DM ‘AUDIT’ to future-proof your 2026 learning & development roadmap • Leadership Development Strategist • TEDx Speaker • Designed Global Training for 35K+

Companies spend millions on leadership development. Most of it doesn't stick.

I help HR, L&D, and visionary CEOs find out why, before they spend another dollar.

Through Capability Audits, I uncover the real reasons training isn't translating into performance: misaligned systems, missing reinforcement, culture that blocks change. 

In 3-5 weeks, you get a clear diagnosis and a clear roadmap to fix it.

My work spans four pillars that turn insight into measurable growth:

🔍 Capability Audits – Data-informed assessments that reveal blind spots, skill gaps, and alignment gaps across teams.

🧠 Leadership Training & Workshops – Programs that blend emotional intelligence, adaptive strategy, and behavioral science.

🎤 Speaking & Panels – Talks that challenge leadership norms, ignite change, and make “soft skills” powerfully strategic.

At the core of my work:
👉 I help organizations strengthen the ‘people layer’ - so leadership, collaboration, and culture scale with innovation, not behind it.

Career highlights:
• TEDx Speaker
• Brand Partners: Synthesia, GoStudio.AI, iSpring Solutions, Tavus, We Are Learning, Powtoon & Notion.
• Named one of the Top 50 Global Influential Women to Follow in 2026
• Featured thought leader on CBS, ABC, NBC, FOX, and The CW.
• Published bestselling author on emotional intelligence and adaptive leadership.
• Former Sales Enablement UX Researcher in big tech, designing learning experiences for 35K+ global professionals.
• Person of the Year 2026 Award 
• Multiple award-winning Thinkers 360: 
1. Top 10 Behavioral Science 
2. Top 50 Transformational Leaders
3. Top 100 Careers Thought Leaders

➡️ If you're building a people-first organization that needs to scale with clarity and heart — let's connect.
📩 DM “READY” or reach out at acasiano@growingyoureq.com

For podcast interviews, features, speaking, or collaborations:
📬 acasiano@growingyoureq.com

**Please send professional requests by email only. No DM pitches will be reviewed.

Alinnette Casiano

Life knocks you down.
That part's easy.

Getting back up, that’s the work.

Three years ago, I missed my biggest goal.

Months of effort.
Late nights.
All in.

Still missed.

I sat in my car, hands on the wheel, thinking,
“Was all that for nothing?”

It wasn’t.
It was the start of learning.

Failure didn’t finish me.
It taught me.

1. Rejection teaches
A “no” just means not yet.

2. Failure points.
It shows you what to fix.

3. Changing course isn’t weak.
It’s how you find what works.

4. The door that closes
is the one that pushes you toward the right one.

Your pace isn’t mine.
Your route isn’t mine.
When you look sideways, you slow down.

Forget big overhauls.
Do small things right.

Send one honest message.
Make one better call.
Try again tomorrow.

Everything that goes wrong tells you something.

A missed sale shows what didn’t land.
A bad launch shows what didn’t fit.
A lost client shows where you stopped listening.

Setbacks aren’t proof you can’t.
They’re proof you’re trying.

The work that got you here won’t get you there.
The people who started with you might not stay.
That’s part of it.

Growth sits in the spot you don’t want to look at.
And the map?
It’s written in every fall you’ve taken.

💭 What’s your “get back up” story?

🔁 Repost for someone who’s in the middle of their “getting back up” season.

Credit: I do not own the copyright claim to this video

There’s an underrated quality that changes the way people experience leadership.

👉 Humility

Not the kind that shrinks.
Not the kind that stays quiet.

The kind that steadies a room.

You see it when a leader doesn’t rush to prove they’re right.
When they pause long enough to listen.
When they admit, “I might be missing something.”

That moment does more than build trust.
It lowers defenses.
It creates space for better thinking.
It lets others bring their best forward.

Humility doesn’t weaken authority.
It strengthens it.

Because teams don’t follow perfection.
They follow leaders who are grounded enough to learn in real time.

I’ve watched confident leaders lose people by needing to be right.
And I’ve watched humble leaders earn commitment by staying curious.

The difference isn’t intelligence.
It’s self-awareness.

In practice, humility looks like this:
• Asking before asserting
• Listening without preparing a rebuttal
• Taking responsibility without self-flagellation
• Letting the work be bigger than your ego

In fast-moving, high-pressure environments, humility becomes a performance skill.

It keeps decisions clean.
It keeps relationships intact.
It keeps learning alive.

The leaders who last aren’t the loudest.
They’re the ones who know when to step back so the truth can step forward.

💭 Where have you seen humility change the outcome?

🔁  Share this with others to motivate them to lead quietly but powerfully.

Image Credit: Adam Grant

Upskilling is under pressure.

Roles are evolving faster than traditional training cycles can keep up.
By the time a program launches, the work has already shifted.

