Forum Discussion
Week 1 Welcome & Introductions
🎉 Let's Get to Know Each Other
As a reply to this thread, post an intro and tell us:
- Your name and where you're located, where you work, and what you do for work (we love to hear your title, but we're even more interested in your day-to-day)
- Why you joined this AI Assistant Certification Cohort and what you're hoping to get out of it
- Bonus: if you have a pet at home, we'd love to meet them, too! Share a picture of your furry (or, scaly?) friends along with your intro 🐕😺🦎
➡️ Next up:
When you're ready, move on to the Week 1 Activities!
Or, go back to the cohort main page.
631 Replies
- sclaxtonCommunity Member
Hi everyone! I’m Shawn, a Support Engineer at Gloo where I work with nonprofits and faith-based organizations. I’m based in Monument, Colorado, and have over 13 years of experience in tech. I also have two standard poodles, Dior and Chanel.
I joined this cohort to continue building my skills as I take on greater responsibility with our LMS system. I’ll also be mentoring and leading trainings for my team, which I’m really looking forward to. I genuinely enjoy learning and growing in this space.
And of course, Dior and Chanel keep me great company in my office!
- TracyHalvatyCommunity Member
Hi everyone, I'm Tracy Halvaty an LMS Administrator and Training Developer at Bandit Industries in Michigan. I am excited to learn more about AI and be able to use it confidently in my daily creativity. I love creating and bringing the page to life, so much that when I retire, I hope to be able to continue in this line of fun!
- LisaJohnson-69fCommunity Member
Hi my name is Lisa Johnson, and I am a Learning & Development Advisor for Westland Insurance. I work out of my home office in Stettler, Alberta, Canada. I also share my office with my 2 huskies - Komatsu and Komanche. They don't help much, but are definitely here for the snacks!
I am excited to learn how AI can bring my course design to the next level.
- Kia_DesignCommunity Member
Hi everyone! 👋
My name is Kia, and I’m located in Pasadena, CA, USA. I work as a Senior Consultant at Kaiser Permanente, where my day to day focuses on designing and supporting physician education programs. That includes instructional design, program strategy, and CME consulting with physician leadership, along with systems management across our learning ecosystem such as our physician portal, Tableau dashboards, KP Learn, SharePoint, and related tools.
Much of my role involves translating complex clinical or operational needs into effective learning experiences and practical system workflows.
Why I Joined the Cohort
I joined the AI Assistant Certification Cohort because I’m interested in how AI can enhance learning design, streamline workflows, and support faster prototyping and development within complex organizational environments.
Bonus Pet Content
No furry or scaly coworkers at home right now, but I love seeing everyone else’s pets, so please keep the pictures coming! 😄
Looking forward to learning with you all! 🎉
- MrugeshJaniCommunity Member
Hi everyone—my name is Mrugesh (Preferred name "JANI"), and I’m based in Mississauga, Ontario. I work at PNR RailWorks, where we manage and maintain railway infrastructure for our customers. I lead the Training Department as a Training Manager, overseeing a team of 12 training professionals.
On a day-to-day basis, my role is very similar to running a small college or accredited training center. My team and I are responsible for the full training lifecycle: identifying competency requirements, designing and developing training programs, facilitating and delivering training, managing our Learning Management System (LMS), and overseeing qualifications and compliance. Our focus is on ensuring our workforce has the right skills, certifications, and continuous learning opportunities to safely and effectively maintain critical railway infrastructure.
Why I joined the AI Assistant Certification Cohort
I joined the AI Assistant Certification Cohort because I see significant potential for AI to enhance how we design, deliver, and manage training. As a training organization operating in a highly regulated, safety-critical industry, we need to be both efficient and precise—while still keeping the learner experience engaging and relevant.
Through this cohort, I’m hoping to gain practical skills in using AI assistants to support instructional design, streamline content development, personalize learning pathways, and improve knowledge management across our LMS and qualification systems. Ultimately, my goal is to leverage AI as a productivity and quality multiplier for my team, allowing us to spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time focusing on high-value activities like coaching, continuous improvement, and future skills development.
- GQuicanoCommunity Member
Hello, my name is Gracia Quicano, and I'm an Instructional Designer with Charter Communications. I work in the Charlotte office and I'm part of the Customer Operations department. My desire is to improve the way I use the AI features in Rise and Storyline, so I can develop content in a more efficient way.
- TaylorSakinsky-Peer Guide
Gracia, you've come to the right place! Welcome to the cohort, get ready for the many ways the AI features will make your day-to-day a bit easier 😀
- CelesteBramlettCommunity Member
Hey everyone!! My name is Celeste Bramlett. I am a Learning Developer with Roche Diagnostics in Indianapolis. I have been in this role over 13 years. I love my job!!! I created training material (documents and eLearning courses) for our internal and external customers. I am also a certified voiceover artist.
I have 2 very special extended family members. Meet Shiloh and Lucy. Shiloh is a therapy dog at Shenandoah Elementary School and Lucy is my axolotl
- TaylorSakinsky-Peer Guide
Welcome, Celeste! So cool that you're a VO artist as well - do you narrate your own courses?!
- CelesteBramlettCommunity Member
Oops! I forgot to add the why. I have been using Storyline and Rise for years, but I would love to learn how to create courses in a more creative and efficient way.
- DebrahWorland-eCommunity Member
Hello from Indianapolis, Indiana! Our company, Cox Automotive, is having a big push to use AI and completing this cohort is one of my yearly performance goals. I am an Instructional Designer and I facilitate orientation for Mobile Diesel Technicians. Our guys keep the breakdowns low and make Christmas happen! I didn't have a pic of my dog handy, but here's a turtle I recently came across.
- DerekEcklundCommunity Member
Hi Alyssa and all. My name is Derek Ecklund. I am located in Astoria, Oregon. I am a Learning Experience Designer and Multimedia Developer at Kaiser Permanente on the Enterprise Learning and Design group. I use Storyline mostly in my day to day. I like to create creative, engaging, and interactive learning experiences with audio, video, interactivity, and more. Excited to learn more about how AI assistant can help increase my creativity and speed up my workflow.
Here is our beloved feline friend Mishke:
- GQuicanoCommunity Member
Hello, my name is Gracia Quicano, and I work as an Instructional Designer at Charter Communications, in the Charlotte office.
I joined this Cohot because I'd love to improve the use of AI when using the Articulate programs, and I hope at the end of it I can design better, faster and more unique content.