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Smoky Mountain American Society for Training and Development

Our Leadership Team

Where would our Smoky Mountain ASTD chapter be without our hard-working volunteers? Serving on the Board of our chapter is a team of dedicated professionals, laboring to make sure our service to the workforce learning and performance community is second-to-none.

The current Board of Directors include:

 

 

 

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President: Richard M. Karel

Richard Karel is currently employed as an IT Specialist with the University of Tennessee where he facilitates the development and deployment of online learning for UT Extension and Outreach & Continuing Education. His experiences as an instructional developer include employment with Sea Ray Boats and the Brunswick Boat Group, as well as a consultancy in both developing and implementing online learning programs on an enterprise-wide scale. His training experience has also included the delivery of in-class instruction, the production of training manuals and the use of many rapid e-learning development tools such as Toolbook Instructor, Adobe Flash, Adobe Captivate and Dreamweaver. In addition to this, Richard is an experienced instructional designer whose specialized area is online learning.

Richard is very familiar with all of the technological and human infrastructure that must be in place for a successful e-learning implementation to be successful. His online instructional development experience includes certification and continuing education programs, human resource training, software simulations and "guided tours", as well as building online sales and product training certification systems for MasterCraft Boat Company and Bayliner Boats. Richard's career spans from help desk specialist to account executive to technical trainer. He graduated with a Master's degree in Instructional Technology from the University of Tennessee in December 2003. He has recently co-authored a peer-reviewed, web-only publication for UT Extension. You can contact Richard at president@astdknoxville.org.

 

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President-Elect: Jeff Miller

Jeffrey H. Miller culminated a 28-year career with the Air National Guard and the United States Air Force in January 2008. During this period, his specialty was Human Resource Management and Education and Training. He held the position of Education and Training Manager, Curriculum Developer/Instructor and Personnel Superintendent. In his last position, he was assigned as the Chief, Instructional Development Branch, Air National Guard Training and Education Center, McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base Tennessee.

He was responsible for all in-residence professional development and computer-based training assigned to the Air National Guard’s 108,000 employees. Upon his transition from the military, Jeff reached the highest enlisted rank, Chief Master Sergeant, attained by only one percent of the enlisted force. He has published articles for the Air National Guard Training and Education Instructional Development Branch newsletter Professional Focus. Topics include “Get that Job,” “An Instructor's Point of View,” “Really…What is Professional Development?” and “Size Doesn’t Matter…in Leadership.” You can contact Jeff at president-elect@astdknoxville.org.

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Finance: Susan Kyle

Susan Kyle joined JTEKT Automotive Tennessee in April 1991 as a production technician. Her current position is Quality Circle Coordinator in the Kaizen (Continuous Improvement) Department. During her years at JTEKT, Susan has held various roles including her most recent title of Human Resources Specialist, Employee Development. Susan received an Associates of Applied Science in Business Management Technology from Roane State Community College. She is also a Motorcycle Safety Foundation Tennessee State certified Rider Coach with the Tennessee Highway Patrol.

Susan is also a member of the Tennessee Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve Committee, United States Department of Defense (ESGR). She helps to conduct New Volunteer Train-the-Trainer Workshops. She is actively involved in automotive supplier organizations, most notably the 231 company member Honda Circle Assistance Network (CAN) with companies in the U.S, Canada and Mexico. She has also just recently been recognized as Southern CAN Member of the Year.

Susan and her husband, Mike have three children, 2 grandchildren and reside in the Paint Rock Community. She enjoys the outdoors, gardening, quilting, volunteer work with her church and community, and loves to cook. She is especially proud of her son who is a soldier of the United States Army and her oldest daughter who is an ETSU graduate and the first family member of her paternal family to go to college. You can contact Susan at finance@astdknoxville.org.

 

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Secretary: Terrye Whittaker

Ms. Whitaker received a Masters of Business Administration from City University in Seattle, Washington in 1994 and a Bachelors of Science in Education from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas, in 1973. Ms. Whitaker has been the Career Center Director for National College of Business & Technology in Knoxville, Tennessee since December 2005 where previously she had been an instructor and Business Department Chair. In her current position she is the regional trainer for her counterparts in other campuses for National College within the State of Tennessee.

