What is the ATD Chapter Leaders Conference (ALC)? Every year, leaders of ATD Chapters around the country come together to share best practices about making their ATD Chapters work better. The boards of ATD Chapters are made of volunteers who donate their time, expertise, and resources to their local Talent Development communities, and this conference is one of my absolute favorites.
I’ve been attending this conference for several years, as a leader of my own local Chapter (ATD Greater Las Vegas) in several roles. This year, I submitted two sessions for consideration as a speaker – and got the opportunity to present both sessions!
I decided after attending both the ALC and ICE conferences in San Diego last year that going forward, I would be choosing one conference over the other. I understand the reasoning for co-locating these conferences, but for me, there’s too much of a disconnect. I value the conferences for different reasons, and I can’t get the value I need from both of these events without the time to reflect and decompress. Last year, shifting gears from “Chapter Leader” to “Day Job Employee” in 24 hours caused me to feel like I wasn’t completely present in either role. So this year, I chose to only attend the ALC Conference. (Maybe I’ll see you at ICE next year? Unless the conferences get separated again!)
An Accessibility Audit for your ATD Chapter
Are you part of an organization that has a website, hosts meetings (virtually and/or in-person), and sends communications (newsletters, emails, social media)? Many ATD Chapters do all these things and more. The organization of our current age interacts with a diverse audience across multiple channels, and we have the opportunity to include everyone by considering accessibility.
Website Accessibility
In this session on Accessibility for ATD Chapters, we looked at the accessibility of Chapter websites, events, and communications. We started with one of the simplest things we can all do – include an accessibility statement! Most Chapters have overlooked this simple addition to their websites – but we fixed that! By adding an accessibility statement, we can demonstrate our commitments to accessibility and provide a point of contact for accessibility issues.
Check out what ATD Chapter Leaders came up with for theirs!
In addition to an accessibility statement, we talked about things we can do within our content management systems (like using headers and including ALT Text) and how to test our websites for potential accessibility issues.
Event Accessibility
ATD Chapters now have new ideas for making events more accessible from start to finish. We discussed adding an accommodation question to our registration forms, including captions and other features in our virtual platforms, and considering our physical event spaces as well.
Communication Accessibility
We had a robust discussion on the many ways Chapters communicate – and how we can be more accessible! From ALT Text to readability, transcripts to recordings, and emojis to hashtags, we covered it all. Look out for more accessible communications from your local Chapter soon!
Of Course, A Checklist! (And Other Resources)
I’m known for my checklists (Did you miss these on eLearning, ALT Text, and Captions? And the book full of them?), so I couldn’t leave Chapter Leaders without one for these accessibility practices! Check out the ATD Accessibility Checklist here, and see the links below for other resources:
Why You’re Not Getting Chapter Speakers (from a Professional Speaker!)
Have you ever wanted to share your message with Talent Development professionals? Your local ATD Chapter is a great place to start!
After speaking at my own Chapter, ATD Greater Las Vegas, in 2021, some colleagues in the audience encouraged me to share my session more widely. (That session was an early draft of my current most popular presentation, Accessibility for Online Learning!)
I sent my session to a conference and had a blast! But I’ve gotten a lot of value from connecting virtually with audiences around the country, at ATD Chapter meetings and educational events. These types of sessions can be less formal and more interactive than a traditional conference talk. I find people often ask thoughtful questions and engage with each other and the information.
If you’re a speaker with a topic that applies to Talent Development, for better or for worse, there’s no easy way to get your session proposal in front of every Chapter decision maker. Every Chapter has their own board, processes, and systems – as it should be! ATD Chapters are all unique, of different sizes and needs.
Since there’s no one form to get your proposal to all 80 Chapters, I did the next best thing – I went to all 80 Chapters and pulled what information I could! Most Chapters use a web form of some kind (Google, Wufoo, Survey Monkey) to collect speaker proposals, a few use a PDF or other document, and a handful only offer an email address to contact. But there is a way to get in touch with every Chapter if you’re interested. I’m happy to share my list with anyone interested in speaking at ATD Chapters – check it out!
I had so much fun putting these presentations together to inspire other ATD Chapter Leaders. If you’re looking for a session on accessibility for your community organization, get in touch to see how I might adapt my presentation “An Accessibility Audit for your ATD Chapter” for your group! And of course, if you’re a fellow ATD Chapter Leader, let’s connect!