Taylor Blake

Degreed

Helping lead an initiative called Degreed Experiments where we evaluate emerging technologies through prototyping and research.

SVP New Initiatives

Degreed acquired Learn In and I became SVP of Product for Degreed Academies and Content Marketplace.

SVP Product

Learn In

Attract, develop, and retain your talent with a Talent Academy that: 
1) gives employees access to best external skill-building courses and programs through stipends, education benefits, or scholarships 
2) allows you to build your own programs that are cohort-based, hands-on, and collaborative

Easily meet every key learning moment and drive business performance.

Co-founder and Chief Product Officer

University Impact

University Impact sprung out of a desire to embrace a more sustainable way of creating large-scale, positive, social impact (while generating a financial return at the same time). Our mission is to find and fund ventures and businesses that are solving complex, vexing social problems with strong management teams, passion for change, and innovative business models.

Product Advisor

•  Researched, validated, and launched a suite of skill measurement products (Skill Rating, Skill Review, and Skill Certification) to measure any skill at any level. Skill measurement allows individuals and companies to identify gaps, measure progress, and get matched to career opportunities.

Product, Skills

•  Started when team was < 5 people chasing a crazy dream
•  Researched, prototyped, and built product offerings for consumers and enterprise clients
•  Oversaw client success, email marketing, content marketing, user acquisition, customer support

Founding Team / Product Manager

Kaplan EdTech Accelerator powered by TechStars

The Kaplan/TechStars Accelerator is a three month intensive, mentor-driven, deep immersion program for startups.  TechStars was ranked by Forbes as the #2 tech incubator in the world.

TechStars

The RBL Group

The RBL Group is a leadership and strategic HR consulting firm co-founded by Dave Ulrich.

Product Manager

Various

Microsoft - User experience design and research
LinkedIn - Product management for learning products
Innosight - Innovation and strategy consulting
Bloomreach - Market research

Student Intern

I help lead Degreed Experiments to explore how emerging technology (AI) can be leveraged in workplace learning. Feel free to connect or message me.

We’re here to make sure education and skills stay the key to economic opportunity in an AI-driven world—because the future shouldn’t just work for those who own all the capital or compute.

We aim to do this by:
- Helping people handle the changes AI brings to work and life.
- Teaching people how to use and get the most out of AI tools.
- Finding ways to use AI for more than just cutting costs—so we can invest back into people.

Our AI-related experiments help position L&D be at the forefront of navigating this change. Follow along, and let’s ensure human expertise continues to drive progress and opportunity.

Why Degreed? We started Degreed with a passion for lifelong learning and have since seen what works (and what doesn’t) across hundreds of the most innovative learning organizations. After we established the category of Learning Experience Platforms (LXP) at Degreed, I left to tackle a new set of ambitious challenges and cofounded Learn In.  In 2022, through acquisition, we combined the latest innovations from Learn In with Degreed’s market-leading platform to build the next chapter of products to support lifelong learning.

-Partner and consult across global Talent teams to benchmark, develop and mature strategies in support of talent attraction and development through program design, creative content creation and project management.  

-Enhance employee and candidate experience through redesign of onboarding program, alignment of global early careers programming, growth of listening strategies, refresh of employee referral program, implementation of TA and LMS software, and expansion of EVP marketing initiatives.

Talent Solutions Senior Manager 

Today's Unicorn Talent

-Publish editorial content for TUT readers in 50+ countries, articles for industry publications and an eBook for leaders and HR professionals seeking actionable insights to develop their teams. 

-Present at conferences and events to share insights and advance the talent development industry. 

-Coach budding talent development leaders to hone their unique skillset and consult on talent and leadership development opportunities to strengthen organization’s HR strategies, talent benches and learning systems.

Talent Consultant, Speaker & Author 

LifeScan

-Led the creation of the Talent Management team’s Learning and Development function to develop, motivate and retain talent through a culture of learning, focused on the development of senior leaders, enhancing team engagement and reducing costs through centralizing strategy and vendor management.

