Allison James

Background

About Allison James

From as early as my childhood days I was quickly drawn to what soon became my first love- my love for art. Left up to me I would have left Trinidad & Tobago (my country of birth) to pursue a college degree, and a subsequent career in fine arts However, I had no idea how I was going to present this fanatical desire to paint into a lucrative business plan, and convince my parents it was worth the consequent school loans. Instead I took an academic detour that launched my 15 year career journey in the world of hospitality management. Though I seemed to have deviated from my first love, as my leadership roles continued to present the challenge of catalyzing performance I also found myself capitalizing on opportunities to use my unique selection of style, color, gestures and lines to impact how my teams absorbed the knowledge needed to deliver an organization's definition of key performance. With this concept always in mind I stumbled upon my “second first love”, Learning and Development. Inevitably working with teams and fellow leaders crystallized my purpose, my passion, and my niche- the union of my love for the canvas with my love for training/ learning and development. I apply my own brush strokes to the continually changing landscape of learning, capturing the minds of our most valuable workplace resource- people. I approach every learning interaction asking myself, “How can I create a masterpiece of relatable experiences that inspire the grasp of unfamiliar concepts?” What images can I imprint on the minds of my audience that would transform into tangible goal driven performances? When not in the classroom/ meeting room, I also spend my time: • Advocating for performance optimization, diversity, inclusion, and employee empowerment, in order to make a quantifiable impact for each organization I’ve served. • Championing improvements in workforce productivity, efficiency, retention, and overall business performance. • Investing in my personal growth and well-being o SHRM-CP certified o Instructional Design certificate o Traveling & the arts • Impacting my community o Big Brothers Big Sisters mentor