Larry Gelfund – President
Larry brings over 25 years of training and development experience to ASTD. He has been an active member of GD-ASTD for several years and has been a guest presenter at monthly meetings. Additionally, he served as Vice President of Membership, and served on several committees. Larry is currently Principle of Laredo Learning LLC, specializing in management development, strategic thinking, and performance improvement. Larry has held top training positions at Comerica Bank, Handleman Company, A&W Restaurants, The Coffee Beanery and Metro Media Restaurant Group. Larry has also served on the board of several charitable organizations nationally. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications and Business Psychology from Western Michigan University and resides in South Lyon, Michigan.
Fred Meinberg – Past President
Fred is the President of Techworld Language Solutions, a full-service language company that provides translation, language training, cultural awareness, and interpretation services. He maintains active involvement in the planning, implementation, and monitoring of all of the company’s accounts and projects. Fred has spent 18 years in the language industry. He leads the Techworld training and quality initiative, oversees the information systems, and supervises staffing. Prior to Techworld he was vice president of Nexco Technical Services, a Tier 1 contract engineering firm.
Fred studied electrical and computer engineering at Wayne State University and holds an Associate Degree in Business Administration from Oakland Community College. He is active in the Translation Company Division of the American Translators Association, the South Oakland Boys & Girls Club, On My Own of Michigan, the Optimist Club, Marketing and Sales Executives of Detroit, and is the Past President of the Royal Oak Foundation for Public Education.
Roger Blair – Vice President Membership
Roger is vice president of sales at Innovative Learning Group, and has worked in the training, publications, and communications field since 1965. He has specialized in business development since 1980.
Roger has worked with a broad variety of key accounts to achieve solid, long-term business relationships. While his main focus is on new business development, he remains close to existing projects within all client accounts to help support a very high level of customer service and satisfaction.
Throughout his career, Roger is credited with opening and servicing a significant number of key accounts in large and medium-sized companies in the financial, automotive, manufacturing, retail, and restaurant industries, many of whom he has worked with for a number of years. His key to account growth is creating and maintaining quality personal relationships based on trust, excellent service, and the maintenance of high quality standards.
Roger is a member of the Workforce Development Committee (e-learning sub-committee) at Automation Alley, an organization dedicated to promoting and perpetuating technology business in Southeast Michigan. Roger has been a member of ASTD (local and national) and ISPI (local) at various times throughout his career
While serving in the United States Air Force, Roger pursued advanced studies in advertising, art, and design.
http://www.innovativelg.com/main.asp
Katherine Krager – Vice President of Technology
Katie joined the GDASTD in 2009. Katie’s background includes over 6 years as a Learning and Development professional with the ability to accurately assess employee performance, develop learning solutions, facilitate coursework, and measure the effectiveness of the training provided. Katie has been recognized for continuous commitment to excellence and dedication to exceeding customer’s needs. She is an energetic leader with superior business acumen developed through rapid and consistent career advancements. Her undergraduate and graduate coursework focused primarily on industrial and organizational psychology, human resource management, and leadership and organizational behavior.
Katie earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Central Michigan University and a Master of Business Administration from Wayne State University. Katie brings her enthusiasm, creativity and innovation to her role as VP of Technology for GDASTD.
Michele Rochester – Chapter Secretary
Michele Rochester joined the GDASTD Board of Directors in April of 2009 and currently works with the Vice President of Programs and Events. Michele’s background includes over 10 years of professional training & development with companies such as the University of Michigan, Target Corporation, MGM Grand Detroit and her own company, Rochester Business Solutions. Highly active in the field of instruction and instructional design, Michele’s dedication, creativity and innovation has earned her several honors including Outstanding Student Leader from the University of Michigan, Diversity Champion and Diversity Train-the-Trainer from MGM Mirage (Las Vegas) and Shining Star Nominee from MGM Grand Detroit to name a few.
Michele’s professional passions include leadership education and how teams can transition from management to leadership, and diversity education. Her personal passions include teaching Sunday school and volunteering at her church, the American Red Cross, the March of Dimes, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Detroit and most recently, being a participant in the spring 2009 FBI Citizens Academy.
Michele earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and a Master of Arts from the George Washington University (Washington, DC). She is currently pursuing a doctorate in education in Instructional Technology at Wayne State University.
Michele lives in West Bloomfield with her husband and two sons and enjoys anything that adds value to life, and sharing that value with others. She hopes to bring accuracy and creativity to the GDASTD as Board Secretary.
http://www.rochesterbusinesssolutions.com
Diane Williams – Vice President of Marketing and Communications
Diane brings 25+ years of experience in human resources development and training to her role as Marketing and Communication VP. She is currently the lead internal consultant for DTE Energy’s leadership and employee development function. In this capacity, she is responsible for identifying leadership competency gaps and solutions across the enterprise.
Prior to joining DTE, Diane was the Director of Organizational Development with Mount Clemens Regional Medical Center. In this role, she was responsible for talent acquisition and development, focusing on creating leader roles and engaging leaders to deliver outstanding patient care and achieve high patient satisfaction scores. Diane also served as the Manager, Human Resource Operations, for Amerisure Companies, located in Farmington Hills. During her tenure with Amerisure, she grew through a number of roles in recruitment, employee relations, HRIS, and payroll & benefits delivery. While with Amerisure, she led the creation of a Business Partner model within the Human Resources function.
Diane holds a BGS degree from University of Michigan, and an MBA from Davenport University. She resides in Northern Macomb County.