The Association for Talent Development (ATD) mourns the passing of the first chair of the association’s Board of Governors and the 1998 chair of its Board of Directors. The American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) changed its name to ATD in 2014.

In 1991, Humphrey received the association’s Gordon M. Bliss Memorial Award for his significant contributions in three areas:

• advancing ASTD’s mission and goals

• improving an employer’s or client’s workplace learning and performance

• enriching a community through volunteering professional skills.

“In 1983, Humphrey played a key role in helping the ASTD Board of Directors define the association’s mission and formulate a new strategy,” according to ATD. “One result was the creation of the ASTD Board of Governors in 1984.”

Humphrey advised and supported ASTD’s Institute for Workplace Learning, spoke at many ASTD conferences, and served as a mentor and coach to many professionals. “John was an inspirational leader,” said Pamela Schmidt, who worked at ASTD from 1989 to 2000. “His vision was ‘when one of us does well, all of us do well.’ He encouraged rich discussion. He drew people into the conversation and invited exploration.”

During his time with ASTD, Humphrey was Chair and CEO of the Forum Corporation, which helped clients develop learning strategies and solutions and deploy their brands. “While he was on the board … he engaged ASTD’s Board of Directors and staff in a customer expectation mapping process that was designed by the Forum,” Schmidt added. “The results influenced ASTD’s perspective on member service. A new world of serving ASTD members as learning practitioners based on their needs, wants, and challenges. It shifted ASTD’s offerings and opened doors to new opportunities.”

Humphrey was often spoken of with admiration for his “highly professional demeanor,” Steve Cohen, founder and principal at Strategic Leadership Collaborative, added, “he was a very down-to-earth person, always willing to help anyone in need. … I personally admired him from afar for his strategic insight and operational expertise.”

Humphrey was the founding president of the Instructional Systems Association, a trade association of firms providing instructional systems for the design, development, and delivery of solutions for their clients. “It was largely his vision to put together ISA, a group of competing organizations that would come together for the benefits of the entire learning industry,” said Cohen.

Jack Zenger, CEO of Zenger|Folkman, agreed, adding, “The ISA organization is remarkable. Unlike most trade organizations in which people come to tell each other half-truths and get information about their competitors; the ISA is an organization in which executives collaborate and work toward the common good of their industry. … The ISA organization has preserved much of that original spirit and vision that John brought to it.”

Humphrey’s legacy to the business and workplace learning world is undeniable, according to Schmidt. “His legacy … is embodied in ISA—The Association of Learning Providers. He had the vision to formalize shared experience among competitors. It was and remains a remarkable organization: one firm helping another firm do their best work.”

According to his obituary, a Celebration of Life will take place on June 25 in Boston.