Alex Bingham

President

Alex Bingham is currently an instructional designer for Maverik. In this role, he designs and develops instructional programs, e-learning materials, and instructor-led training to support policies and process changes. He also conducts assessments and evaluations of learning experiences to more accurately measure their effectiveness. He has a master’s degree in instructional technology and learning sciences from Utah State University and recently started a PhD program in adult and organization learning and leadership from the University of Idaho. 

Alex has a passion for lifelong learning and loves helping others develop for their current and future roles. He is an advocate for prioritizing learning and development as a crucial function within any organization. 

Barbara Shifano

Past President

Barbara Schifano, PHR, CPTD is currently the Sr Director, Learning and Development for University of Phoenix. In this role, she oversees the strategy for employee and leadership development and several talent functions to include onboarding, performance management and talent and succession planning. She has extensive training experience and her professional motto is "keeping the learner at the center of everything you do." . 

She earned a master's degree in Strategic Communications and Leadership from Seton Hall University and was awarded the Spirit Leader award for exemplifying the high standards and the spirit of St Elizabeth Ann Seton. During her board service with the Arizona Foundation for Women (AFW) she developed and oversaw the SHE Leads! leadership development program graduating more than 50 leaders and raising over $200,000. Barbara is passionate about maximizing human potential, an advocate for advancing women into leadership positions, enchanted by gardens, and an avid country music fan!

Derek Fletcher

President Elect

Derek Fletcher, CPTD lives in North Ogden, UT, with his wonderful wife and two active daughters. He brings a rich background in learning and development to his role as Community Growth Program Manager at MarketStar. There, he is at the forefront of forming meaningful partnerships with educational institutions to develop accessible career mobility programs.

With a B.S. in Professional Sales and a M.S. in Instructional design and Technology, he has honed his talent for building strong relationships and developing others. He achieved ATD's Certified Professional of Talent Development credentialing in June of 2024 which deepened his expertise in the field.

He has a deep curiosity about the science of learning and the psychology of behavior, driving his approach both in and out of the workplace. When he's not working, he loves to hit the trails, play a round of golf, or simply soak up precious moments with his family. For Derek, it's all about connecting—whether it's with people, nature, or new ideas.

Jason Sturges

VP of Administration

Jason Sturges, MED, CPTD  has a passion for learning and facilitating learners ‘one step closer’ to their desired goals. He has been in the talent development world for over 19 years, and has spent time in the franchise, bio-tech, medical device, higher ed, retail, professional services & association industries. He has worn many talent development hats including: learner experience, instructor led content development, facilitation, e-learning development, organizational development, employee engagement, onboarding, LMS management, management/leadership consulting & more. Jason has served the Utah Association for Talent Development chapter for 10 years and led the board as president twice.

Currently, Jason is leading Maverik’s Learning Experience Team, helping to create world class training programs and solutions for our Basecamp, Logistics and retail store teams. He is also available to consult with any group, team or individual, that wants to look at creating or updating their training, or even trying new & innovative strategies with their training content.

Jason received his BS in Business/Information Resource Management (2004), and his Master of Education in Adult Learning (2012) both from Westminster College – where is also an adjunct profession in the graduate school of education. In 2017, Jason earned his CPTD (Certified Professional in Talent Development) credential, with an emphasis in instructional design.  

As an avid reader and change agent, Jason’s research and consulting pursuits embrace the talent management/development, human resources, and organizational design & development arenas. Specific topics/projects in the past have included: corporate orientation/on-boarding, team development, trainer development, facilitation & presentation skills, coaching/mentoring, leadership development, program planning, and learning transfer.

Yvette Amparo

VP of Finance

Yvette Amparo is the Training and Development Specialist at Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District where she has worked for almost 23 years. She is originally from New York and has made Utah her home for the past 30 years. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Resources Management and a Master’s in Management and Leadership.

She has really dedicated herself to helping others succeed through mentoring and coaching and is passionate about learning and sharing what she learns with others. She believes that even if something doesn’t need fixing, it could always be improved.

VP of Professional Development

Justin Whiting is an Instructional Designer for Intermountain Health. At Intermountain, he loves working with the various groups such as Primary Children’s Hospital, Clinical and Surgical services, as well as Business Operations to create various learning experiences that can directly affect health outcomes for patients and caregivers. He also has nearly two decades of experience in corporate training as well as higher education.

Justin earned a Masters (MS) and Education Specialist (EdS) degree from Indiana University, and loved the time spent in Bloomington exploring informal learning environments, such as makerspaces. He loves exploring the mountains of Utah, but misses the green forests and hills of Indiana and the East coast.

KC McMillan

VP of Technology

KC McMillan  is currently an Academic Counselor for the University of Phoenix.  Helping others learn has always been a passion.  He received his Bachelor's degree in Music Education from Utah Valley University and just recently graduated from Arizona State University with his Master's degree in Music Learning and Teaching.  During his time at ASU he discovered his draw towards coaching and instructional design;  specifically helping others learn outside of the classroom, at home and in the corporate space.  When KC isn't focused on coaching students at the University he loves to spend time with his wife and five boys, enjoying the outdoors, playing card games,  Legos with his boys, pickleball, or just enjoying a good tv show or movie.

