Get to know Tara Deakin, ATD’s 2018 board chair, Charles Fred, ATD’s chair-elect, and three new members of the board of directors: Desmond Atkins, Michael Nehoray, and Rose Velez-Smith.

Tara Deakin has more than 16 years of progressive experience in the field of organizational development and learning. As the lead for TD Bank Group’s enterprise talent and organization development strategy, Tara’s mandate is to grow the power of TD’s 85,000 employees and attract new colleagues to ensure the bank's future growth and ongoing delivery of legendary customer experiences. Talent acquisition, talent management, organizational effectiveness, learning and development, diversity, and inclusion are the core components of her portfolio.

Charles Fred is a best-selling author and a serial entrepreneur. He has devoted more than three decades of his life to discovering new ways for professionals to acquire skills necessary to compete in today’s knowledge-thirsty economy. Considered a pioneer in the e-learning industry, Charles has founded and led several successful companies that provide learning technologies and services. His best-selling book, Breakaway, is credited with transforming learning strategies within service organizations around the globe.

Desmond Atkins, vice president of people and organization for Sony Pictures Entertainment, leads the company’s global talent management and learning strategy with a focus on creating relevant practices and experiences that resonate with diverse populations and unique business operations impacting 7,000 employees in more than 40 countries. Prior to Sony, Desmond served in HR roles at Blue Shield of California, and was focused on partnering with leaders to transform the business to align with new market and industry realities.

Michael Nehoray is the vice president of global talent development for Mattel. The scope of Michael’s role includes learning and development, talent management, employee engagement, and culture across the 60+ countries Mattel operates in globally. He has led the development and launch of corporate universities, built talent management practices, and more recently, led cultural transformations during his time at Mattel. His background as a learning and development leader spans a broad range of industries, including technology and healthcare, where he led learning and organization development for several divisions at Intuit and Health Net.

Rose Velez-Smith is the global vice president of human resources, business groups, and workforce services at Pitney Bowes. In her role, Rose partners with the businesses to lead the development of the human capital strategies necessary to successfully execute on business objectives. She works closely with senior management to develop and implement strategic workforce solutions in the areas of employee relations, engagement and development, recruiting, talent acquisition, mergers and acquisitions, and legal and regulatory compliance.

Rose has been honored by the Hispanic Association of Corporate Responsibility (HACR) as a Young Hispanic Corporate Achiever, and she received the Greenwich YWCA’s BRAVA award, which recognizes outstanding women achievers who have excelled in their professional careers and who also volunteer their time and talent to help others.

ATD board members continuing in their terms in 2018 are:

• Wendy Gates Corbett, CPLP, President and Lead Visualist, Refresher Training

• Catherine (Cat) Lang, Vice President, Global Education Services, ServiceNow

• Jessica Neal, Chief Talent Officer, Netflix

• Ted Smith, CEO, REVON Systems

• Mike Williams, Getting Things Done Enterprise Architect, Zappos

Tony Bingham, ATD President and CEO, is also a member of the board.