Technology-Based Training Developer

Kelly Walkauskas

A little about me

Growing up, I wanted to know why humans do what they do. That fascination led me to study Psychology at Ohio Dominican University, where I earned my Bachelors Degree. I hoped to use my degree to teach because I wanted to continually learn and have the opportunity to share that passion with others. The best part of training someone at their workplace is that the training can immediately make a difference in their work life. I can help a person understand a software they don't know, ease anxiety about an upcoming change, teach a person skills that might help them communicate better, and more.

My professional background

Currently, I am working within a public agency providing learning solutions. During my first year at the agency, I learned the current learning management system (LMS) while leading the project to customize a new LMS. I created several custom solutions for our agency that helped reduce overall administration time, see my portfolio for details on those projects.

I’ve worked on various training projects over the years including elearning courses, animated videos, live action videos, educational games, and instructor-led trainings. I have experience completing the full lifecycle of a project utilizing instructional design methodology, such as ADDIE, Bloom’s Taxonomy, and Dick and Carey Instructional Model.

I have been utilized as a training resource within my prior job roles, where I led new hire training sessions, mentored co-workers, developed online support documents (both in a wiki and on a website), developed a continuing education instructor led session using powerpoint, and developed video trainings.

I have worked in some capacity training employees since 2012, and I have been working in training full time since 2018.
I received my Bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Ohio Dominican University. My top Psychology classes were on Learning and Motivation and Research Methods. I took an independent study with my professor analyzing how research gets reported in the media. I developed a critical eye for analyzing data, and this helps me to identify areas of need within training.

While at Ohio Dominican, I also took college level art classes, and I was a part of the Art Club on campus. This formalized art training helps me add design elements into my trainings.

There is so much to learn and explore. My education did not stop at college, and it will never stop. I place myself in learning communities to draw upon others' expertise, opinions, and other world views. I became a Certified Professional a Training Manager (CPTM) through Training Industries on November 2023, and I have that group of learning professionals to draw upon.

There are new advances being made every day, so I look for sources about scientific advances, new theories, and new inventions. There is so much innovation that can happen from looking at a problem with a different lens, and I try to pick up those different lenses. You will never know what you don't know until you try to find out.