ATD Central Massachusetts upcoming events

CPTD VIRTUAL STUDY GROUP (April 2026 forward) (September 08, 2026)

Tue, 08 Sep 2026 23:00:00 GMT

Having a support system as you prepare for the CPTD exam can have a big impact on your success and we're here for you!

Central Massachusetts ATD is hosting a study group for current CPTD candidates pursuing certification.

Details

This will be a rolling 13-week schedule, where you can join anytime depending on your goal, and just continue.
The schedule will repeat every 13 weeks, so join whenever is best for you and your specific goals.
We meet on Tuesdays from 7 - 9 over Zoom.

If you have any questions, you can email prodev@tdcentralmass.org.

Cost: $50 USD for non-members and general public, $35 to Central Massachusetts ATD members and chapter affiliates

What To Expect:
The study group sessions are typically structured as follows:

13 weekly sessions focused on the three capability areas
The virtual (Zoom) study group sessions are meant to supplement your independent study. The sessions provide a chance to reinforce knowledge through discussion, clarification of key points, shared resources, and key test taking strategies. Each study group session is moderated by one or more facilitators from the CMATD chapter
This group is a great way to keep accountable and also get encouragement!
Most sessions will count as 1 hour of Professional Development towards meeting the certification requirements (announced at the start of each session)
Certified CPTDs and experts in the capability areas may be scheduled as guest speakers during an individual study group session.

Study Materials:

No study materials are provided specifically from this study group. We are using the Talent Development Body of Knowledge (TDBok) as the group textbook and all members should have access. TDBok is now free to all ATD national members.

Please Scroll to the Bottom to Register

2026 Friday Morning Central Mash: Networking, Fun & Learning (September 18, 2026)

Fri, 18 Sep 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Talk, share, grow, and recharge at Central Mass ATD's biweekly networking Central Mash event.

This casual setting is a place to share best practices, explore ideas, develop and refine your work, and brainstorm solutions for challenges you're facing. We will be meeting every other Friday, and welcome you at one or all of the sessions as it suits your schedule.

These programs are open to members and non members.

Building our talent development community one cup at a time!

Please register in advance each time! Knowing who is attending our programs helps us make chapter decisions.

AI Hands-On Learning Lab: Job Edition Featuring Jack & Jill (September 24, 2026)

Thu, 24 Sep 2026 23:00:00 GMT

About the AI Learning Lab

The AI Hands-On Learning Lab is a monthly, guided exploration of technology tools with a focus on their AI capabilities. Each session spotlights a specific software and provides learners the opportunity to delve into its distinct AI features through hands-on exploration. The lab will also foster discussions on how these tools can be effectively used across workplace contexts - from getting the job, reducing friction in your workflow processes, and leveling up your learning design.

We will rotate through focusing on an AI tool through one of these three specific lenses:

Job Edition
Ways of Working Edition
Learning Content Edition.

About Jack and Jill

You might think of Jack & Jill as something along the lines of a job matchmaking service. It’s a dual-agent AI platform designed to transform how job search and hiring operate. It features specialized autonomous agents called Jack & Jill.

First, there’s Jack, who acts as a job seeker’s personal AI agent. Jack learned your skills, search job markets daily, and prepares you for interviews.

And then there’s Jill. Jill is a recruiter agent for employers, evaluating applicant pools and introducing top candidates directly to managers.

Jack & Jill goes beyond automation. The platform's real value is seeing how dual-agent architectures streamline candidate-recruiter matching by processing real-time profiles and criteria.

This Hands On AI Lab will mostly focus on Jack, with a brief cameo by Jill. What we will explore and evaluate together:

Conversational Profiling vs. Resume Uploads. We’ll give it a try, testing how Jack conducts a 20-minute voice or text intake to extract your skills, values, and working preferences, and evaluating what the conversational AI capture.
Automated Job Matching & Daily Sourcing: We’ll look at how Jack scans thousands of job listings across open markets, surfaces high-fit roles, and provides clear match rationale without you ever scrolling a job board.
Agent-to-Agent Pitching: : We’ll see how candidate agent Jack pitches your profile directly to recruiter agent Jill—bypassing traditional application forms, ATS keyword filters, and resume black holes.
AI Career Coaching & Benchmarking: Learn how Jack handles real-time salary benchmarking, career clarity coaching, mock interview preparation, and negotiation strategy tailored to your level and target roles.
Recruiter Agent Intake & Matching: We’ll take a look at how employer agent Jill ingests hiring criteria from talent teams and scans Jack's candidate network to deliver warm, high-fit introductions directly to hiring managers.
Practical Dissections & Friction Points: We’ll analyze where dual-agent matching speeds up hiring versus where it introduces friction—such as match accuracy issues, algorithmic bias, privacy concerns, and missing passive candidate pipelines.

