Unlock the Conference Edge: Actionable Strategies for All

The ATD International Conference and Exposition (ATD26) is a whirlwind of "Collective Insights" and a launchpad for "Lifelong Learning." But let's be real, soaking up all that knowledge is one thing; figuring out how to actually use it in your day-to-day as a learning and development professional is another. How do those big-picture ideas translate into actionable strategies for your team, your organization, and your professional growth?

As friend of the chapter Paul Signorelli put it, the real value of any learning experience comes down to walking away with one high-impact idea and doing something with it.

What if you couldn't make it to ATD26 this year? Budget cuts, competing priorities, a calendar that just wouldn't cooperate. The national conversation moved forward without you — and catching up on your own is a project in itself. 

That's why ATD Orange County is excited to host a Post-ATD26 Roundtable. Think of it as your pass to "aha!" moments, practical strategies, and emerging trends from the conference, all from the comfort of your own space.

What's On The Agenda

What Got People Talking

What sessions sparked the most conversation? What ideas had people texting their colleagues from the conference floor? This is an open, energizing exchange where our attendees bring back what genuinely moved them — the insights, the surprises, and the ideas that are still rattling around in their heads. If you weren't there, this is your front-row seat to what the conference actually felt like.

Roundtable Discussions

We break into small groups focused on specific topics that matter to your work. Conference attendees bring speaker resources, session downloads, and the names and search terms worth knowing. Everyone brings their own experience and perspective. You'll leave with something specific and useful for the work you do.

Presenter Panel

If you've ever thought about contributing to the broader L&D conversation — presenting, publishing, or simply making your work visible beyond your organization — this segment is for you. A panel of ATD-OC chapter leaders, hand-selected to speak at the ATD National Leadership Conference, will walk you through exactly how they got there: how they shaped their ideas, caught the attention of selection committees, and took their expertise to a larger audience.

Discussion Leaders

Cyndi Nagel
Kesha Thomas Clark
Doaa Saleh

How We'll Make It Work (No Boring Lectures Here!)

We're meeting locally to create a dynamic, collaborative learning environment. This is an active dialogue led by other ATD-Orange County L&D professionals designed for you to:

• Share Your Key Takeaways: If you attended ATD26, what resonated most with you? What surprising insights did you gain? This is your moment to share and spark new conversations.
• Discuss Practical Applications: How do you see yourself applying what you learned (or what you could learn!)? What challenges do you anticipate in implementing new ideas, and how can our community help you overcome them?
• Explore New Ideas Collectively: This is a fantastic opportunity to brainstorm and refine new approaches based on the conference's overarching themes. You might just find the solution you've been looking for from a fellow ATD-OC member!

Join us for a day of improving communication, leadership, and collaboration through fun, laughter, and a few well-designed games. Yes, And for Business leaders is an interactive workshop that introduces improvisation and storytelling as practical tools for modern leadership. This session uses structured creativity exercises to help participants build presence, adaptability, and trust.

This experience is built specifically for professionals, especially HR leaders, who want practical takeaways, not performance pressure. Every activity is guided, purposeful, and immediately applicable back in the workplace. And you'll probably have a few laughs too!

Part 1: Warming Up to Presence:

We begin with light, engaging games like Pass the Clap and a One-Word Group Story. These exercises gently bring participants into the room mentally and physically while building: real-time listening, awareness of others, letting go of overthinking, and co-creation without control. Participants quickly experience an important leadership truth: being present matters more than being clever.

Part 2: The Power of "Yes, And"

At the heart of improv is a simple concept: Yes, And. This isn't about blind agreement. It's about acknowledging a contribution and building on it. Through small-team storytelling and partner-based fun and games, participants practice: supporting ideas instead of correcting them, moving conversations forward, shared ownership, nonverbal communication, and trust and adaptability. HR professionals often see firsthand how quickly ideas die in meetings. This section gives them language and exercises they can bring back to teams to improve brainstorming, feedback conversations, and cross-functional collaboration.

Part 3: Storytelling Under Pressure

Clear communication is a leadership superpower. Participants learn a simple framework of Who/ What/ Where to anchor conversations, presentations, and high-stakes discussions. Through "heightened storytelling" and scene-based exercises, they practice: structuring ideas quickly, staying grounded while adapting, listening under pressure and responding instead of rehearsing

By adding creative constraints (changing pace, tone, or physicality), participants break rigid thinking patterns for fast-moving organizational environments.

You will leave with strengthened:

This workshop doesn't end in the room. You walk away with:

Where leaders are constantly responding to change, the ability to listen, build, and adapt in real time is a competitive advantage. And it turns out, you can build it through play.

