On this episode, our guest is Ms. Barbara C. Morton, the Deputy Chief Veterans Experience Officer to talk about AdVAncing: Trust.

On this episode of Are You Future Ready? AdVAncing Your Professional Development Amy Parker, VA’s Chief Learning Officer, is joined by Mr. Harvey Johnson, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Resolution Management, Diversity and Inclusion to talk about AdVAncing: Your Passion.

On this episode of Are You Future Ready? AdVAncing Your Professional Development Amy Parker, VA’s Chief Learning Officer, is joined by Mr. Jeffrey Smith, who at the time of recording was the Executive Director of the Veterans Benefits Administration’s Office of Talent Management, to talk about AdVAncing: A Growth Mindset.

On this episode, Amy Parker, the Department of Veterans Affairs Chief Learning Officer, is joined by Ms. Megan Turner, the Director of Professional Growth at the Veterans Affairs Acquisition Academy (VAAA) to talk about how developing skills like systems thinking, emotional intelligence, and problem solving can help you strengthen relationships and achieve positive outcomes at work and at home. Ms. Turner highlights her own commitment as a leader to using these skills to support employee development in a way that takes into account the “whole person”. Ms. Parker and Ms. Turner also talk about how VAAA adapted to the changes of a virtual work environment and get a sneak peak of adaptive learning – a revolutionary technology that uses artificial intelligence to make virtual training easier, faster, and more interesting. VAAA is a pioneer in the future of e-learning, piloting the first adaptive learning course in the federal government.

On this episode, Amy Parker, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Chief Learning Officer, is joined by Dr. Maureen Marks, the Executive Director for VA’s National Center for Organization Development (NCOD) and Billy McCloskey, a Senior Organizational Psychologist at NCOD. If you are listening from a VA Medical Center or Regional Office, you may know NCOD for the All Employee Survey (AES), but they also facilitate research, consulting, and organizational health initiatives aimed at increasing employee engagement and supporting VA leaders in building a positive organizational culture. During this episode, Dr. Marks and Mr. McCloskey discuss the importance of bringing your whole self to work and the need to support your staff and peers at every level to improve employee morale and ultimately, improve service for our nation’s Veterans. Listeners will learn about the five key drivers of employee engagement, be inspired by success stories from the field, and uncover unexpected impacts of remote work on employee productivity and morale.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Human Capital Services Center and Ms. Amy Parker, VA’s Chief Learning Officer, are excited to announce the launch of season two of Are You Future Ready? AdVAncing Your Professional Development. Each episode features actionable insights, experiences, and helpful advice for the VA community and those interested in honing their professional development skills. Tune in every other Friday starting on February 26, 2021!

About: Vivian Idowu is a program specialist for the Human Capital Services Center. In the episode, Vivian talks about the important role her family plays in her personal development journey and touches on the program she recently hired into the VA under. Quote: “When you like where you end up, you don’t care how you got there”Resources:VA Careers: (https://www.vacareers.va.gov)

About: Bob Harrison is the Director of Client Services for the Employee Education System. Bob discusses how he came to serve 26 years in the Army and shares the importance of discipline and values while on your personal development journey.Quote: “Personal development is the blood of life itself. The day you stop learning and developing, is the day you start dying.”Resources: VA Enterprise Training Resources https://dvagov.sharepoint.com/sites/VACOETR/sitepages/home.aspx

About: Nealie Page is the Chief of staff in VA's Office of Management. In this episode, Nealie touches on her personal development journey from the Department of Defense to Veterans Affairs. Nealie talks about the importance of values in personal development and identifies characteristics that can help you better take on change in the workplace.Quote: "Work hard at work worth doing"

About: Dr. Carl Bryant is the Deputy Director of the Human Capital Services Center. Dr. Bryant is an Air Force Veteran and has taught leadership development around the world. Dr, Bryant discusses the characteristic that make for successful leaders, as well as the characteristics that can hold leaders back. The conversation delves into VA's Leadership Development Framework. Quote: “I’m always doing things I can’t do – that’s how I learn to do them.” Pablo Picasso. Resources:Talent Management System: (https://www.tms.va.gov/SecureAuth35/)Leadership Development Framework inbox: VALDF@va.gov

About: Lauren Osinski is a Supervisory Training Specialist in the Veterans Benefits Administration. In this podcast, Lauren talks about lessons in resiliency learned along her personal development journey, including her time in the US Army. Quote: “I don’t fail; I win, or I learn”Lauren's Submitted ResourcesBooks:Mindset (Carol Dweck)Grit (Angela Duckworth) Flourish (Martin Seligman)Better than Before (Gretchen Ruben)The Resilience Factor (Karen Reivich)Websites:The Center for Positive Psychology at UPENN (https://ppc.sas.upenn.edu/) Positive Psychology (https://positivepsychology.com/resilience-in-the-workplace/) Gretchen Rubin (https://gretchenrubin.com/)TED style talks: Raphael Rose: (https://www.ted.com/talks/raphael_rose_from_stress_to_resilience) Carol Dweck: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-71zdXCMU6A)

About: Amy Parker is the Executive Director of the Human Capital Services Center, the Chief Learning Officer for the Department of Veterans Affairs and the catalyst for starting this podcast series. She discusses her journey from the restaurant business, to DOD, to becoming the Chief Learning Officer at VA. She sets the foundation for this series by asking, "Are you future ready?"Quote: “Semper Disco…what will I learn today”Resources:Leadership Development Framework: VALDF@va.govMy Development Plan:Talent Management System: (https://www.tms.va.gov/SecureAuth35/)VA Enterprise Training Resources: (https://dvagov.sharepoint.com/sites/VACOETR/sitepages/home.aspx)