Sarah Van Lieshout - VP Membership (Email)

Sarah is a learning enthusiast with 10+ years in an education environment. Sarah’s passion to help others reach their potential through learning started as an elementary teacher.  She enjoyed collaborating with teams to develop curriculum and design experiences that created a culture for learning.  From there, she fell in love with mentoring educators and developed coaching skills as an Instructional Coach.  As an Instructional Coach, Sarah helped others improve their results through the use of strength based coaching strategies and data reflection.

In recent years, Sarah has transferred these skills to her role as a Learning and Development Specialist at LPi. She was committed to designing top notch onboarding experiences for new employees while partnering with business leaders to support the future growth of the organization. Sarah is now supporting Children’s Wisconsin as the Leadership Development Program Specialist.

As Sarah transitioned from public education to learning and development, she was focused on networking and building her professional network. Becoming an active leader in SEWI-ATD has been instrumental in supporting her career transition.

Katerina Ekonomou - VP Professional Development (Email)

Katerina (Kat) Ekonomou works as a Training and Development Specialist at Potawatomi Casino Hotel. Her experience includes succession planning, designing and implementing various developmental strategies. She enjoys facilitating new-hire orientations and training sessions, while building strong relationships and helping individuals further develop within their professional paths. As a motivated and enthusiastic individual, she strives to lead as an example and looks forward to future endeavors, while building diversity and inclusion within the HR and L&D Field.

Having, lived, studied and worked in Greece and the United States, Kat is fluent in both lingual cultures. Specifically, in 2022 she graduated from the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee with a Master’s Degree in Human Resources and Labor Relations. Upon the successful completion of her degree, she was named as one of the Melvin Lurie Prize Award Winners for 2022, due to commitment to the program and her scholastic accomplishments.

Christina Moore - VP Professional Development (Email)

Christina Moore is a senior learning and development professional with a master’s degree in instructional design and eLearning development.With over 20 years of experience as a graphic designer, she combines her creative expertise with her passion for education to create impactful learning experiences. Christina excels in collaborating with subject matter experts to design beautiful, engaging, and impactful adult learning programs. She is also passionate about educating her peers in the latest learning development technologies. An avid life-long learner, Christina is always pushing herself to grow and evolve in her field.

 Cecilia Lillegard -  VP Sponsorship (Email)

Cecilia Lillegard is a Certified Professional of Talent Development and an innovative connector of people and processes to technology, growth, and purpose. With a focus on operational and performance improvement, she incorporates her technical perspective, creative problem-solving skills, and passion for collaboration to deliver consistent business impact and instructional system design.

She has experience designing and delivering customized high tech and marketing programs, including business planning, safety programs, and equipment maintenance to professionals around the world. She partnered with engineering teams designing several equipment service courses using remote learning tools, virtual machines, and augmented reality. She facilitated marketing workshops across Asia and Europe for numerous business divisions with GE Healthcare. She's even facilitated safety training and engagement sessions in Japan for site wide VPP OSHA recognition. As a certified ATD Instructional Designer and Mechanical Engineer, Cecilia is knowledgeable about both the development and new technologies applied to outcome-based learning programs.

She has a Master of Engineering Management from Marquette University, an active role in her community, and three amazing daughters. She's lived across ten US states and two years in Japan. Cecilia is passionate about using her love of travel and technology to work on establishing wider perspectives of what is available for student success in the classroom and their workspace - wherever that is.

Judy Dejno - VP Marketing and Communications (Email)  

Judy Dejno is an accomplished integrative executive coach, culture consultant, and fervent advocate for creating human-centric workplaces. Her comprehensive training under Olympic coaches has uniquely equipped her to blend performance principles with life and executive coaching, fostering substantial growth opportunities for thoughtful leaders. With an integrative and skills-oriented methodology, Judy consistently empowers leaders, teams, and organizations, elevating their human impact in dynamic ways. Her specialization lies in collaborating with high-growth tech startups and professional services companies.

Judy's expertise has gained recognition, including being named one of LinkedIn's Top Leadership Development Voices.

Renita Switzer - VP Community Relations  (Email)

Renita Switzer has over 25 years of experience in training and instructional design. She has worked in the healthcare industry for over 30 years Her expertise is in support and trainer development with emphasis on emotional intelligence.

Renita has served on the Board as Treasurer for Zonta Club Milwaukee. She is also the Past Chair for the Certificate in Organization and Development for the Association of Training Development-Southeastern Wisconsin.

Renita is a member of the National Association of African Americans in Human Resources (NAAHR).

Christine Hass - Board Advisor (Email)

Christine Hass is the Sr. Director of Learning Experience and Strategy for the Technology, Client Experience and Digital Organizations at Northwestern Mutual.  Prior to this role, she served in a Talent Management lead capacity at Northwestern Mutual and at Hewlett Packard Enterprise in Dallas, TX.  She has a long history of work in the learning and development, talent management and HR strategy space, having spent her early and mid-career at companies like Motorola and Walmart Technology.

Christine did her undergraduate studies in Business Management with an HR concentration.  She holds her SPHR certificate, as well as certificates in Caliper and Birkman assessments.  In addition, she holds two behavioral change management certifications through AIM and Prosci.

For 30+ years, her focus has been on people and innovation in the context of transformation.  Business continues to move at an accelerated pace, and change is the norm.  It is important to take the time to know our people, while still moving quickly and nimbly to meet the ever-changing demands of the business landscape.  Learning solutions are no exception.  Her advice?  Listen closely to the needs of your stakeholders; always ask “why,” “what if,” and explore necessary outcomes/consequences of not leaning in; keep it simple when you can; innovate as often as possible.

Shelli Kanter - VP Volunteers (Email)

Shelli Kanter serves as the VP of Volunteers for the Southeast Wisconsin Chapter of the Association for Talent Development (SEWI-ATD). With over 15 years of involvement in the organization, Shelli is passionate about fostering professional development and building strong networks within the talent development community.

Shelli is the Director of Organizational Development and Employee Engagement, where she focuses on cultivating thriving workplace cultures and driving employee growth. Her professional background spans special education, leadership roles in organizational learning, and Human Resources, giver her a unique perspective on talen development and engagement strategies.

When not advancing workplace initiatives, Shelli enjoys gardening and cherishing time with her family, finding inspiration in both nature and the relationships that matter most.