Pricing:

Lunch, snacks, and coffee will be provided.	Early Bird thru 3/24	Regular 3/25 to 4/15	Just in Time after 4/16
Member	$150	$170	$190
Members of all other ATD chapters	$170	$190	$210
Non-Member	$200	$220	$240

About our Presenter:

Erica Mesirov is the Founder and President of Joy At The Top, where she partners with organizations to prevent burnout, strengthen team connection, and build resilient, high-performing cultures. As a corporate wellness consultant and strategist, Erica works with leaders and teams in high-pressure environments to implement sustainable stress management practices that improve focus, engagement, and performance.

With a master's degree in Holistic Nutrition and advanced certifications in meditation, sound healing, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP), and hypnosis, Erica brings both scientific grounding and behavioral insight to her work. She equips teams with practical, accessible tools to regulate stress, increase presence, and restore energy. Her workshops and programs blend neuroscience, mindset training, and experiential learning to create measurable outcomes: reduced turnover, fewer sick days, improved productivity, and stronger team cohesion.

Erica's approach is also shaped by her unique creative background. A former professional actress, she completed a two-year intensive program in performance and improvisation at the New Actors Workshop, studying under legendary director Mike Nichols, director of The Graduate, and improv pioneer Paul Sills, founder of The Second City. This training deeply informs her work today, where she integrates storytelling and improvisational techniques to help leaders communicate more effectively, adapt quickly, and build authentic connection within their teams.

Her belief in workplace wellbeing is also personal. Erica met her husband while on a six-month theater tour across the United States and Europe. Today, he works in Human Resources and led the leadership and employee development program at Los Angeles International Airport during the COVID-19 crisis. This gave Erica a close-up view of the pressures HR leaders and organizations face during times of disruption and change.

Erica believes joy at work isn't a luxury, but a company advantage. Through keynotes, workshops, and long-term wellness strategies, she helps organizations create environments where people stay sharp, resilient, and fully engaged in even the busiest seasons

Earn Professional Professional Development Points

This program is worth 4.5
Professional Development points. 

Find out more about APTD/CPTD Certifications here.

ATD Capability Model

This program aligns with the following Domains and Capabilities: 

Building Personal Capability

Developing Professional Capability

Impacting Organizational Capability

Talent development professionals should be able to implement a multilevel, systematic method for gathering, analyzing, and reporting on information about the effectiveness and effort of learning programs.

To find out more about the ATD Capability Model for the Training and Development Profession, visit http://tdcapability.org.

Accessibility

ATD-OC events are accessible to all participants. If you have questions or require special accommodations or auxiliary aid related to a disability for you to participate in the event, please notify us at least three weeks in advance by message to ocoffice@atdoc.org, with subject line "ADA Accommodations," outlining your needs and request for accommodation.

We will make every effort to work with you to accommodate your need.

PHOTOGRAPHY RELEASE

As part of your registration, you will be required to indicate your acceptance or rejection of the statement below:

By registering for this event, I hereby give the Association for Talent Development, Orange County Chapter, its clients, agents, and assigns, full permission to use, publish and copyright photographic images, film images, video images, sound recordings, and any reproductions from these materials of me and/or my property or any part thereof, either in conjunction with or without using my name, and make changes or alterations therein and/or alterations thereto Worldwide in perpetuity. Some places these images and recordings may be used and posted include, but are not limited to, the Internet, emails, social media, etc.

If I do not provide permission, I understand I will be seated outside of the field of video.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT:

Gather 5 new connections at the next conference or event you attend!

Attending a conference (like the ATD International Conference and Exposition that is landing in our backyard next month) or an event represents a significant investment in your professional development.

But: An investment in skills without an investment in relationships is incomplete.  

Yet many of us dread the "work" in "network." Swapping business cards or reciting a rehearsed elevator pitch feels transactional, not relational. And frankly, it doesn't work. You end up with a pocket full of cards from people you don't actually know.

Tonight, we are going to explore how to strip away the corporate veneer and show up as your genuine self.

Embrace Serendipity: Break the ice and open up to chance connections by dropping preconceived notions.

Understand Authenticity: Understand why being authentic is crucial for building genuine, long-lasting trust and authority in your network.

Refine the Connection: Apply this authenticity to a core networking tool—the elevator pitch—making it powerful and memorable because it's genuinely you.

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

1. Overcome initial hesitation to network and connect with others authentically
2. Prepare for an upcoming event with a list of curious, observations, and context-based questions

Agenda:

6:00 PM — Welcome / Informal Networking 

6:10 PM — Structured Networking

6:30 PM — Main Event

7:00 PM — Structured Networking

7:30 PM — Closing/Informal Networking

What To Bring

Pack light for this event. Bring your genuine curiosity and a fully charged smartphone with the LinkedIn app ready to go.

We are using digital handshakes to lock in your new network, allowing you to stay present and authentic in every interaction.