If you’re responsible for learning, enablement, or workforce readiness at scale, this is a conversation you don’t want to miss.

Hosted by Synthesia:
AI for Upskilling: Building Workforce Capability with Video Agents
📅 Feb 19th | 5:00 pm CET · 4:00 pm UK · 11:00 am ET

This webinar goes beyond hype and asks the harder question:

Where do AI video agents actually outperform traditional training, and where don’t they?

You’ll hear from:

Kevin Alster  
Craig Watson 
Dominic Holmes 
Gareth Rees 

They’ll break down:

• How AI video agents enable continuous, adaptive skill-building
• Which outcomes they measurably improve: time-to-competence, consistency, adaptability
• How leading organizations decide what to invest in, and what to leave behind
• How to assess cost vs. value without betting on hype

I’ll be there listening closely, and I hope to see many of you there as well.

If you’re navigating AI adoption and wondering what actually moves the needle in workforce capability, you can’t miss this.

Because learning has to move at the speed of work.

Register here: https://hubs.ly/Q042SRNX0

SME–ID collaboration is harder than it should be.

Extracting knowledge, translating it, refining it, 
and still missing key context drains time and momentum.

That gap is exactly what Powtoon’s soon-to-launch AI collaboration tool is designed to close. 

One structured space to capture expert knowledge, 
guide inputs, ask clarifying questions, 
and turn internal expertise into learner-ready assets.

Without endless back-and-forth.

🎁 I’ve partnered up with Powtoon to give away 100 SME-ID Relationship Repair Kits 👇

Want to win a pair for you and your SME (or fellow L&D pro who really needs this)? 
Here’s how to enter the raffle:

Like this post and comment tagging your peer.
Register for an exclusive product unboxing event and apply for beta 👉 https://lnkd.in/gW_4i4qK

That's it! You’re in the raffle!

Want to double your chances? 
Repost this post.

The kit is playful. 
The tool is on another level.

And if you’ve ever navigated “just one more revision,” 
you already know why this matters.

The kit arrived just in time for #ValentinesDay, 
It is surprisingly accurate and a clever nod to something most teams don’t say out loud.

In partnership with Powtoon.

All roads lead to Alaska.

CREAX Ideas is not just another event.
It’s a bilingual stage for ideas that move people:
Across culture, language, leadership, and creativity.

🗓 July 8, 2026
📍 Glenn Massay Theater, Palmer, Alaska

This is where voices rise.
Where ideas are shared with intention,
and recorded for impact beyond the room.

🎟 Early Bird tickets are live, and they won’t last.
If you know you’re coming, secure your seat now and save.

Feeling generous?
Become a Supporter and help make this space accessible to students, emerging leaders, and community members.

This isn’t just a date to mark.
It’s a room you’ll want to be in.

I’ll drop the link to purchase below.

🔁 Repost to spread the word.
📌 Save this and revisit when you’re ready.

Travelers

Learning Designer

Potencia

Design and develop civic engagement curriculum for adult English language learners. Part-time, contract role.

Curriculum Writer

SOUTH WINDSOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Instructor, Curriculum Developer, Tech Implementation Lead

Lead project to design interactive curriculum impacting 800+ learners and using ADDIE methodology. Collaborate with 8 SMEs during rapid design process to develop curricular maps, assessments and learning assets, implement program with fidelity to updated organizational standards, and continuously gather and apply feedback to enhance learner experience.

Define KPIs to measure proficiency and design curricula for 200+ learners, supporting learners through customized coaching and tools. >90% of learners meet or exceed KPIs.

Collaborate with leadership to develop technology implementation guidelines, model use cases and train 150+ employees on leveraging generative AI to improve workflows, using adult learning principles.
Lead small-group and individual training sessions for 50+ employees and administrators and create customized training and job aids for technology implementation, productivity and wellness.

Conduct needs analysis through conversations, observations and surveys. By influencing without authority, build consensus to define a departmental vision that guides projects and improves team communication.

Mentor early-career employees in 1:1 meetings, provide evaluative feedback on job performance and guide them to meet organizational expectations and industry standards.

Instructor

Aparicio Publishing LLC

Defined curriculum project objectives, determined potential project challenges and proposed content tailored to client needs.

Designed and developed learning assets rooted in real-world tasks and revised according to feedback from clients and SMEs. Tracked tasks using Trello to ensure on-time coordination and delivery of assets.

