Learning Leader Panel: Our Role in Building & Skilling a Diverse Leadership Pipeline

Minette Chan is an L&D leader with 15+ years of experience in both startup and Fortune500 technology companies such as Visa, Siemens, and Ooyala. Minette has been recognized as an Innovation Awardee by the Chief Learning Officer magazine and a Top 40 Under 40 leader by Training magazine. Her programs have garnered “Excellence in Learning” awards by Brandon Hall, including “Best Results of a Learning Program,” “Best Advance in Technology Implementation,” and “Best Certification Program.” Minette holds an MA in learning design and technology from Stanford University, and is a doctorate in education candidate at the University of Pennsylvania.

Rosa Espinal-Perry is an HR leader with 25+ years of experience in various industries. Rosa leverages communication, collaboration, and Six Sigma skills to build impactful training programs that optimize the performance of teams and transform company culture. Rosa holds the ATD Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD) certification and is completing her bachelor’s in HR administration with American Public University. In her spare time, Rosa volunteers with ATDCFL. Whether in her role as senior HR/OD manager at CareerSource Central Florida or working independently with consultants and other associates, Rosa partners with stakeholders across all levels, creating unified approaches that drive continuous improvement, achieve operational excellence, and transform corporate culture.

As the head of talent management at Delek US, Mark C. Lewis remains driven by his unwavering belief in the potential of people and the transformative power of effective talent strategies to drive organizational excellence. He joined Delek in April 2020 as the senior director for L&D and rapidly expanded his scope to ultimately become the head of talent management in February 2021.  He leads the areas of talent acquisition, L&D, talent planning, and organizational performance for over 4,000 employees. Mark provides the organization with highly effective and technologically advanced employee development, consulting, and talent to support the operating goals, mission, vision, values, and strategic plan while enhancing individual, team, and organizational effectiveness.

Prior to joining Delek, Mark was head of L&D for Marathon Petroleum Corporation’s Transportation and Rail organization, where he led the strategy and execution of L&D programs for over 2,100 employees. Mark holds a bachelor’s degree in aviation administration from the University of Nebraska-Omaha and a master’s degree in management from Bellevue University. He is a graduate of George Mason University’s Chief Learning Officer Executive Development Certificate Program and is a Society for Human Resource Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP). Mark is an Air Force veteran and served 24 years as a senior intelligence officer, retiring at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.  

If there’s an innovative way to build enthusiasm for learning and engage L&D professionals, Sierra Marquardt will create it, promote it, and launch it in her role as program manager for the Learning Guild. Building on her background in education, nonprofit, and corporate training, Sierra brings passion and purpose to crafting memorable, learner-centered online and in-person experiences. Sierra earned an MA in psychological and quantitative foundations from the University of Iowa, where she specialized in educational psychology and learning sciences while also earning her Certificate in Online Teaching. A committed lifelong learner, Sierra is pursuing her PhD in instructional design and performance technology at Baker University.

Shanna Smiley currently serves as the national director of multicultural leadership development (MLD) for the YMCA of the USA. MLD is a national strategy that strives to address the barriers, gaps, and systems that have contributed to an underrepresentation of diverse leaders throughout the organization, and works to diversify leadership pipelines all across the country to ensure that our YMCAs better reflect the diverse communities that we serve. A recognized leader in the Equity and People Development fields, Shanna is a 2001 graduate of Purdue University. Her previous career roles include working for Walt Disney World, Starbucks Coffee Company, and Qdoba.