-Assessed, launched and curated LMS as touchstone for all learning programs serving learners in 14 languages across all levels and technical specialties, including the design of a global core curriculum and introduction of gamified and social learning, yielding 70+% adoption in the first 10 months with over 16,000 course completions.

-Designed executive and HiPo development programs and immersive orientation program as well as hosted talent rotational and mentoring programs to increase cross-functional knowledge, create new career pathways, enhance culture and prepare talent pipeline for organizational growth and agility.

-Implemented development action plan model centered on 70:20:10 framework and aligned with performance cycle, managed through in-house portal designed with 90+% savings from alternate software, resulting in goal-based culture, increased coaching and focus on professional development.

Global Learning & Development Leader 

OpSec Security

-Established Learning and Development COE leading a team of three technical trainers, coaching their
development into the robust L&D arena, and creating a global learning strategy and culture inclusive of technical, leadership, EHS, compliance and OJT curricula for employee enrichment.

-Implemented an LMS and designed global onboarding program to enhance job performance, talent readiness and professional development.

-Developed global engagement initiatives, redesigned site-level engagement committee framework, devised service anniversary program and expanded employee communication rhythms to bolster morale and retention.

Global Learning & Development and US HR Manager

-Led HR initiatives and full employee lifecycle for US and Dominican Republic employees, both centralized and remote, to enable business growth and professional development.

-Designed employee engagement survey, developed annual employee experience plan, integrated and enhanced US leave policies and refreshed performance review and goal setting exercises to collectively inform and enhance the global people strategy, engage employees and transform culture.

HR Transformation & Operations Manager

GE Aviation

-Discerned and synthesized organizational talent and culture needs through multifaceted assessment methods, including surveys, focus groups and gemba walks, and executed upon findings by crafting targeted, creative initiatives, which were championed by senior leaders and involved all levels of talent.

-Led value stream-wide adoption of newly created Train the Trainer program to support manufacturing sites’ technical training efficiency, leadership development and teaming culture with 130+ program alumni.

-Executed front-line leader development strategy to enhance and transform behaviors and empower and equip leaders to meaningfully engage, motivate and coach teams of technicians.

-Developed dedicated training function, including building 25+ technical curricula and leading LMS integration, at agile 320-person site to enable new hire readiness, efficient operations and employee safety and technical competency, with effectiveness measured via the Kirkpatrick Model.

-Launched diversity and inclusion strategy and coached budding affinity networks to enhance site culture and employees’ sense of belonging.

Training Specialist

The Chemours Company

-Designed and presented global talent development webinars to 240 people and face-to-face training module for 25 female executives and created three-day front-line leader development program for 350 global employees to develop managers’ ability to execute company’s core talent competencies.

-Bolstered awareness, branding and recruitment as well as cultivated engagement through community partnerships for seven employee resource groups to support diversity and inclusion efforts, transform company culture, drive interdepartmental success and solve business problems, including the development and implementation of new hire orientation and paid day of service programs.

-Mined and analyzed employee data and parity points related to diversity demographics to strengthen succession planning, spur talent pipelining and align company demographics with local regions’ compositions.

-Created project plan and automated scorecard templates for multimillion-dollar transformation initiative to streamline HR operations across the globe and form the basis of HR PMO, including change management and communication strategy to serve diverse stakeholders.

Talent Management & HR Transformation Intern/Specialist 

Express Employment Professionals

-Spearheaded organization and growth of largest client account by guiding 135 applicants through multi-step work readiness process. 

-Fulfilled clients’ needs by putting over 40 individuals to work in primarily evaluation hire positions.

-Conducted phone screens and interviews and facilitated conditional employment paperwork, evaluations and database management at startup franchise to coordinate associates’ skills with clients’ needs.

Staffing Coordinator

Talent Management leader experienced in engaging talent, transforming cultures and implementing creative solutions that enable people to perform at their best. Passionate about designing and facilitating learning experiences that empower today’s and enable tomorrow’s leaders. Developer of diverse talent programs; builder of global and remote teams. Gemba walker, change leader, coach, business partner and author.

Thought Leadership in Learning & Development 2023 Award Recipient

taplio

The Battle

Taylor Blake

Anne Marie DeCarolis

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