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It’s our pleasure to introduce you to the immensely talented Kirkpatrick Partners team! Not only are they the driving force behind the U.S.-based global office, they also provide guidance for Kirkpatrick Affiliates worldwide, so our partners can reap the unique benefits of the Kirkpatrick Model wherever they’re located.
Vanessa Alzate is the President and CEO of Kirkpatrick Partners. She is also the Founder and CEO of Anchored Training, a custom training development agency. She earned BAs in Communications and Political Science from Rutgers University and an MS in Corporate and Organizational Communication from Northeastern University.
For almost 15 years, Vanessa has consulted with organizations of every size across multiple industries, from government, to pharmaceutical sales, to high fashion. With her knowledge and expertise, she’s helped develop training strategies tailored to each organization, team, and learner.
Throughout her career, Vanessa has excelled in assisting companies and individuals expand their industry know-how through innovative eLearning and classroom curricula, while encouraging clients to find inspiration and develop strategies to better engage their learners. Vanessa also gives back to the learning community by sharing her insights as a speaker for the Association for Talent Development, Training Magazine, the Learning Guild, and more.
Vanessa considers it her mission to help everyone become the absolute best versions of themselves. She is a passionate supporter of the empowerment of women and a tireless advocate for diversity, inclusion, and belonging in the workplace and beyond.
Wendy Kayser Kirkpatrick isn’t just a Senior Consultant and Founder of Kirkpatrick Partners. She is a global driving force for promoting and applying the Kirkpatrick Model. Wendy has made a career of leading companies to measurable success through effective training and evaluation practices.
Her results-oriented approach stems from three decades of business experience in retail, marketing, and training. She’s worked as a buyer, product manager, process manager, and training manager, with a proven record of organizing complex, multifaceted projects that yield rapid results. As a training manager, she oversaw the curriculum for 1,500 sales and customer service representatives across North America.
Wendy has co-authored four books with Jim Kirkpatrick, including Kirkpatrick’s Four Levels of Training Evaluation. They also had the distinct honor of serving as the subject matter experts for the United States Office of Personnel Management’s Training Evaluation Field Guide: Demonstrating the Value of Training at Every Level.
Wendy is a recipient of the 2013 Emerging Training Leaders Award from Training Magazine and the 2024 recipient of the Kirkpatrick Partners Legacy Award.
Dr. Jim Kirkpatrick is a Senior Consultant for Kirkpatrick Partners. He is an expert in training evaluation and the visionary creator of the New World Kirkpatrick Four Levels®. With 15 years of experience in the corporate world, including eight as a training manager, Jim trains and consults for corporate, government, military, and humanitarian organizations around the world. He is passionate about helping learning professionals redefine themselves as strategic business partners so they can make a real impact in the workplace. Jim delivers lively keynote talks and workshops on topics such as maximizing business results, creating effective training and evaluation strategies, forming stronger business partnerships, and boosting the application of learning in real work situations. Jim co-authored three books with his father, Don Kirkpatrick, the original genius behind the Kirkpatrick Model. He has also co-authored four books with Wendy Kirkpatrick, including Kirkpatrick’s Four Levels of Training Evaluation and Training on Trial.
Amy graduated from the University of Memphis with a Bachelor of Education and entered the classroom as a teacher. She quickly transitioned into an administrator role where she found opportunity to grow her leadership skills. From her beginning in a classroom to leading children’s programs and then programs for children and adults with special needs to then landing in the Learning and Development world, Amy has taken parts from each experience and grown into the person she is today.
Fun Facts About Amy: Don’t be fooled that she’s all work and no play! In her time away from work you can find Amy in the kitchen with family and friends gathered around the bar cooking something homemade and delicious. When she’s not entertaining, you probably will find Amy working on a sewing project. She would tell you that her most favorite and most difficult job is being a mom but wouldn’t trade one minute of it. Her best friend happens to also be her husband of over 27 years. During most of her online meetings if you peeked under her desk you would find her chocolate Lab Ruby curled up at her feet.
Jordan Rawlinson is the Learning and Performance Strategist at Kirkpatrick Partners. She received a BA in Communication and a BS in Health Sciences with a minor in Creative Writing (Poetry) from the University of South Florida. She started her L&D journey in higher education before transitioning to the for-profit corporate space. She has over 7 years of experience wearing multiple different L&D hats such as VILT and ILT facilitation and curriculum design, e-learning design and development, LMS administration, and her personal favorite, coaching. As a poet at heart, her guiding question in life and in L&D is one of Mary Oliver’s most famous lines: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” Her biggest passion is developing meaningful learning experiences and encouraging individuals and teams to reach their potential as they answer Mary Oliver’s question for themselves. She’s a self-proclaimed personal development nerd and deeply cares about keeping her personal and organizational core values at the forefront of everything she does. If you ever need a life chat, she’s your girl.
Fun Facts About Jordan: Jordan is absolutely fascinated by the human condition and what makes us “us”. This led her to becoming a certified Enneagram coach, where she uses the Enneagram as a personality framework to help individuals and teams learn about themselves and grow together. She is a Type 4 herself! She is also a volunteer coach with the non-profit organization Girls on the Run where she helps inspire girls in grades 3-5 to be joyful, healthy, and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running.
When it comes to keeping up with our dynamic Kirkpatrick brand, Danielle is our secret weapon. As the Marketing Coordinator for Kirkpatrick partners, she manages much of the behind-the-scenes marketing planning and visuals you see in the forefront. She keeps us on track when it comes to marketing trends to ensure Kirkpatrick Partners continues to stand out as we continue to grow!
Fun Facts About Danielle: Danielle is OBSESSED with TV and has always dreamed of having her own form of talk show. From the Housewives, Grey’s Anatomy, the craziest sci-fi shows, and the most typical family sitcoms, Danielle loves them all!
Katie serves as the point of contact for Kirkpatrick affiliates worldwide. She’s your go-to person for anything affiliate partner-related! Whether it’s answering inquiries, guiding new partners through our program, or fostering positive collaborations, she’s here to ensure our partners thrive. Katie has a degree in Political Theory from Michigan State University and worked in state politics before transitioning to education.
Fun Facts About Katie: Katie lives in Michigan and loves spending time on the Great Lakes swimming, dune hiking, rock collecting or enjoying the sun with a good book.
She’s a huge fan of Survivor and The Amazing Race and has seen every episode of both.
Katie loves catching music outdoors and has been attending the same music festival every summer with her family for more than ten years.
Hailing from Illinois and now based in Iowa, Sarah embodies the spirit of the Midwest. She holds a B.A. in Communication Studies and a Minor in American Sign Language (ASL) from the University of Iowa. She began her professional journey in higher education consulting before transitioning to sales support roles, excelling on client success and sales enablement teams. Sarah firmly believes in the power of continuous improvement and importance of genuine connections, integrating these values into all aspects of her work.
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