Since its founding by Milton Hershey over a century ago, The Hershey Company has held true to the principle that to do well is to do good. The company’s spirit of creating human connections remains a driving force that inspires Hershey’s 18,000 employees today. As Director of Learning and Development, Mary Farrell combines her experience in performance consulting and innovative learning design to develop and deliver programs that achieve measurable results for the business.
Milton Hershey School has dedicated its resources to maximizing the potential of children in financial need. Today, more than 2,000 students from across the U.S. attend the school where they have access to unique award-winning programs, experienced teachers and caring adult mentors. As Director, Training and Development, Lenny Sweeney leads organizational learning while supporting training functions throughout the residential campus serving kids from pre-school to high school graduation.
Turkey Hill Dairy is well known for its variety of ice cream, frozen dairy treats, milk, iced teas and fruit drinks. The company includes a manufacturing operation, distribution facility and corporate office in Conestoga, Pennsylvania. In addition, the company operates the Turkey Hill Experience, a tourist destination where visitors learn about dairy culture, the company’s story and how ice cream and iced tea are created.
When you use a device that has memory or storage, you are likely relying on a product made by Micron Technology. Based in Boise, Idaho, Micron has more than 34,000 team members, in 17 different countries and the industry’s broadest portfolio of memory and storage products. As an IT Training Analyst, Martha Miles is part of a small team tasked with providing training to employees all over the world.
The NCR Corporation is the global leader in point of sale transaction systems and technology. As a senior instructional designer and innovation catalyst, April Delac designs virtual classroom learning experiences and contributes to innovation initiatives.
This was a recent topic among the team here at d’Vinci. The result was a surprising consensus that the term “digital learning” should be used differently than the term “eLearning.”
The Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed), is a trade association that leads the effort to advance medical technology in order to achieve healthier lives and healthier economies around the world. As Senior Vice President, Talent Development, Jeff Hurdle oversees all of human resources as well as onboarding, training, change management and leadership training and development.
The ATD Central Pennsylvania Chapter recently hosted a panel discussion in partnership with The Hershey Company focused on onboarding, learning delivery and technology, metrics and sustainability, and employee development.
The panel was moderated by Grayce Langheine, Talent Management Manager, Turkey Hill Dairy. Corporate panelists included:
• Mary Farrell – Director of Centralized Learning and Development, The Hershey Company
• Kevin Hostetter – Director of Training, Auntie Anne’s Inc.
The Hershey Company has set a vision to be an innovative snacks company, offering a variety of snacks from indulgent to wholesome in more spaces and places for people to enjoy. As Manager, Learning Technology and Design, Megan Garrett supports a company with an expanding product line of prominent brands being distributed to global markets.
Today’s learning and development leaders are more focused than ever on improving their organization’s performance. In different organizations, this may mean different things at different times. For the L&D leader, this means aligning all training investments with the organization’s strategy and goals.
Special thanks to the learning leaders who shared their insights:
Through its publications, events and professional development opportunities, Training Industry is a leading source for the insights and resources needed to effectively manage the business of learning. As the Director of Training Manager Development, Amy DuVernet oversees the design, development and delivery of programs that help learning leaders build high performance training organizations. The flagship program she manages is the Certified Professional and Training Management program or CPTM.
