Recently revealed to Association members at its 2019 Annual Meeting & Conference (DEAM19) in Naples, Florida, DE Academy courses are available for both Members of the Association and non-members, allowing for expanded eLearning opportunities for all.

"DE Academy meets the learner where they are, on their time. Our promise is our experts … on your time. We want to promote professional development that improves the learning experience and outcome for all, resulting in real ROI through instruction and application," commented Jen Bernhardt, VP of Member Engagement.

Many HR professionals desire to continue learning, but are often met with busy schedules, leaving many to put professional development on the back burner. DE Academy seeks to offer a different kind of learning, one which combines the best of traditional education with the flexibility of today’s modern learning expectations.

By combining knowledge from recognized experts with industry-best instructional design methods, each course will provide a learning experience that maximizes the learner’s time and potential. Self-directed instruction also allows the learner to complete courses at their leisure. Currently lessons range from Affirmative Action Planning 101 to Disability Etiquette and are led by the following experts: 

• Candee J. Chambers, former HR practitioner and DirectEmployers Executive Director
• John C. Fox, employment law expert at Fox, Wang, Morgan, P.C.
• Sheridan Walker, disability consultant at HirePotenial
• Matt Brogden, veteran hiring consultant at Pathfinder Consulting
• Wendy Strobel Gower & Kathleen Lee, disability experts at eCornell
• Denise McGonigal, HR consultant at Purple Ink

"DirectEmployers has really taken a giant leap in professional development with the launch of DE Academy. We have always touted our expertise in OFCCP compliance and are recognized experts in the field, but the eLearning platform takes this one step further and further expands awareness of our professional development activities to both Members and non-members, providing the crucial link to experts that so many desire," notes Candee Chambers, Executive Director.

Built on the TopClass learning mangement system (LMS) by WBT Systems, DE Academy was designed from the ground up by DirectEmployers VP of Member Engagement, Jen Bernhardt, and Carla Downing Ph.D., VP of Talent Strategy for ML Talent Strategies. The academy boasts best-in-class instructional design methods, elevating information to instruction in order to maximize return on investment and help professionals of all stages reach new heights in their organization.

"We are delighted to partner with DirectEmployers Association to deliver transformative professional development experiences for their learners," stated Paul Dooley, CEO, WBT Systems. "TopClass LMS is a powerful, flexible education platform unifying learning across the DE Academy and DE Connect online community to allow DirectEmployers to deliver impactful, integrated learning at the point of need, whenever and wherever learners choose to connect."