Learning & Development Examples

Learning Design is where strategy meets creativity and where complex ideas become clear, actionable experiences. My work in this space spans eLearning development, curriculum design, workshop creation, blended learning journeys, and learning architecture that supports real performance outcomes. I focus on translating organizational goals into learning experiences that are engaging, accessible, and grounded in adult learning theory, while always keeping the learner’s context, constraints, and motivation at the heart of the design.

 

The projects below highlight how I structure learning for clarity and impact: from large-scale leadership programs to targeted skills training and role-based enablement. Each example shows the challenge, the decisions behind the design, and the outcomes that meaningful learning experiences can deliver at scale.

 

Note: For much of my previous work, original documents are not available due to NDA, copyright, or having been replaced by more current versions. I have included what I can for context, including external media that relates to each project if available.

The Google School for Leaders: 

Manager Development Series

An Illustration for the Google School for Leaders, drawn by Butters Draws at https://dribbble.com/shots/24462622-Google-School-for-Leaders-animations

Image by Butters Draws 

@ https://dribbble.com/shots/24462622-Google-School-for-Leaders-animations

The Google School for Leaders was one of the most ambitious leadership development initiatives I’ve contributed to, focused on strengthening people-management capability across Google’s global workforce. 

 

I partnered with Google’s internal Instructional Design team to build the learning architecture and storyboards for the Manager Development Series: an award-winning program that ultimately reached more than 30,000 managers worldwide. 

 

This work blended deep leadership research, high-profile expert insights, and Google’s own People Operations philosophy into a cohesive digital learning experience that became foundational to how Google develops its managers today.

Media

Forbes: How Google Develops Emotionally Intelligent Leaders In The AI Era

 

One of The Google School for Leaders’ newest programs, the Manager Development Series, despite being opt-in, reached an overwhelming majority of Google managers. It includes a core curriculum of skills like managing high-performing teams and growing your talent. It also includes an extensive set of electives, blending expertise from internal Google leaders with expertise from external leaders like Harvard professor Frances Frei and Olympic gold medalist Abby Wambach.

 

A video from "Life at Google" describing the Google School for Leaders


An image of a sheet of paper with the text Project Summary

• Collaboration with Google’s internal ID team to build leadership content for the Manager Development Series, part of the Google School for Leaders.

 

• Worked with SMEs across HR, DEI, leadership research, and regional teams to validate accuracy, global relevance, and legal compliance.

 

• Created detailed instructional storyboards later developed into videos and eLearning modules by Google’s media teams.

 

• Delivered 12+ full learning modules covering core people leadership topics like Leading Through Change, Performance Management & Annual Reviews, and Coaching Fundamentals.

Icon of a person with the text My Role

Instructional Designer / Learning Architect (External Partner)

 

Focus Areas:

 

• Learning strategy alignment with Google’s leadership model

 

• Full module storyboard development

 

• Voice, script shaping, sequence design, information architecture

 

• Integration of leadership insights from Google SMEs, Harvard faculty, and high-profile external experts

 

• Ensuring accessibility & narrative coherence across 12 modules

 

• Preparing content for video production + eLearning conversion

Challenges & Complexities

Operating as an External Team

 

  • Required additional security, compliance, and review safeguards
  • Multiple QA passes with different Google teams
  • Needed to adapt quickly to evolving guidance and messaging

High-Level Stakeholder Input

 

  • Senior leaders regularly requested strategic changes
  • Changes were valuable but could cascade through multiple modules
  • Required diplomatic communication and rapid iteration

Complexity of Scope

 

  • 12 modules with interconnected themes
  • Diverse SMEs across HR, People Ops, DEI, leadership research, and external experts
  • Required a strong content architecture to maintain consistency

Outcomes

Image by Butters Draws 

@ https://dribbble.com/shots/24462622-Google-School-for-Leaders-animations

  • Delivered 12+ leadership development modules that became core to Google’s global Manager Development Series.
  • Reached 30,000+ managers worldwide, becoming one of Google’s highest-engagement leadership programs.
  • Achieved 90%+ learner satisfaction across cohorts.
  • Helped shape content later transformed into videos featuring senior Googlers and high-profile external experts.
  • Contributed to a program personally endorsed by CEO Sundar Pichai, who asked to record the introduction to the program after seeing our work.
  • Supported an initiative recognized with three Brandon Hall Awards for excellence in leadership development.
  • Provided foundational content for Google’s public-facing People Management Essentials courses on Coursera.

