The Women Talking About Learning Podcast

You can contact Women Talking About Learning through our website https://womentalkingaboutlearning.com You can buy us a coffee to support Women Talking About Learning via Ko-Fi https://ko-fi.com/wtalpod Or you can email us via [email protected] Measuring learning impact is one of the oldest conversations in L&D and still one of the least resolved. This episode gets into what useful evaluation actually looks like, why so much measurement stops at the wrong point, and what it takes to tell a credible story about what learning achieves. Full episode resources at https://womentalkingaboutlearning.com Guests: Emma Klosson has spent 25 years in learning and development, working both in-house and for learning providers to create solutions for some of the world’s leading brands. Throughout her career she has been focused on proving the impact of learning, and that focus on evaluation is at the heart of her work today. Emma is the founder of Rooftop Recognition, a boutique consultancy helping L&D, HR and edtech teams win industry awards by telling compelling, evidence-backed stories of their success. As a judge for major industry programmes including the Learning Technologies Awards, she knows what makes an entry stand out. https://rooftoprecognition.com https://linkedin.com/in/emmaklosson Heidi Kirby is an L&D strategist, consultant and founder of Useful Stuff. With a PhD in instructional design and technology and a career spanning college English classrooms, NASA and corporate L&D leadership, she specialises in helping organisations design learning that changes people rather than just checks a box. She is the creator of FUSE, a Framework for Useful Learning Evaluation, which integrates evaluation into the design process from the start and includes measures that leaders actually care about. https://getusefulstuff.com https://linkedin.com/in/heidiekirby Thank you for listening.

You can contact Women Talking About Learning through our website https://womentalkingaboutlearning.com You can buy us a coffee to support Women Talking About Learning via Ko-Fi https://ko-fi.com/wtalpod Or you can email us via [email protected] This Episode: Work throws curveballs. This conversation looks at how women navigate unexpected change, whether that is organisational, professional or personal, and what it takes to adapt without losing yourself in the process. Full episode resources at https://womentalkingaboutlearning.com Guests: Janet O'Hehir is a HR and OD consultant and social scientist who works with organisations managing complex workforce and cultural change programmes, ensuring people are placed at the centre of organisational transformation. She has worked across emergency services, magic circle law firms, and public, private and not-for-profit organisations in both the UK and Australia. As a social researcher, her work has spanned age-friendly cities, education programmes for teenage mums, and resilience and wellbeing interventions in workplaces and community settings. https://linkedin.com/in/janetohehir Sophie Malik is a people and culture leader with more than fifteen years running HR functions across the UK, US and EU. She has twice led People functions at Limejump and EnergyHub, and scaled global People operations through an IPO at Nerdy. She now runs an independent practice coaching senior leaders and advising founder-led teams, and designs career programming at the New York Public Library. She holds an MSc in Organisational Psychology from Birkbeck, University of London. https://sophiemalik.com https://tiffinhr.com https://linkedin.com/in/hrsophie Sarit Gafan is the founder of Highest Good Wellbeing, a mental wellbeing company. Through twenty years working in education and a continuous journey into self-awareness, she has become a practitioner of holistic, student-centred and nature-based education. Her book Gratitude Goldmine describes her journey out of a fifteen-year depression and into greater wellbeing through theory and tools that have transformed her life. https://highestgoodwellbeing.com Elycia French is Head of Membership at the LPI (Learning and Performance Institute), the global professional body for workplace learning and performance. Her career spans learning, organisational and talent development, leadership, performance enablement and capability across commercial, public sector, NHS and not-for-profit environments. Earlier experience across sales, sales operations and membership has shaped her commercial instinct and her understanding of what it takes to keep L&D close to the business. https://thelpi.org https://linkedin.com/in/elyciafrench Thank you for listening.

You can contact Women Talking About Learning through our website https://womentalkingaboutlearning.com You can buy us a coffee to support Women Talking About Learning via Ko-Fi https://ko-fi.com/wtalpod Or you can email us via [email protected] This Episode: AI is reshaping work fast, but the conversation about who benefits, who gets left behind, and what it means for women specifically is still catching up. This episode brings together three perspectives on AI, equity, skills and what a genuinely human-centred approach to technology adoption actually looks like. Full episode resources at https://womentalkingaboutlearning.com Guests: Jenny Garrett OBE is the founder and CEO of Jenny Garrett Global, a leadership development consultancy she has run for twenty years, specialising in inclusive, entrepreneurial and AI-ready leadership. She was awarded an OBE in 2021 for services to entrepreneurship and women in business, and is a graduate of MIT's AI Strategy and Leadership Programme. Her third book, AI for Equity: Creating a More Equitable Society for All, co-written with her daughter Leah-Sunshine Garrett, is published by Emerald on 27 October 2026. She also founded the UK's Diverse Executive Coach Directory and co-hosts the AI for Equity podcast. Erica Farmer is one of the UK's leading voices on AI, future skills and human potential. With more than 25 years of experience across learning, development and apprenticeships, she has helped some of the country's most recognisable organisations prepare their people for the future of work. A TEDx speaker, LinkedIn Learning instructor and AI strategist, her TEDx talk Reforming Education Through a Digital-First Mindset was selected for TED.com. In 2026 she was recognised as an HR Top Mind by HR World and shortlisted in HR Magazine's Most Influential list. She hosts the AI for the Average Joe podcast and has recently published her first book, AI for HR Professionals. Christine Chiang is Chief Operating Officer and VP of Customer Success at Gutenberg Technology, where she has led operations and customer delivery since 2018. She brings more than two decades of experience building and scaling enterprise content and learning platforms, working closely with publishers and training organisations on digital transformation and the shift from print-first workflows to structured, multi-channel content production. She holds an MBA from Babson College and is based in Boston. Thank you for listening.