The Administrivia

Demand for creative thinking is currently outpacing supply. Despite that need, creative thinking is one of the skills most lacking in job candidates. The good news is that creative thinking is a trainable skill. 

In the September 2026 issue of TD at Work, Gerard J. Puccio and Pamela A Szalay explain the nature of creativity and present six strategies to enhance creative thinking.

We're facilitating this session using a virtual roundtable approach. During this discussion, we'll:

• brainstorm ways you can practice enhancing your creative thinking
• link the author's suggested opportunities to pair creative thinking with artificial intelligence with the work you do

Join us September 23, 2026 to share your thoughts and connect with your L&D peers in the Chapter's first fun and engaging conversation of the new year!

PowerTable Format:

For each PowerTable session, ATD-Orange County Board members will facilitate the discussion around a designated TD @ Work issue.

During our roundtable discussion, each attendee will be encouraged to share their insights on the given TD @ Work topic. 

All ideas are welcome. Your thoughts are encouraged.  

Do you need to be a PowerMember to attend?

Not really. But it helps. The issue being discussed is $15 without an ATD National membership.  

ATD Capability Model

Each ATD-OC Learning Event will be aligned to at least one Talent Development  Capability, as identified by ATD National.

This program aligns with:

To find out more about the ATD Capability Model for the Training and Development Profession, visit http://tdcapability.org.

Earn Professional Professional Development Points

This program is worth .5 Professional Development points.
Find out more about APTD/CPTD Certifications here.

Return to Top

Accessibility

ATDOC events are accessible to all participants. If you have questions or require special accommodations or auxiliary aid related to a disability for you to participate in the event, please notify us at least three weeks in advance by message to ocoffice@atdoc.org, with subject line "ADA Accommodations," outlining your needs and request for accommodation.

We will make every effort to work with you to accommodate your need.

Return to Top

PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEO RELEASE

By registering for this event, I hereby give the Association for Talent Development, Orange County Chapter, its clients, agents, and assigns, full permission to use, publish and copyright photographic images, film images, video images, sound recordings, and any reproductions from these materials of me and/or my property or any part thereof, either in conjunction with or without using my name, and make changes or alterations therein and/or alterations thereto Worldwide in perpetuity. Some places these images and recordings may be used and posted include, but are not limited to, the Internet, emails, social media, etc.

If I do not provide permission, I understand I will not activate my web camera during the session.

AI is reshaping how we work, learn, and lead. But as we find our world changing at an accelerated pace, the deeper challenge isn't any single technology. It's how we respond to it.

When one disruption dominates headlines and strategy conversations, our field of vision can narrow. WE focus on implementation, speed, and adoption. Meanwhile, other forces are quietly reshaping leadership, identity, trust, attention, and decision-making.

Event details forthcoming, but we're excited about this so we wanted to let you know what we know now.

Agenda:

6:00 PM — Welcome / Informal Networking 

6:10 PM — Trick or Treating (?)

6:25 PM — A Little Chapter Business

6:30 PM — Main Event

7:30 PM — Closing/Informal Networking

What To Bring

The Administrivia

Event Details to be announced!

We invite all of our Learning Community to be a part of this culminating event! Celebrate your successes, connect with your peers, and set a vision for the future with us!

During this winter get-together, we will:

We will also take a few moments to have our Annual Membership Meeting, giving you an overview of the coming year.

And guess what? A delicious meal, door prizes, and parking are included!

Come share in the festivities, connect with fellow members, and let’s make some great memories together.

We can't wait to see all of you there—let's celebrate what we've achieved and look forward to what's ahead!

The Schedule for the Evening:

Menu:

Things to Bring:

Parking: Free parking in the lot

Deadlines: 

Monday, December 1

Cancellation/refund deadline is Monday, December 1 at 5 pm. No shows will be charged in full.

Earn Professional Professional Development Points

This program is worth .5 Professional Development points.
Find out more about APTD/CPTD Certifications here.

ATD Capability Model

Each ATD-OC Learning Event will be aligned to at least one Talent Development  Capability, as identified by ATD National.

This program aligns with:

To find out more about the ATD Capability Model for the Training and Development Profession, visit http://tdcapability.org.

PHOTOGRAPHY & VIDEO RELEASE

By registering for this event, I hereby give the Association for Talent Development, Orange County Chapter, its clients, agents, and assigns, full permission to use, publish and copyright photographic images, film images, video images, sound recordings, and any reproductions from these materials of me and/or my property or any part thereof, either in conjunction with or without using my name, and make changes or alterations therein and/or alterations thereto Worldwide in perpetuity. Some places these images and recordings may be used and posted include, but are not limited to, the Internet, emails, social media, etc.

If I do not provide permission, I understand I will not activate my web camera during the session.