Lisa Jastremsky

VP of Conferences

Lisa Jastremsky, CPTD lives in West Jordan UT, with her husband and their fur babies, two adorable yorkies named Roach and Daisy.  With over 20 years of experience in the talent development industry, Lisa has done just about everything. She is an accomplished leader, learning and human resource business partner, facilitator, and instructional designer. Lisa is credentialed as a Certified Professional in Talent and Development (CPTD), Professional in Human Resources (PHR), and SHRM-CP.  She is a proud member of both the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM)  and the Association of Talent Development (ATD). A previous board member for the UT Chapter, Lisa served 2 years as VP of Conferences and then 1 year as President, and then 1 year as Past President. She is happy to have returned to the chapter, as the VP of Conferences to help build back after Covid and get back to in-person events.  Lisa hopes to see you all this year at the conference.

 Travis Umpleby

Co-VP of Conferences

Travis Umpleby has facilitated workshops and training sessions around the world.  As a sales consultant he enjoys watching teams come together and light up when they learn new ways to approach old problems.  “It is the Ah-ha moments that fuel my fire for teaching.  That instant a person realizes how the concepts we are working on will improve their lives.  That is what keeps me connected to L&D.”  As a professional facilitator and change management specialist he has worked with a variety of companies to identify operational and behavioral practices that limit their success.  Then develop working sessions that create lasting changes and improve financial performance.

Travis joined ATD in 2019 and enjoys collaborating (and commiserating) with like-minded professionals.  He hopes to develop a conference experience that inspires the caliber of professionals and thought leaders he has come to respect in the Utah area.  

Travis has a B.S. from Brigham Young University and an M.B.A. from the Carroll School of Management.  In addition to consulting, he is an adjunct professor at Utah Valley University in the Information Systems department.  

Jen Ransom

VP of Social Media

Jen Ransom currently leads the training team at 1-800 Contacts for their Operations contact center. In this role she leads the strategy for contact center new hire onboarding and training, associate development, and train the trainer programs. She has the pleasure of partnering with leadership around the company to identify learning needs and tie those into the amazing performance and growth of the company. Jen loves using her relationship development skills to impactfully mentor and coach leaders across the company.

With over 20 years of experience in Learning & Development, she has had roles in both public education and corporate L&D. Jen was a high school English teacher and drill team coach before she jumped into corporate training. Her two passions are how people learn and creating impactful leaders. Through strategic partnerships in her career, she has been able to learn how to use these passions to drive company performance and results. Learning how data can drive learning strategy and theory has been the most impactful journey of her career.

Jen lives in Millcreek, Utah and is an avid University of Utah fan. She has her BA degree in English from the U and danced on the Utah Dance Team while she attended school. Jen is also dedicated to promoting and mentoring women leaders and creating spaces with diversity of thought. She works with the University of Utah through their relationship with 1-800 Contacts to support, mentor and coach within these programs. Jen's favorite things are traveling with her family and reading in the sun on a beach.

Todd Wente

VP of Membership

Todd Wente has worked in the Learning and Development industry for over 25 years. As a trainer, training manager, educator, and director of learning and development, he has been involved in everything from curriculum design to leadership development to mentoring others as they develop skills and abilities in the L&D space. Todd holds a BS in psychology from BYU, an M.Ed. from Weber State and an Ed.D from ASU. Todd has had multiple research articles published and has presented at national and local conferences, including multiple invitations from Utah ATD. Todd is grateful for the trust placed in him to work with this year's ATD Board in the capacity of Membership VP and hopes to help people become more aware of the value of participating in ATD as a means to developing their skills and careers. Todd is an avid cyclist, a passionate musician and vocalist and a talented actor. He has been married to Christie, his college sweetheart, for over thirty years and together they have five children and three cats.

Craig Johnson

VP of Sponsorship and Networking

Emalie Case

VP of Marketing

Craig Johnson has 25+ years of experience in continuous improvement and manufacturing engineering in addition to professional learning and development.  He is a graduate of Weber State University, with a BS degree in Manufacturing Engineering Technology.  He has had a passion for teaching for almost his entire life and loves to “teach people to fish”.

His professional experience has included industrial, aerospace, and defense manufacturing as well as folding carton manufacturing.  He currently serves as the Learning and Development Manager at RYAM, Chief Educator at Utah Lean Six Sigma Training Center, the Director of Certification at the American Association for Lean Six Sigma Certification and serves on Board of Governors for the Davis Chamber of Commerce and the board of directors for the Utah Chapter of the Association for Talent Development.

Emalie is the Global Director of Talent Development at MarketStar where she is accountable for the strategy and program development across North America and EMEA. Driven by a deep passion for sales, learning and development, and instructional design, she is dedicated to supporting individuals on their career journeys. With a robust background in crafting innovative training programs and designing impactful learning experiences, Emalie thrives on helping others unlock their potential and achieve professional growth. 

She studied Marketing while at Weber State University, which has been foundational in her strategic approach to sales and talent development. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her husband of 15 years and their two amazing children. A passionate baker and sports enthusiast, Emalie also loves to explore the great outdoors in her spare time.