You can contact Women Talking About Learning through our website https://womentalkingaboutlearning.com You can buy us a coffee to support Women Talking About Learning via Ko-Fi https://ko-fi.com/wtalpod Or you can email us via [email protected] This Episode: Apprenticeships are back in conversation, but the reality is more complicated than the headlines suggest. This episode looks at what apprenticeships actually deliver, who they work for, and what still needs to change, from policy to practice and the classroom to the workplace. Full episode resources at https://womentalkingaboutlearning.com Guests: Tilly Martin is Global Director of Technical Support in MarTech, known for her lifelong commitment to learning and a passion for developing others. Having recently completed a Level 7 Senior Leadership apprenticeship and currently pursuing her MBA, she brings firsthand insight into blending on-the-job training with academic study. Her background spans operations and people development, with a focus on leading change, driving transformation and promoting personal growth. https://linkedin.com/in/tilly-martin-4a2bba51 Candice Gardner is an award-winning skincare expert with over 30 years in skincare and education. She sits on the Beauty and Aesthetics Expert Working Group for HABIA, shaping National Occupational Standards, and on the apprenticeship employer steering group for Skills England. A long-standing member of the City & Guilds Industry Advisory Board, she was co-opted to the City & Guilds Institute Council and Industry Skills Board and is a BABTAC Collective Expert on skin. With 25 years at Dermalogica, she co-authored Leading from the Heart and Shine. https://linkedin.com/in/candice-c-gardner https://instagram.com/candicecgardner https://substack.com/@candicecgardner https://amazon.com/author/candicecgardner Fran Pyatt is a People and Performance Development Consultant at Samaritans with over 20 years of experience in the charity sector across operational, people and governance roles. Two years ago she established an upskilling apprenticeship scheme that has enabled 12% of the Samaritans staff team to participate. Fran believes charities can only achieve lasting impact when they have the right people, skills and leadership in place. https://linkedin.com/in/fran-pyatt-19966838 Thank you for listening.

You can contact Women Talking About Learning through our website womentalkingaboutlearning.com You can buy us a coffee to support Women Talking About Learning via Ko-Fi. Or you can email us via [email protected] This Episode: Culture shapes everything at work: how people behave, how decisions get made, what gets said and what doesn't. This conversation explores organisational and cross-cultural dynamics, what leaders often miss, and why understanding culture is one of the most practical things an L&D professional can do. Full episode resources at womentalkingaboutlearning.com Guests: Kelly Pinar Goodwin is the founder and lead intercultural trainer at Culture Savvy, where she helps leaders and teams work effectively across cultures. Drawing on over a decade of direct experience with clients spanning more than 40 countries across a wide range of industries, Kelly brings a research-backed approach to cross-cultural collaboration and communication. Her work delivers measurable impact: from improved multicultural team dynamics and increased customer satisfaction to resolving workplace conflicts and supporting entry into new international markets. linkedin.com/in/kelly-pinar-goodwin culturesavvy.co medium.com/@kpgoodwin Tamsin Sainsbury-Hyde is a people and culture leader with a passion for leadership, learning and organisational development. Having worked across both consultancy and in-house roles, she is fascinated by what drives organisational behaviour and performance. Tamsin helps leaders and organisations make sense of complex challenges, uncover what sits beneath the surface, and focus on what matters most. linkedin.com/in/tamsinsainsburyhyde Rebecca Edwards is a learning and talent development professional passionate about helping organisations create cultures where people can learn, grow and thrive. Currently working in talent and organisational development, she partners with organisations to strengthen leadership capability, develop talent and create environments where people and businesses can succeed together. She has a particular interest in organisational culture and high-performing teams and how the employee experience is shaped by leadership, learning and purpose. linkedin.com/in/rebecca-edwards-learning Thank you for listening.