Besides her duties as the career center director where placement of the school’s graduates is her number one priority, she is involved with Executive Women International and is President-Elect for the local chapter. She is Secretary for the Oak Ridge Human Resource Association for the 2nd year. She is also Secretary for the West Knox Civitan Club (community service organization) where she has been involved with Special Olympics among other things) and is the liaison between that chapter and the school’s chapter where the students have prepared stockings for the Salvation Army for two years. She is also heavily involved with the American Cancer Society’s Downtown Relay for Life in Knoxville. In fact, this year she has taken on the responsibility of being the Survivor Chair for the event in June. You can contact Terrye at secretary@astdknoxville.org.

 

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Membership: Donna Lynne

Donna Lynne earned a Master’s of Science in Educational Psychology at University of Tennessee and a Bachelor’s of Science as a Training Specialist from Old Dominion University. She served five years as a U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary member with Flotilla 53, where she served as a crew member, treasurer, secretary, and conducted boating safety inspections. She began to develop training skills as a Licensed Practical Nurse providing patients and care givers with health care instruction. She has a special interest in working with workforce development, literacy education, and community health education programs. She is also a member of the National Scholars Honor Society, SHRM, and TVHRA. You can contact Donna at membership@astdknoxville.org.

 

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Programming: Vicki Dieffenderfer and Ken Cox

Vicki is currently employed at Marriott Business Services in Alcoa, Tennessee as a Training Director. She was formerly with Tusculum College as the Director of the Adult Learning Development Center for Tusculum College’s Graduate and Professional Studies program located in Knoxville. She is a Certified Global Career Development Facilitator, has a Master’s degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in Educational Psychology - Adult Education with an emphasis in HRD and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology - Adult Education, with cognates in HRD and Psychology. She is a member of the following local and national professional organizations: ASTD, SHRM, AAACE, AHRD, TVHRA, NCLCA, APA, and the ETACHE East Tennessee Senior Regional Representative. Additionally, she’s an adjunct instructor for Educational Psychology and Introduction to the Academic Arts at Tusculum College. You can contact Vicki at programming@astdknoxville.org.

Ken earned both his BS and MS degrees in Adult Education at UTK. He is also holds an Associate Degree in Electronic Technology along with Journeyman credentials as both a Computer Electronics Technician and an Industrial Electronics Technician. During his 30 years in the field, he has worked with adult learners in Technical Education, Industrial Training, Team Effectiveness, and Management Development. Ken's private sector experience as a Training Manager includes eight years with Westinghouse and ten years with Mead. He currently works as a Training Consultant with the Municipal Technical Advisory Service at the UT Institute for Public Service. You can contact Ken at programming@astdknoxville.org.

 

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Communications/Marketing: Allison Miller

Allison Miller is a professional training consultant and communications specialist with more than 15 years of experience in the training and marketing fields. In addition to working as a training consultant for the University of Tennessee, she also currently teaches college courses on a variety of computer applications, business skills and general education subjects. She holds a Master's degree in Human Resource Development with a concentration in training and organizational development from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Previously, she has worked as an education consultant with PNC Advisors, a large, regional bank located in the Northeastern United States, delivering financial investment training to employees at more than 100 companies, including four Fortune 500 corporations.

Other highlights of her training experience include: managing the creation and delivery of free, public training programs for Knoxville area residents to learn about the Internet and general computer skills; writing a computer lab training manual for the Computer Science Department at the University of Tennessee; and creating several train-the-trainer program for soft skills delivery at several higher education institutions and corporations. Having earned her bachelor's degree in Communications with a concentration in public relations, she also has 20 years of experience in a variety of marketing and communication functions.

Most noteably, she served as Director of Communications for a national non-profit professional association that worked with human resource professionals at higher education institutions across the U.S. and abroad. She attended the ASTD Association Leadership Conference in fall 2007, and is excited to work on membership and marketing projects for the Smoky Mountain Chapter this year. You can contact Allison at communications@astdknoxville.org.