ATD Central Massachusetts upcoming events

From Good to Known: Crafting Your Professional Brand (April 15, 2026)

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 23:00:00 GMT

One registration fee - 3 programs! This is offered as a package series.

Session 1: Building your Brand as an L&D Professional

The first session kicks off the professional development series with a deep dive into what it truly means to build an authentic, compelling brand as a learning and development professional. Participants explore the difference between brand, reputation, and visibility—along with practical examples unique to the L&D space. Through a combination of concept framing, reflective exercises, small‑group feedback, and application work, attendees clarify their strengths, key audiences, and differentiators. The session concludes with a hands‑on action‑planning segment where each participant drafts a personal brand statement and establishes next steps with an accountability partner, setting the foundation for the rest of the series.

Session 2: Certifications and Credentials: Sorting Through

The second session in the series focuses on helping L&D professionals navigate the often confusing and inconsistent landscape of industry certifications and credentials. Participants begin by examining why the credentialing ecosystem can be difficult to interpret, then move into an overview of major certification options—looking at cost, time commitment, and credibility. Using a structured decision-making framework, attendees evaluate which credentials align with their own career goals, experience level, and organizational context. Peer discussions help surface blind spots and alternative perspectives before the session wraps with each participant creating a personalized “yes / no / later” credential snapshot to guide future development choices.

Session 3: Developing Your Action Plan: Professional Development Blueprint

The final session in the series brings everything together by supporting participants in building a realistic, actionable professional development plan. After examining why many PD plans fail, the session guides attendees through effective goal setting, skill‑gap analysis, and the selection of strategies that align with both short‑ and long‑term aspirations. Participants construct their own development roadmap, including priorities, timelines, and measures of success, then refine their plan through structured peer feedback. The series concludes with a focus on accountability—helping each participant establish follow‑up mechanisms and commitments that will sustain growth beyond the workshop.

Central Massachusetts Chapter has been pre-approved by the ATD Certification Institute to offer programs that can be used towards initial eligibility and recertification of the Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD) and Associate Professional in Talent Development (APTD) credentials. This program has been approved for a maximum of 3 points.

ATD Capabilities - Communication, Collaboration & Leadership, Livelong Learning

2026 Friday Morning Central Mash: Networking, Fun & Learning (April 17, 2026)

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Talk, share, grow, and recharge at Central Mass ATD's biweekly networking Central Mash event.

This casual setting is a place to share best practices, explore ideas, develop and refine your work, and brainstorm solutions for challenges you're facing. We will be meeting every other Friday, and welcome you at one or all of the sessions as it suits your schedule.

These programs are open to members and non members.

Building our talent development community one cup at a time!

Please register in advance each time! Knowing who is attending our programs helps us make chapter decisions.

AI Hands-On Learning Lab featuring OneNote (& Rhode Island ATD!) (April 23, 2026)

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 23:00:00 GMT

AI Learning Lab Special Edition: Co-Chapter AI Superpowers

Co-Hosted by Heather Miller, VP of Programming of ATD Rhode Island & Mary Catherine Boehmer, VP of Technology at Central Mass ATD!

What happens when a seasoned power user and a curious new explorer team up to demystify AI? You get AI Superpowers.

In our most recent AI lab, Heather Miller revealed that OneNote is her secret weapon for staying organized in a world of information overload. So we asked her to join as a co-host for our "Special Edition" lab - a tag-team effort designed to show you exactly how to turn OneNote from a basic notebook into an AI-driven second brain.

Whether you’re a OneNote veteran like Heather or a total beginner like Mary, you’ll walk away with the practical skills to let AI do your heavy lifting.

The Superpower Toolkit:

The Expert: Follow Heather as she shares real-world OneNote organization hacks as a longtime OneNote user taking advantage of OneNote’s new AI features to stay ahead of the curve.

The Explorer: Follow Mary as she explains how

About OneNote

While OneNote has been around forever, Microsoft365’s 2026 update cycle has changed the game. OneNote doesn’t have to be just a static notebook anymore - it’s an active AI workspace. In this hands-on lab, we move beyond basic typing to explore the "Agentic OneNote"—a workspace that summarizes meetings, organizes handwritten chaos, and bridges the gap between brainstorming and execution, giving you real-world use cases and how-tos to help you start treating all those notes you take into a high-velocity engine for productivity.

Mary serves as the Vice President of Technology for ATD Central Mass. Currently an instructional designer at Boston Scientific, she holds an M.A. in Educational Technology Leadership from George Washington University and an additional M.A. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages with a focus on adult learners from Teachers College, Columbia University. A technology evangelist and project management professional with extensive experience managing diverse learning and development projects in the northeast, as well as Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Germany, Mary’s interests encompass adult learning, educational technology, task authenticity, learning transfer, competency-based learning, and culturally responsive practices. Her favorite instructional design model is SAM (with Dick & Carey close behind). Mary is particularly passionate about adapting learning design, instruction, and technology to enhance cultural relevance for target audience as well as implementing small moves to address performance gaps.

Heather Miller is a Learning Experience Designer at FM, a commercial insurance company, where she partners closely with subject matter experts to design practical, learner-centered experiences. She is CPTD certified and serves as Vice President of Programming for the ATD Rhode Island Chapter. With more than 20 years of experience in higher education, Heather brings a relationship-focused approach to learning design, emphasizing listening, empathy, and collaboration.

Capability Model - Technology Application, Lifelong Learning, Future Readiness

2026 Friday Morning Central Mash: Networking, Fun & Learning (May 01, 2026)

Fri, 01 May 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Talk, share, grow, and recharge at Central Mass ATD's biweekly networking Central Mash event.

These programs are open to members and non members.

Building our talent development community one cup at a time!

Please register in advance each time! Knowing who is attending our programs helps us make chapter decisions.

2026 Friday Morning Central Mash: Networking, Fun & Learning (May 15, 2026)

Fri, 15 May 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Talk, share, grow, and recharge at Central Mass ATD's biweekly networking Central Mash event.

These programs are open to members and non members.

Building our talent development community one cup at a time!

Please register in advance each time! Knowing who is attending our programs helps us make chapter decisions.

ATD26 - International Conference - We have discount codes! (May 17, 2026)

Sun, 17 May 2026 04:00:00 GMT

ATD26 International Conference and Expo

Los Angeles

May 17 - 20, 2025

The chapter has qualified for discount codes. Register at the link and the codes will be sent by confirmation email immediately. If you don't receive the email, contact us and we'll get them to you.

Whether you're signed up already or interested in going to the National Conference, please let us know with your name and contact info and the codes will be emailed in the confirmation email.

You don't have to be a member of National ATD to take advantage of this offer! If you've already signed up and paid for the conference, let us know and we'll try to get the difference refunded to you if we get the team of 5 people.

For more information about the conference, please click here.

Whether you participate in this team rate or not, if you can use our special code 1201, our chapter will receive a financial rebate on every registration.

2026 Friday Morning Central Mash: Networking, Fun & Learning (May 29, 2026)

Fri, 29 May 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Talk, share, grow, and recharge at Central Mass ATD's biweekly networking Central Mash event.

These programs are open to members and non members.

Building our talent development community one cup at a time!

Please register in advance each time! Knowing who is attending our programs helps us make chapter decisions.

2026 Friday Morning Central Mash: Networking, Fun & Learning (June 12, 2026)

Fri, 12 Jun 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Talk, share, grow, and recharge at Central Mass ATD's biweekly networking Central Mash event.

These programs are open to members and non members.

Building our talent development community one cup at a time!

Please register in advance each time! Knowing who is attending our programs helps us make chapter decisions.