The Co-President is responsible for Chapter Operations, Succession Planning and CARE reporting to ATD National. 

Ross Tartell specializes in talent development, executive coaching, and leadership development. He is a Senior Associate with the Organizational Performance Group (OPG) and Principal at Ross Tartell, Ph.D., Consulting LLC.  Earlier, Ross was North American Learning Leader for GE Capital Real Estate. He also spent 18 years at Pfizer Inc. Positions included Regional Learning Leader, Director Team Leader for Instructional Design, and Director Team Leader for Leadership Development.

Ross is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University.  He has published articles and made presentations on Leadership, Talent Development, Training Evaluation, and Employee Engagement. He also serves on the editorial boards for Training Magazine and The OD Practitioner.  He received his B.A. in Social Science from Hofstra University, and his M.B.A in Management, and Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Columbia University.

Co-President, Director,
University Student Relations, 

Dr. Maurice
"Mo" Cayer  

University of
New Haven

The Co-President is responsible for Chapter Operations, Succession Planning and CARE reporting to ATD National. 

Mo Cayer is a career-long applied industrial/organizational psychologist. Mo has extensive industry and corporate experience improving organizational and human resource effectiveness. His corporate/consulting career includes: 

• Training Portfolio Leader at the American Management Association (AMA).
• Head of Organizational & Leadership Development for Bayer Healthcare/ Pharmaceutical, NA.
• GE Capital Corp. (the financial services business within General Electric) for six years, Mo was the Leader, Best Practices & Program Development, designing and consulting on a wide variety of Organizational and Leadership Development interventions.
• R.H. Macy & Co., as its Vice President, Leadership, Organizational Development & Executive Compensation.
• Development Dimensions Int’l., Consultant for Service Excellence; and KRC Research and Consulting, VP Organizational Research & OD Consulting.
• JC Penney Co in various Human Resource leadership roles over 10 years.
• Mo continues consulting to private and public sector organizations, sometimes collaborating with Pivotal Resources, Inc., a global change leadership firm.

Mo is a full-time faculty member at the University of New Haven, with a joint appointment in the Psychology Department and Management Department, and teach courses to MBAs, and graduate students in I/O psychology: strategic management, human resource management, HR development, psychological testing in industry, performance management, and talent management among others.  Mo earned a Ph.D. in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from New York University.

Belimo

Kara is currently using her MA in Industrial & Organizational Psychology at Belimo. Kara focuses on Talent Management processes and innovative learning practices to ensure impact and engagement on learning and development. She partners with executives and leaders around the world to create programs to upskill talent.

Kara is an end-to-end Talent leader who can think strategically, develop and execute on learning initiatives. She is a proven instructional designer who applies adult learning theory to every project and program, helping to grow talent. Kara brings experience in project management, Learning Management System (LMS) implementation, content development and online training. Prior to joining Belimo, Kara served roles of increasing responsibility at Information Services Group and Terex Corporation, in Global Learning and Development.  

Kara holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Central Connecticut State University and a Master's in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from the University of New Haven.

The Director of Technology is the ATD SCC Webmaster, and is responsible for the design, maintenance and improvements to our chapter website, using Wild Apricot and NewTek Business Services. 

Anne Cheng is an Instructional Designer and a Technology Education professional with ILT, WBT, online blended-learning and staff training experience. Anne earned her Master's of Education and Master's of Instructional Technology at the University of Bridgeport and earned ATD's Certificate of eLearning Instructional Design. 

Anne was an Instructional Designer and Trainer at NYCHA, creating and teaching apps on the Maximo Mobile platform. She was a Senior Microsoft Applications Instructor for New Horizons CLC, an Adjunct Professor for the University of Bridgeport, and owned a technology-education franchise. She has taught 100+ technical and soft skills courses, Masters-level educational technology courses, and trained her 55 franchise employees. 

Director of Finance,
Indra Ponnuswamy 

University of
New Haven

The Director of Finance works closely with the Chapter’s Board members to monitor the Chapter’s on-going financial operations.

Indra Ponnuswamy assists in the completion of year-end tax reporting to document the Chapter’s on-going nonprofit activities, assists the President in the completion of the year-end Core Compliance report.

Indra with over 20 years in business, finance, and project management, holds an MBA with a concentration in Finance and is a Business Partner in a global financial services firm, focusing on investment banking and wealth management with a focus on managing portfolios of high-net-worth individuals (HNI) clients. Her academic achievements include a PhD in Management Sciences and is currently, an Adjunct Instructor at the University of New Haven, CT, teaching Management and Business Analytics.

Indra's extensive industry and academic experience equip her to manage the Chapter’s financial operations effectively. Her dedication to transparency, operational efficiency, and strategic growth supports the Chapter’s mission of advancing talent development across industries.

The Co-Director of Programming is responsible for providing professional development, knowledge sharing and networking opportunities for ATD CT Members. 

Theresa Fesinstine brings over 25 years of HR leadership experience to the ATD-CT chapter. She is the Founder of peoplepower.ai, a company dedicated to demystifying AI for HR and non-tech professionals. Theresa's mission is to "Flatten the AI Learning Curve" and make AI accessible and actionable in the workplace.

Theresa is a recognized thought leader in AI for HR, having been named a PYN 50 over 50 Women in Tech and receiving the Dextego AI Award for AI Thought Leadership. She holds certifications in AI for Business Strategy from MIT and AI for Business from Zortify Summer School. As an Adjunct Professor at City College of New York, she teaches AI for Business, preparing future generations for AI-integrated workplaces.

A sought-after keynote speaker and advisor to AI-First Tech Start-ups, Theresa leverages her expertise to drive innovation in HR practices. She is actively involved in mentorship programs and professional communities, including All Tech is Human, TroopHR, and Culture First. Theresa's unique blend of HR expertise and AI knowledge positions her to lead impactful programming that bridges the gap between traditional HR practices and emerging AI technologies.

Co-Director of Programming,
Iris
McQuillan-Grace

OLIVER

The Director at Large for ATD CT is responsible for onboarding the new president, Chapter Succession Planning, CARE reporting to ATD National and providing knowledge sharing, resource development and networking opportunities for ATD CT members. 

Iris McQuillan-Grace is a talent leader and learning nerd. She leverages her background in collaborative performance and human centered design to help organizations navigate internal transformation and empower their employees to develop new skills and become the leaders they were meant to be. She is a Board member of ATD CT, and a member of the Executive Council for Leading Change. When not doing all of that, you will find her chasing her two little ones until they are too big to catch.

Director at Large,
David Gilman

Gilman Performance Solutions, Inc.

The Director at Large for ATD CT is responsible for onboarding the new president,  Chapter Succession Planning, CARE reporting to ATD National and providing knowledge sharing, resource development and networking opportunities for ATD CT members. 

David Gilman's Special Interest Group (SIG) is focused on internal Learning Leaders, to facilitate specific Networking, Idea-Sharing, and Rapid Question-Response concepts.

David's career in L&D includes internal positions at prestigious firms, up to GE Capital.
He built a consulting practice with over 200 repeat clients, ranging from Fortune 50 to small firms. His practice offers over 25 services focused on learning, assessments and key meeting / team facilitation skills. 

David has presented over 10 times to ATD / SHRM chapters, starting with his memorable first one using a hotel kitchen's Saran wrap (ask him). 

Director at Large, 
Jim Kineon

GP Strategies Corporation