Phillips Academy

Instructor, Team Lead

Boosted learning program enrollment by 22% from 2018-2021 by managing a cross-functional team of 5 SMEs to overhaul 3 programs impacting 500+ learners and aligning deliverables to updated departmental standards. >95% of learners participating in the program met or exceeded KPIs.
Led multi-year, school-wide initiative to overhaul evaluation system impacting 1200+ learners. Consulted with cross-functional teams, including senior leadership, to gather data on current practices, identify knowledge and skills gaps and implement innovative practices through observations, training sessions and mentoring. Increased the number of employees implementing equitable evaluation practices from 12 to 52 over 3 years.
Built 21 12-week eLearning courses within Canvas LMS. Embedded multimedia, individualized assessments, implemented mastery-based evaluation and customized content with HTML.
Drove exceptional participation rates from 20 to 45 employees in diversity, equity and inclusion efforts by facilitating 30+ sessions aligned with adult learning theory to promote organizational DEIJ initiatives.
Improved communications processes and streamlined workflows for internal and external stakeholders, saving 200 hours of labor per year.
Orchestrated end-to-end recruitment process for 3 open positions. Reviewed 150+ resumes, shortlisted qualified candidates, conducted panel interviews for 8 finalists, and collaborated with teams to assess organizational fit, resulting in 100% of recommended candidates being hired.
Led 1:1 coaching for 6 employees through the triannual performance review process, providing constructive non-evaluative feedback and guiding self-reflection on achievements and growth areas. Wrote individual reports to facilitate meaningful performance discussions with evaluators.
Onboarded 6 new team members, training them in job-critical procedures in a highly regulated and matrixed environment and ensuring 100% compliance with organizational standards.

Instructor & Team Lead

Millbrook School

Instructor

Designed and led implementation of a 36-week blended Spanish curriculum for 50 learners. Defined project scope, created detailed timeline and workflows, and managed all aspects of curriculum development including interactive instruction, adaptive quizzes and scenario-based assessments.

Conducted gap analysis, identified the need for a new learning pathway for high performers and initiated the design of the course curriculum.

Beaver Country Day School, Inc.

Spearheaded the launch of a new Spanish-language Entrepreneurship course by defining requirements, securing resources, and leading end-to-end project execution. Managed development of innovative curriculum incorporating guest speaker sessions and group mentorship program with 2 local Spanish-speaking business owners for 15 learners. Stellar project engagement resulted in 600% increase in enrollment within 6 months.
Evaluated program effectiveness by analyzing learner performance data. Modified curricular sequence to address learner skill gaps, increasing program participants’ proficiency by 24%.

Professional Children's School

Instructor, Professional Learning Lead

Designed and delivered training to upskill 25+ employees on LMS optimization, enabling participants to improve courses with multimedia integration, diversified assessment types and efficient content organization.
Collaborated with senior leadership to define and direct technology policy, leading to specialized performance support for employees and improved alignment in technology implementation across departments.
Built 8 courses in Spanish within Moodle LMS and used HTML to embed multimedia and customize assessments.

Glastonbury High School

Influenced technology policy and ensured strategy alignment with organizational vision. Collaborated with a cross-functional team to articulate and implement regional technology policy. 

Led a successful two-year technology pilot program, tracked data on effective use, prepared reports and presented findings to regional leadership, resulting in a 100% technology uptake in the year following the pilot. 

Mentored early-career hires in one-on-one sessions on instructional design and technology use.
Developed and led in-person workshops on technology implementation and instructional best practices for peers at local, regional and national conferences.

Conceptualized, designed, developed and implemented 2500+ learning experiences in Spanish over nine years. Consistently rated “Highly Effective” on evaluations.

Teach For America Connecticut

Guided 12 early-career employees to achieve 100% compliance with industry standards and gain certification.
Provided expert 1:1 mentorship in a cycle of feedback, reflection and improvement. Customized mentoring approach based on individual needs and strengths.

Learning Specialist

My strengths as a learning designer are in curriculum design, technology implementation, facilitation and process improvement, spanning educational, non-profit and corporate settings. I also hold a Master’s degree in Spanish Language and Translation, and draw on a lifetime of cross-cultural communication to foster inclusion and effect change. My professional interest lies in building efficient, humane systems that enable change initiatives to create a sustainable future for all, and I'm currently pursuing a Master's degree in Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning to help me achieve that.

My career has been all about leading and managing organizational changes like new technology rollouts, program redesigns, and updated strategic initiatives. In these situations, I use my communication skills and cultural competence, developed from a lifetime of building fluency in Spanish, to connect with people from many different backgrounds. My ability to analyze a situation from many perspectives gives me insight into “big picture” ideas as well as how the small pieces must come together to create a cohesive whole.

Some career highlights: 

Managed the end-to-end redesign of 2 learning programs impacting more than 1000 learners. >90% have met or exceeded KPIs in the past 5 years. 

Drove exceptional participation rates from 20 to 45 employees in diversity, equity and inclusion efforts by facilitating 30+ discussion groups and workshops. 

Saved managers 375+ training hours per year (projected) by designing and developing a blended learning solution to ensure regulatory compliance.

Built 30+ courses in Canvas and Moodle LMSs, embedding multimedia, adaptive assessments and customized content. 

taplio

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Alinnette Casiano

Katherine R. Matheson

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