The people who are elected to run our municipalities, as mayors and councilmembers, are everyday people like teachers, retired vets, and office professionals. So, who trains them on how to create policy and to run the business of our cities and towns? As the Staff Associate for Distance Learning for the Municipal Association of South Carolina, I am responsible for making sure that our municipal elected officials have easily accessible training, both in-person and online. I was hired by the Municipal Association in 2011 to develop their online training platform. I manage and create custom-built training for our elected officials and other municipal officials like municipal clerks and planning and zoning officials.   

I have been a member of ATD National for 11 years and ATDSC for 7 years.    

I’ve had a couple of different career “rebirths,” but they all revolve around teaching and the arts. I got a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Clemson University and a Master of Media Arts from the University of South Carolina. I started my work career as an art teacher in the public schools for six years, teaching basic art skills, painting, ceramics, and photography. After my master’s degree, I went to work at South Carolina ETV, working in their media arts division where we built interactive educational websites for children on their platform www.knowitall.org.   

At this time, I was also working on the side as an independent documentary filmmaker, and I created two documentaries. The first documentary I created for my master’s thesis looked at the contributions of African American women during the American Civil War named, “Through The Storm.” The second documentary named, “My Name Ain’t Eve” looks at the history and traditions of how African American families name their children. Then from SCETV I began working at the Municipal Association.   

South Carolina ATD has many opportunities for presenters to showcase their talent. With groups organized in 3 geographical areas across South Carolina, and two Special Interests Groups (SIGs) targeting specific needs within our professional community, the opportunities abound!

We are looking for local and national presenters to help build core skills, share best practices and innovations, and lead the way in trends affecting the Talent Development industry. Most importantly, we are looking for proposals to provide participants with a learning experience that offers direct professional application. Content may be delivered either in-person or virtually.

Call For Presenters Proposal Form

The following list was identified by our local membership as highly desirable subject matter for presentations. 

The presentations shall not contain a marketing or sales solicitation.

• Designing Learning
• Delivering Learning
• Human Performance Improvement
• Measuring and Evaluating Learning
• Facilitating Organizational Change
• Managing the Learning Function
• Coaching
• Managing Organizational Knowledge
• Career Planning and Talent Management

ATD South Carolina’s Career Transitions SIG is bringing you a FREE, exciting, and engaging series with Darrell Gurney, The Career Guy, and Alexandra Levin.

Gurney & Levin, a husband and wife duo, is delivering a special series open to members and non-members alike! This 3-part, 5-month mini-course will benefit ATD professionals at all levels.

The Back Forty of Leadership Series will take participants through an exploration of seven elements of organizational growth extrapolated from the new Amazon bestselling book, The Back Forty: 7 Essential Embraces to Launch Life’s Radical Second Half, to encourage both fulfillment of individual purpose while enabling organizations to build cultures to support the whole employee. 

It is no secret that “The Great Resignation”, or as some label it, “The Great Renegotiation”, is changing organizations leaving them scrambling to retain their talent. Wise leaders are re-evaluating their organization’s relationship with employees. In all times, developing internal leadership is important. In these times of wholesale cultural overhauls to maintain top talent, it’s critical. 

Book Excerpt: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14_fE99CbgQP4fLXtbE3NbBIjO3WJ5lXDdP0GYlPNW4g/edit?usp=sharing 

The Back Forty Leadership Series flyer: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14_fE99CbgQP4fLXtbE3NbBIjO3WJ5lXDdP0GYlPNW4g/edit?usp=sharing 

Presenters: 

Darrell Gurney: https://www.linkedin.com/in/careerguy/ 

Alexandra Levin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandrailevin/ 

Congratulations on achieving CARE Plus! 

This recognition means our chapter went above and beyond the required elements of CARE in 2021

Exciting news...did you know that most of our learning events qualify for continuing education credits for those who hold APTD and/or CPTD certifications?

To learn more please follow the link below

Learn more about ATD Certification Institute

The COVID-19 outbreak has organizations evaluating their ability to deliver training virtually. From design to delivery, we're here to help.

If your company would like an instant connection with South Carolina's professional Talent Development community, become a sponsor of ATD South Carolina today! Establish market presence and share what you have to offer with an eager audience of professionals who desire to develop their knowledge and skills.

Please contact partnerships@atdmidlands.org to discuss this opportunity. 

5 Reasons to Be the Difference

ATD Sponsorship Opportunities