July Regional Webinar:“Elevating Learning & Development: From Order-Taker to Impact Maker: Building a Strategic L&D Function”

In today's dynamic business landscape, strategic thinking is a crucial skill for leaders and teams to thrive. Join Mary Rapaport, Chief Xceleration Officer and Strategy Coach at Xcelerate, in this thought-provoking and interactive presentation. Mary will help you rethink how to position your L&D talents and equip you with practical, actionable strategies to rebuild your L&D team’s strategic skills and mindset.

Explore the evolution of corporate L&D and understand how economic, social, and other factors have shaped it into a vital yet often undervalued resource for business success. Mary will guide you through the essence of a strategic mindset, exploring its significance and why it is particularly critical for L&D teams to develop this ability. 

Mary will provide the tools and insights to help you create powerful development plans that foster strategic thinking within your L&D team. Gain insights and ideas to help your teams build, think, and operate more strategically, increasing your team's influence and directly impacting your company’s ability to achieve its goals.

Mary Rapaport | Chief Xceleration Officer at Xcelerate

Mary Rapaport is on a mission to democratize strategic thinking. She believes it's not just for the elite few, but for everyone in an organization. When everyone channels a strategic mindset, the business culture thrives, teams become more creative, and employees lean in and engage more. Cultivating this mindset helps leaders create a better (and more fun) place to work, fostering a stronger culture of creativity and innovation.

As a strategic thinking architect, Mary empowers leaders and teams across all functions and levels to think, act, and lead more strategically. As the founder of Xcelerate, she builds learning strategy, designing and delivering immersive learning experiences that ignite "aha moments" and drive tangible business results.

Mary's signature program, the Strategic Playground Workshop, is a unique blend of immersion, play, and practical application. Participants engage in reflection, peer learning, and scenario learning to awaken and channel their strategic mindset, helping them solve complex challenges and have a greater impact.

As a trusted strategic thinking coach, Mary partners with individuals and teams at leading brands to develop customized learning and development strategies. She works closely with clients to identify blind spots, refine critical thinking skills, and translate strategic insights into actionable plans for tangible ROI.

Mary's passion extends beyond individual development. She champions inclusive growth through the Minority Business Growth Alliance, a non-profit providing invaluable coaching and support to BIPOC entrepreneurs. She holds an MBA, a BA in International Business and French, and is a certified leadership and sales trainer. Mary has extensive experience in marketing, transformation, and strategic initiatives. She also serves as the current president of the Twin Cities chapter of the Association of Talent Development.