The 2024 Excellence in Learning & Performance Awards are open to leaders of color who have led innovation, built momentum, or overcome barriers resulting in healthier, higher-performing organizations. The selection criteria are based on the scope of impact, the realization of greater potential of people in the workforce, innovation, and overcoming barriers either personally or for individuals impacted by the recipient’s work. The 2024 Excellence in Learning & Performance Award Recipients are:

Michelle Orro

Michelle Orro serves as the Manager of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion at HelloFresh. She began her journey as a Senior Business Analyst, where she leveraged her analytical skills to establish DEI benchmarks and metrics that informed strategic decision-making. In her current role, Michelle drives initiatives in talent attraction, development, and engagement, focusing on partnerships across functions and Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). She manages high-impact projects, such as developing inclusive hiring programs and implementing data-driven solutions to improve employee belonging and retention. By combining empathy with a data-focused approach, Michelle uplifts employees so everyone can bring their full selves to work.

Seth Yelorda

Seth Yelorda is the Founder and CEO of Vision Clarity. Seth is a transformative leadership advocate dedicated to helping leaders and organizations reach their full potential through developing leaders, cultivating extraordinary employees, and helping organizations strategically grow. He has played a pivotal role in enhancing leadership at Kaiser Permanente and other notable institutions through strategic planning and coaching. Seth holds an MBA and an MA in Organizational Psychology and is completing his PhD. Based in Riverside, California, he values work-life balance and believes in fostering environments where both individuals and organizations can thrive.

The 2024 recipients were recognized on September 26 at an awards luncheon during the 2024 EXLEARN Conference hosted at Great American Ball Park.

The 2023 Excellence in Learning & Performance Awards are open to leaders of color who have led innovation, built momentum, or overcome barriers resulting in healthier, higher-performing organizations. The selection criteria are based on the scope of impact, the realization of greater potential of people in the workforce, innovation, and overcoming barriers either personally or for individuals impacted by the recipient’s work. The 2023 Excellence in Learning & Performance Award Recipients are:

Clare Jeong

Clare Jeong serves as Senior Manager, Talent Management at HelloFresh. Prior to her current role, Clare served at WarnerMedia playing a strategic role in WarnerMedia’s talent and performance practice. Clare was nominated for the metric and data expertise that she has brought to talent reviews. The dashboards that she developed are used to reveal potential biases and talent gaps. They are now being used to train leaders to have more meaningful talent discussions and make data-driven talent decisions.

Ebony M. Lewis

Ebony Lewis serves as Director of Continuing Medical Education & Professional Development at Northwest Permanente. Ebony created frameworks that center the experiences of marginalized communities and practical solutions that advance healthcare through learning. In addition, she founded the Professional Development Institute at Kaiser Permanente, an annual summit that has provided the opportunity for more than 3,800 employees to develop meaningful relationships, build skills, and lead from where they are.

Michael Shebe

Michael Shebe serves as Director of Shared HR Group Services – North America at Würth Group of North America Inc. In this role, Michael supports more than 30 operating companies from a training, development, and human resources perspective. Michael holistically looks at each situation to develop the needed suite of tools, processes, and anchors for change. In addition, Michael has systematically used employee engagement data to strategically map improvement processes and investments for the organization’s companies.

Mallori Steele

Mallori Steele is the Founder of Black in L&D, a community that supports, connects, and celebrates Black professionals in the L&D industry; and CEO of Growductive Consulting, a talent development consulting agency. Mallori was nominated for her work to empower individuals and drive positive change, inclusion, and equity. Not only has Mallori advocated for representation and raised awareness about unique challenges faced by Black professionals, she has facilitated the development of a community of more than 3,000 where she fosters excellence and empowerment, provides resources, mentorship, and networking opportunities that are crucial for career advancement.

The recipients were recognized on September 27 at an awards banquet during the 2023 EXLEARN Conference hosted at Great American Ball Park.

The 2022 Excellence in Learning & Performance Award are open to persons of color who have led innovation, built momentum, or overcome barriers resulting in healthier, higher-performing organizations. We are grateful to everyone who submitted a nomination for the awards. Recipients were selected based on the reach and impact of their work. The 2022 Excellence in Learning & Performance Award Recipients are:

Tameka J. Harris, MS

Tameka J. Harris serves clients as Managing Director, Learning Program Design at IDSuccess Design Studio, a learning and development company that converts content into premium courses, custom training, and signature learning programs. In addition, she serves as a contributing faculty member in the Master of Science Learning Design & Technology (MSLDT) program at the University of San Diego. Tameka was nominated for her work to found The Instructional Design Club on Clubhouse to support teachers transitioning to instructional design—a club that still supports 4,000 members.

Breanna Jackson, MBA, SHRM-CP

Breanna Jackson serves the most diverse county in Oregon as the Learning and Development Program Manager of Washington County. A Gallup-certified Strengths coach, Breanna is also founder and Chief Learning Officer of The Refining Company, where she supports individuals and teams to understand their value through strength-based development. Her nominated shared that Breanna’s work rooted in her coaching/mentoring expertise and her desire to help people be their best selves has positively impacted the foundational culture of Washington County.

Heather Lee

Heather Lee serves as People & Organization Business Partner at Sony Pictures Entertainment. Prior to her current role, Heather served at WarnerMedia where she led the development of a coaching-based leadership program in partnership with BetterUp. The program focused on developing the whole person, both personal and professional, and was based on the foundation that mental health and well-being underpinned performance. She was nominated because of her deep expertise and passion, coupled with the program’s high success indicators.

Ankit Shah, MED, MA (He/Him/His)

Ankit Shah serves as Supervisor, Talent Development for the Organizational Development & People Analytics department at Columbus State Community College. He serves as VP of Programming for Human Resources Association of Central Ohio (HRACO) and is a Special Interest Group leader for diversity & inclusion area for Central Ohio Association of Talent Development (COATD), to name just a couple of his accolades. In addition to facilitating conversation on LinkedIn, Ankit was nominated for his Impactful thought leadership and work focused on belonging and diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Join us in congratulating the award recipients for their collective impact and innovation. In order to shine a spotlight on their work, each individual will receive an award package that highlights their learning and performance work and thought leadership.