD resources to support ongoing professional development and certification preparation.

Learner Outcomes:

Upon completing this session, participants will:

Knowledge

Name the three domains of the ATD Talent Development Capability Model (Personal, Professional, Organizational) and list at least five capabilities within each domain.
Articulate the eligibility criteria, exam format, recertification requirements, and approximate investment for both APTD and CPTD.
Describe at least two ATD Charlotte Area Chapter resources and two national ATD resources available to support certification preparation.

Skills

Conduct a self-assessment against the 23 capabilities of the ATD model to identify personal strengths and priority growth areas.
Compare APTD and CPTD using a structured framework to determine which certification aligns with their current role and career aspirations.
Draft a personalized 12-month development plan with three actionable next steps and a clear certification target.

Application

Apply the Capability Model as a framework for ongoing career conversations with managers, mentors, or peers.
Engage with ATD Charlotte study groups, workshops, or networking events to support certification preparation.
Use the one-page handout and facilitator guide as reference tools for continued independent learning.

Presented by:

Sylvia Yarborough

Register now!

Sylvia Yarborough of Phoenix Career Consulting, LLC is a training and development professional, career strategist, and public speaker with over 20 years of experience helping individuals and organizations unlock their full potential. She equips professionals with the tools, clarity, and confidence to elevate their careers and lead with purpose.

She currently serves as Vice President of Professional Development, where she champions innovative learning experiences and leadership growth. In this role, Sylvia leads monthly virtual Lunch & Learns, facilitates an ATD Job Seeker group, coordinates chapter events, and collaborates with the ATD Board and the greater Charlotte talent development network.

Known for her engaging and transformative speaking style, Sylvia specializes in career empowerment, workforce readiness, leadership development, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

She is the creator of signature programs including the Phoenix Career Match Tool™ and the Phoenix Foundations Training Certification™, designed to develop the next generation of confident, skilled professionals.

With a people-centered and culturally responsive approach, Sylvia inspires audiences to rise, reset, and reignite their personal and professional journeys—turning potential into powerful results.

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Schedules are busy, so plan just 60 minutes for your own professional development and come away reenergized and refreshed, with an actionable takeaway to help you move forward.

Register now!

The Slow Fade: How L&D Functions Lose Relevance Without Realizing It (16 Jul 2026)

Thu, 16 Jul 2026 21:45:00 GMT

The Slow Fade: How L&D Functions Lose Relevance Without Realizing It

Registration Deadline: July 9

You know the origin story about Reed Hastings launching Netflix and disrupting Blockbuster? It’s a classic business tale of David vs. Goliath.

It’s also wrong.

Blockbuster wasn't killed by Netflix. It slowly eroded, in part because its leaders were focused on continuing to deliver something that its customers quietly began to value less. That distinction isn't just interesting. It's the most important thing L&D professionals need to understand about their own function right now.

Internal talent and training teams face a version of this risk that rarely shows up in budget conversations until it's too late: Value Proposition Erosion (VPE). It's the gap between the value you're delivering and the value your internal clients believe they're receiving. And it widens gradually, without drama, often while engagement scores remain strong.

In this session, we'll unpack the difference between disruption and erosion, then put VPE to work through the lens of L&D. Together we'll examine the forces that may be quietly eroding the value of internal support functions—AI, shifting leadership priorities, and other teams absorbing work you once owned—and ask a more hopeful question too: how might AI actually strengthen what you offer? Through facilitated table discussion and diagnostic prompts adapted from the Strategic Clarity Framework™, you'll leave with three concrete actions and a set of questions to take back to your stakeholders.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

- Distinguish between disruption and erosion as risk patterns, and explain why erosion is the more dangerous threat to internal support functions precisely because it's harder to see—and how it may be affecting their own function.

- Identify the forces that may be eroding their function's value—including AI, shifting leadership priorities, and other functions absorbing work they once owned—and distinguish signals of erosion from normal change.

- Explore how AI, often experienced as a threat, might instead be used to enhance their function's value proposition.

- Leave with three concrete actions and a set of questions to take back to their stakeholders, in order to begin closing the detection gap before erosion becomes visible to leadership.

Register Now!

Presented by:


David Phillips	Steve Grass

David Phillips

Equal parts educator, facilitator, and instigator, David has devoted his professional life to helping people make things better. Prior to founding Faster Glass in 2010, he built his career across the financial services, public accounting, public education, and the U.S. Air Force — worlds that don't usually talk to each other. It's an atypical path, and exactly what makes him effective at helping others connect dots.

Steve Grass

A performance and change enabler at heart, Steve has spent his career helping teams ask a better question before chasing a better answer: not just what to do, but why. Over nearly three decades in the U.S. Marine Corps—leading special operations units, running a Master's-producing military college, and helping stand up Marine Corps special operations—and later guiding change and sustainability initiatives at Wells Fargo, he's learned that lasting improvement starts with understanding the WHY. When he's not enabling change, Steve is a sometime sprint triathlete and an enthusiastic practitioner of destructive gardening.

Register Now!

All times Eastern Time (US & Canada)

Location: NOTE: New Location!!

CPI Security Systems Corporate Office

4300 Sandy Porter Rd, Charlotte, NC 28273

Parking: please park anywhere in the parking lot (EV is for employees only, though).

Enter through the main entrance in the front of the building that faces Sandy Porter Road, please enter 4300 building (not 4200 building).

Check in: 5-6pm

Meeting start time: 5:45pm

Note: For any guests attending (without a guest pass), please select 'Guest-In Person' for your registration; the cost is $25 to cover the meeting and food.

Meeting Schedule:

All times Eastern Time (US & Canada)

5:45pm - Meeting starts
Dinner!
Networking & Job Forum
Chapter Announcements
Presentation
8:00pm - Meeting Concludes