Book Club Series | Building a Culture

ATD Cascadia Book Club Series | Building a Culture of Evaluation

Great Books Spark Ideas. Great Conversations Bring Them to Life.

Virtual Book Club Kickoff

Why Attend?

There's something valuable about sitting down with people who understand the challenges of your work.

Someone shares an approach you haven't considered. A question sparks a new idea. You discover that another organization is wrestling with exactly the same issue.

And suddenly, a concept from a book becomes something you can actually use.

Join the ATD Cascadia community for an in-person conversation inspired by Building a Culture of Evaluation by Vanessa Milara Alzate.

Together, we'll explore how to move beyond collecting data and start using evaluation to make learning better, improve decisions, and demonstrate meaningful impact.

Learning Format

In-Person Book Club & Community Conversation

What You'll Experience

This isn't a deep dive into spreadsheets or a test of how well you remember the Kirkpatrick model.

We'll use ideas from the book as a jumping-off point for thoughtful, facilitated conversation about how evaluation shows up in our everyday work.

We'll explore why meaningful measurement can be so difficult, how to engage stakeholders earlier, and what it might look like to build feedback and continuous improvement into the learning process rather than treating them as final steps.

You'll have time to exchange perspectives, share real-world examples, explore practical applications, and connect with people who understand the work.

Because sometimes the best ideas don't come from having all the answers. They come from asking better questions together.

You'll Leave With

• Fresh perspectives on making evaluation an ongoing part of learning design and delivery
• Practical ideas from peers for using feedback and data to improve learning experiences
• New ways to think about stakeholder engagement and measuring what matters
• Ideas for connecting evaluation to continuous improvement and organizational impact
• Stronger connections with the Cascadia talent development community

About the Book

Building a Culture of Evaluation by Vanessa Milara Alzate challenges us to rethink evaluation as something much more valuable than a final survey or report.

By embedding continuous measurement, real-time feedback, and evidence-based decision-making into everyday learning practices, organizations can become more responsive, adaptable, and effective.

At the heart of our conversation is an important question: What would change if we used evaluation not just to prove learning worked, but to make learning better?

Haven't finished the book? Come anyway. You don't need to have read every page to contribute to a great conversation.

Facilitators: 

Natalie Laderas-Kilkenny is a Learning Experience Designer who is passionate about elevating the human element of L&D. She fosters growth through community connection, mutual support, and the stewardship of transformative ideas.With work experience in L&D at Kaiser Permanente and Intel, Natalie is committed to building innovative learning experiences both online and in-person.

Myra Lavenue is a learning experience designer, change leader, and communications strategist who loves turning complex ideas into engaging, human-centered learning experiences. Over a career spanning healthcare, technology, retail, consulting, and higher education, she has led training and organizational change initiatives for audiences ranging from small teams to enterprise workforces of more than 175,000 employees. She currently works at Kaiser Permanente, where she designs learning solutions that support leadership development, HR initiatives, compliance, and organizational transformation. Known for her creativity, curiosity, and collaborative approach, Myra enjoys helping people learn, grow, and navigate change with confidence. She's also spent enough years in learning and development to know that every project eventually involves a stakeholder request, a tight deadline, and an unexpectedly passionate discussion about PowerPoint

Capability Areas: