TrainingPros at ALC 2026: Getting Unboxed in Los Angeles

Investing in L&D Leadership, Volunteerism, and the Future of ATD Chapters

TrainingPros proudly participated in the 2026 ATD Chapter Leaders Conference (ALC), held May 15–16 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. This premier annual event brings together volunteer leaders from ATD chapters across the country for two days of idea sharing, community building, and leadership development. With a focus on advancing the mission of ATD through stronger, more innovative chapters, ALC plays a vital role in shaping the future of the L&D profession.

This year, two members of the TrainingPros team made the trip to Los Angeles: Chenier Mershon, President-Elect of the ATD Dallas Chapter, and Tracy Dee Lufkin, Vice President of Sponsorship for the ATD Rocky Mountain Chapter. Both are Relationship Managers at TrainingPros who bring deep learning and development expertise to their client partnerships.

Getting Unboxed: The Theme That Set the Tone

The conference theme, “Get Unboxed,” was introduced on Friday evening with “The BOX Experience: Building Better Boxes for Chapters and Leaders,” followed by a Welcome Networking Reception. From the very first session, it was clear this year’s ALC was designed to push chapter leaders beyond familiar frameworks and toward bolder, more innovative approaches to serving their members. Tracy Dee captured the spirit well: “Coming off ALC, my brain is full in the best possible way.”

Chenier echoed that energy: “There’s a special kind of magic that happens when leaders step outside of their regular meetings and into real conversations. ATD Leadership Conference was the beginning of that for me.”

Learning from and with Chapter Leaders Nationwide

ALC is known for its highly relevant and collaborative learning sessions. The 2026 schedule featured tracks focused on chapter operations, membership growth, volunteer engagement, sponsorship strategy, financial literacy, and governance. Some of the standout session topics included:

“Build Your Dream Team: A Succession Planning Blueprint for Long-Term Success”
“Intelligent Inclusion: AI Tools and Tactics to Unbias Chapter Practices”
“No Finance Degree Required: Financial Literacy for Board Members”
“Good Chapter Governance: What Chapter Boards Must Know, Own, and Let Go”
“Become a Strategic Leader: Lead Smarter, Not Harder”
“From Transactional to Transformational: Redesigning Sponsorships That Drive Revenue and Long-Term Partnerships”

Tracy Dee intentionally focused her sessions around sponsorships, partnerships, financial sustainability, and member engagement — areas central to her role as VP of Sponsorship for the Rocky Mountain Chapter. She also had the opportunity to reconnect with chapter leaders she’d met at previous conferences while building new relationships. ALC also offered the rare opportunity for much of the ATD Rocky Mountain Chapter board to spend meaningful in-person time together.

As Tracy Dee reflected, “The collaboration, openness, and idea sharing across chapters is truly one of the best parts of ALC. And the best ideas often happen between sessions — hallway conversations, shared challenges, and leaders willing to openly share what’s working and what’s not.”

Chenier Takes the Stage, Twice

Chenier didn’t just attend ALC 2026. She contributed to it as a speaker. On Saturday morning, she co-presented “From Events to Ecosystems: How Community-Driven Programming Fuels Membership Growth, Belonging, and Engagement,” exploring how community-centered programming can deepen member connection and drive chapter growth.

That afternoon, she led her main session, “From Transactional to Transformational: Redesigning Sponsorships That Drive Revenue and Long-Term Partnerships,” sharing how the ATD Dallas Chapter has evolved its sponsorship model around four distinct sponsor types. The session resonated widely, including with her own TrainingPros colleague Tracy Dee, who left with a notebook full of ideas to bring back to the Rocky Mountain Chapter. “Lots of ideas already brewing for how we continue evolving sponsorship strategy for our RMC community,” Tracy Dee shared.

For Chenier, presenting was only part of the experience. Being at ALC with members of the Dallas board team made the conference especially meaningful. “We already have something special at ATD Dallas,” Chenier reflected, “but being with so many other ATD leaders reminded me that growth happens when people connect first. People First, always.”

Why Sending Chapter Leaders to ALC Matters

TrainingPros President Leigh Anne Lankford has attended ALC multiple times over the years as a leader in the Greater Atlanta Chapter of ATD, and she strongly encourages chapters to invest in sending their board members. “ALC raises the level of service that chapters can provide to their members,” she has said. “It’s one of the best ways to support chapter leaders as they take on new responsibilities and try to grow their chapters. You come away not only with best practices, but also with a renewed sense of purpose.”

Continuing the Tradition of Service

TrainingPros believes that volunteer leadership within ATD chapters is one of the most impactful ways to serve the L&D field. Our team has a long history of giving time, talent, and energy to local chapters to help strengthen the community of practice. We are proud sponsors of multiple local ATD chapters because we believe chapters provide meaningful opportunities for the L&D community to learn, grow, and connect.

Ready to Work with Us?

Does your L&D team have more projects than people? At TrainingPros, we match organizations with experienced consultants who lead with strategy, so you can connect learning decisions to real business goals. We support teams across compliance, customer service, leadership and supervisory development, product knowledge, and sales, as well as information technology, software, and learning platforms. Whether you’re rethinking onboarding, scaling a program, or upgrading the tools behind it, we help you move from reactive delivery to results-driven capability building.

TrainingPros has been named a Top 20 Staffing Company internationally by Training Industry, and recognized as a Smartchoice® Preferred Provider by Brandon Hall Group for 2025. We’re also proud to be named a Champion of Learning by the Association for Talent Development (ATD)—an international honor that reflects our dedication to excellence in corporate learning. These accolades underscore TrainingPros’ unwavering commitment to delivering high-quality, tailored training solutions.

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