Kara Yates
Newburgh,IN
Summary
Well-qualified Director of Engagment and Professional Developent with demonstrated understanding of data analytics, risk mitigation and utilization improvements. Skills include project, team and implementation management. Ready to bring 15 years of related experience to a challenging new role. Successful growth-minded leader in learning and development, product management and customer engagement with proven experience in supporting educators, leaders, and professionals with learning programs and technologies. Demonstrated record of effective project management, training & professional development, and process improvement. Highly motivated to leverage cross-functional leadership skills to impact growth and success through collaboration and strategic development.
Overview
23
23
years of professional experience
Work History
Director of Product Engagement
Motivating Systems
Evansville, IN
01.2018 - Current
- Developed and implemented a strategic learning plan that aligned with the broader learning strategy and incorporated functional needs and priorities, resulting in an increase in learner engagement and satisfaction.
- Led the cultivation of a learner-centric culture by incorporating a people-centric perspective and learning expertise into products and solutions, resulting in a 15% increase in learning program adoption and utilization.
- Initiated and led ground-breaking, scalable, and relevant learning industry trends centered on impact and accessibility, resulting in a 10% increase in learning program effectiveness and renewals.
- Established governance processes and protocols for multiple projects and partnerships, resulting in an increase in efficiency and consistency/scale.
- Designed and developed extraordinary, engaging learning experiences that were instructional sound and high performance, resulting in an increase in learning program completion rates.
- Developed and led the learning technology strategy and stack, resulting in a 25% increase in integration with other systems, platforms, and processes.
- Defined and managed the Learning Measurement + Analytics strategy and tools, resulting in an increase in the successful evaluation of all learning solutions.
- Evaluated existing programs for impact and alignment with organizational needs and provided recommendations for learning experiences that increased reach, impact, and future capability requirements.
- Created and maintained world-class learning branding across all programs and solutions, resulting in an increase in brand recognition.
- Led high adoption and utilization of learning solutions by creating and leading the learning communication and marketing strategy, resulting in a 20% increase in program adoption and utilization. -Managed the allocation of the Learning Optimization capacity, resources, and expertise based on shared strategic priorities and return of invested time/effort, resulting in a 15% increase in learning program effectiveness.
- Developed and maintained a strong pipeline of L&D talent through continuous talent management, development planning, talent assessment, succession planning, and performance management, resulting in a 20% increase in employee retention.
- Frequently engaged with key stakeholders, cross-functional partners, practice owners, and learners to ensure strong collaboration, sponsorship, and relevancy of strategic project work, resulting in an increase in stakeholder satisfaction.
- Led and managed key external vendor relationships, resulting in an increase in vendor performance and satisfaction.
- Served as an internal consultant to business and HR on matters of learning optimization, resulting in an increase in business and HR satisfaction with learning solutions.
- Participated in strategy development and planning to grow organizing program and advance campaigns.
- Spoke at public events, evangelizing for organizational goals and interests.
- Engaged with larger movement to build transformational and deeply collaborative partnerships.
- Discovered opportunities to gain deeper insight into creating efficient and streamlined processes.
- Generated reports to evaluate program success and make modifications.
Director of School Engagement
Five Star Technology Solutions
Jeffersonville, IN
01.2018
- Orchestrated/administered the development, promotion, and curation of company's Learning Management
- System, Pyxis
- Developed marketing materials/strategies/campaigns for social and digital ecosystems to increase brand awareness
- Created and produced company podcast (Models of Possibility) to influence audience/target market
- Engineered and delivered training dashboards/professional development workshops on topics like Google, technology integration, internal best practices, streamlining practices/protocols
- Evaluated the effectiveness of regional growth objectives to understand ROI and customer perspective
- Partner with cross-functional creative teams to develop short- and long-term strategic plans based on com- pany goals/core values
- Optimized company CRM system (HubSpot) to improve customer retention, promote sales/marketing growth, and streamline process workflows
- Leveraged design thinking skills to continuously improve product lifecycle processes, solve business prob- lems, and promote passionate internal culture.
Director of Innovative Learning
Five Star Technology Solutions
Sellersburg, IN
01.2015 - 01.2018
- Partnered with school superintendents/administrators to create or improve technology integration pro- cesses
- Spearheaded creative curriculum development to maximize learning technology use in classrooms
- Facilitated impact analysis reports/workshops for school districts by coordinating survey feedback, focus groups, on-site observations, and performance feedback from technology coaches
- Headed innovative fundraising programs by engaging with current/potential clients, partnering with influ- encers, and attending networking meetings
- Ensured e-learning tool effectiveness by monitoring instructional strategies, faculty training, student sup- port, learning management systems (LMS), assessment techniques, integration, best practices, and trouble- shooting
- Oversaw account management by assessing client needs, writing proposals, determining project plans, and crafting specific solutions for customers
- Served as the brand/voice of company by managing social media accounts, partnering with Southern Indi- ana districts on digital leadership, and promoting success stories.
Director of Instructional Technology
Henderson County Schools
Henderson, KY
01.2014 - 01.2015
- Planned, marketed, and hosted district-wide technology conference to provide thought leadership and best practices for implementing effective educational innovations
- Consulted executive leadership on emerging technologies, best practices, and market trends that could help transform current curriculum
- Formulated an improved system for organizing, tracking, and retrieving multiple data sets, resulting in a streamlined assessment documentation process
- Coordinated performance management process for District/School report card and improvement plans to ensure timely submission and completion
- Provided administrative, technical, and ethical support to foster technology-rich teaching and sound ac- countability system.
Outreach Coordinator
Indiana Department of Education
Indianapolis, IN
01.2013 - 01.2014
- Identified school process improvement opportunities to boost student achievement and accountability rat- ings
- Assessed/strengthened schools' culture, achievement, leadership, and practices to improve student out- comes
- Collaborated with districts to develop curriculum maps, common assessments, proficiency plans, and PLCs
- Served as subject matter expert by providing technical assistance to school districts
- Established partnerships with schools/communities to develop programs that fulfill student learning needs.
District E-Learning Coach
Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation
Evansville, IN
01.2000 - 01.2013
- Deployed in-depth research to create, edit, and produce content for E-Learning manual
- Mentored students and teachers on effective tutoring strategies.
Education
Master's Degree - Building Level Administration
Oakland City University
Bachelor of Arts - Secondary Education and, Speech & Communication
Oakland City University
Certifications & Specialties Google Certified Educator, ApSki Trainer, CS First Trainer, G-Suite Master, Google - undefined
Skills
Innovative Thinking
undefinedWork Availability
monday
tuesday
wednesday
thursday
friday
saturday
sunday
morning
afternoon
evening
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Timeline
Director of Product Engagement
Motivating Systems
01.2018 - Current
Director of School Engagement
Five Star Technology Solutions
01.2018
Director of Innovative Learning
Five Star Technology Solutions
01.2015 - 01.2018
Director of Instructional Technology
Henderson County Schools
01.2014 - 01.2015
Outreach Coordinator
Indiana Department of Education
01.2013 - 01.2014
District E-Learning Coach
Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation
01.2000 - 01.2013
Master's Degree - Building Level Administration
Oakland City University
Bachelor of Arts - Secondary Education and, Speech & Communication
Oakland City University
Certifications & Specialties Google Certified Educator, ApSki Trainer, CS First Trainer, G-Suite Master, Google - undefined
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