Other Projects

 

Hostings

Excerpt from Case Study: Virtual World Education - KFC’S SECRET recipe for loss prevention (linked below)

Yum! Brands - KFC New Hire

Early in my career, I joined a team tasked with modernizing KFC’s new-hire training using motion-graphic eLearning built in Lectora, a tool none of us had mastered yet. We became a full production studio overnight: conducting needs analysis, writing scripts, building storyboards, designing media-rich lessons, and even shooting photos on location at 3 a.m. in a Chicago-area KFC (including me acting as the “robber” in the safety module). Despite limited SME access and a steep technical learning curve, we produced a complete curriculum that guided thousands of new hires through the fundamentals of running a KFC restaurant.

 

My Role

  • Instructional design, scripting, and storyboarding for all training modules
  • Primary Lectora developer, rapidly self-training on complex software
  • Coordinated SMEs and gathered operational insights with minimal client availability
  • Led on-site photo shoots, including creating shot lists and directing actors
  • Assisted in audio recording, editing, and overall media production workflow

 

Challenges

  • Had to quickly become proficient in Lectora with no prior experience
  • Minimal SME input from the client, requiring creative problem-solving and strong ID instincts
  • “Say yes, figure it out later” team culture meant rapidly acquiring skills in photography, media scripting, and audio production
  • Full-service delivery expectations from Yum! Brands required high precision, polish, and consistency across all modules

 

Outcomes

  • Delivered a full 15-module new-hire curriculum covering safety, equipment operation, cash handling, and restaurant workflow
  • Training was rolled out nationwide and used by all KFC new hires in the early 2000s
  • Provided a media-rich, structured onboarding experience during a period when digital training was still emerging

 

Media

Hostings

Excerpt from Allstate Flood Insurance Module - Storyboard

Allstate - Sales Producer University

In Chicago, I worked with Allstate’s learning team to build Sales Producer University, the company’s flagship training for newly licensed insurance agents. The curriculum needed to cover an enormous range of product knowledge—home, auto, specialty vehicles, renters, and disaster coverage—while also adapting to the legal nuances and policy rules of all 50 states. I spent weeks onsite at Allstate’s Chicago-area headquarters scripting modules, building storyboards, and capturing the workflows of their internal systems. The result was an intensive 4-week, instructor-led program complete with hands-on activities, scenario practice, multimedia, and a full suite of facilitator and learner materials. The program became a major milestone in how Allstate trained and licensed agents and remains the foundation for today’s modernized, online version.

 

My Role

  • Instructional design, scripting, and storyboarding for all major product-knowledge modules
  • Recorded back-end system processes for agent sales workflows
  • Collaborated in-person with Allstate’s learning strategists and trainers at their headquarters
  • Designed curriculum structure, daily activities, facilitator guides, and student-facing materials
  • Ensured content accuracy across multiple insurance lines and 50-state variations

 

Challenges

  • Massive content scope spanning every insurance product category
  • Need to incorporate legal and regulatory differences across all 50 states
  • Fast iteration cycles with Allstate’s headquarters-based learning team
  • Translating complex back-end systems into clear, teachable workflows
  • Building a full ILT program with multimedia and hands-on practice components

 

Outcomes

  • Delivered a complete 4-week, instructor-led training program with full curriculum, workbooks, activities, multimedia, and job aids
  • Standardized the training experience for new producers across the U.S.
  • Became a foundational program in Allstate’s modernization of licensing and agent readiness
  • Sales Producer University continues today, now delivered through updated online formats