Mary serves as the Vice President of Technology for ATD Central Mass. Currently an instructional designer at Boston Scientific, she holds an M.A. in Educational Technology Leadership from George Washington University and an additional M.A. in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages with a focus on adult learners from Teachers College, Columbia University. A technology evangelist and project management professional with extensive experience managing diverse learning and development projects in the northeast, as well as Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Germany, Mary’s interests encompass adult learning, educational technology, task authenticity, learning transfer, competency-based learning, and culturally responsive practices. Her favorite instructional design model is SAM (with Dick & Carey close behind). Mary is particularly passionate about adapting learning design, instruction, and technology to enhance cultural relevance for target audience as well as implementing small moves to address performance gaps.

Capability Model - Technology Application, Lifelong Learning, Future Readiness

Mastermind for Independent Consultants - October (October 01, 2026)

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 23:00:00 GMT

What It Is

A monthly working session for independent leadership and talent development consultants. Sixty minutes, fully virtual, month to month. You come when you have a problem worth diagnosing.

How It Works

You bring a real situation: a stalled client, a positioning question, a decision you are sitting on. Dr. Othman diagnoses it live, separates the problem you named from the one underneath it, and recommends the move. Other consultants add perspective. The diagnostic conclusion stays with the person who has held the room for executive teams across sectors.

What You Leave With
Each session, you leave clearer on the problem you solve and the value only you bring

Schedule

Subsequent opportunities available for monthly sign ups

Who It's For

Independent consultants and small firm owners ready for advanced work. Committed to confidentiality, active participation, and no selling.
Not for beginners or those looking for passive networking.

Registration Details

Monthly, 60 minutes, virtual. Included for members. $10 for non-members. There are no more than 3 people per session.

To join, sign up online or contact administrator@tdcentralmass.org.

When you register here, you are registering for one program. There will be a unique Zoom link for each session.

Host & Facilitator

Dr. Othman is brought in when critical initiatives stall. He uncovers the misalignments in collaboration and execution that keep work from moving, and names what has to change. He has partnered with organizations including Chicago Public Schools and the Massachusetts Department of Early Childhood Education.

Author of Be. Lead. Innovate. MBTI Master Practitioner. Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD). Host of Othman's Leadership Podcast.

Capability Model: Consulting & Business Partnering , Collaboration & Leadership, Communication, Coaching

2026 Friday Morning Central Mash: Networking, Fun & Learning (October 02, 2026)

Fri, 02 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Talk, share, grow, and recharge at Central Mass ATD's biweekly networking Central Mash event.

These programs are open to members and non members.

Building our talent development community one cup at a time!

Please register in advance each time! Knowing who is attending our programs helps us make chapter decisions.

2026 Friday Morning Central Mash: Networking, Fun & Learning (October 16, 2026)

Fri, 16 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Talk, share, grow, and recharge at Central Mass ATD's biweekly networking Central Mash event.

These programs are open to members and non members.

Building our talent development community one cup at a time!

Please register in advance each time! Knowing who is attending our programs helps us make chapter decisions.

2026 Friday Morning Central Mash: Networking, Fun & Learning (October 30, 2026)

Fri, 30 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Talk, share, grow, and recharge at Central Mass ATD's biweekly networking Central Mash event.

These programs are open to members and non members.

Building our talent development community one cup at a time!

Please register in advance each time! Knowing who is attending our programs helps us make chapter decisions.

Mastermind for Independent Consultants - November (November 05, 2026)

Fri, 06 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMT

What It Is

A monthly working session for independent leadership and talent development consultants. Sixty minutes, fully virtual, month to month. You come when you have a problem worth diagnosing.

How It Works

What You Leave With
Each session, you leave clearer on the problem you solve and the value only you bring

Schedule

Subsequent opportunities available for monthly sign ups

Who It's For

Independent consultants and small firm owners ready for advanced work. Committed to confidentiality, active participation, and no selling.
Not for beginners or those looking for passive networking.

Registration Details

Monthly, 60 minutes, virtual. Included for members. $10 for non-members. There are no more than 3 people per session.

To join, sign up online or contact administrator@tdcentralmass.org.

When you register here, you are registering for one program. There will be a unique Zoom link for each session.

Host & Facilitator

Author of Be. Lead. Innovate. MBTI Master Practitioner. Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD). Host of Othman's Leadership Podcast.

Capability Model: Consulting & Business Partnering , Collaboration & Leadership, Communication, Coaching

2026 Friday Morning Central Mash: Networking, Fun & Learning (November 13, 2026)

Fri, 13 Nov 2026 13:00:00 GMT

Talk, share, grow, and recharge at Central Mass ATD's biweekly networking Central Mash event.

These programs are open to members and non members.

Building our talent development community one cup at a time!

Please register in advance each time! Knowing who is attending our programs helps us make chapter decisions.

Mastermind for Independent Consultants - December (December 03, 2026)

Fri, 04 Dec 2026 00:00:00 GMT

What It Is

A monthly working session for independent leadership and talent development consultants. Sixty minutes, fully virtual, month to month. You come when you have a problem worth diagnosing.

How It Works

What You Leave With
Each session, you leave clearer on the problem you solve and the value only you bring

Schedule

Subsequent opportunities available for monthly sign ups

Who It's For

Independent consultants and small firm owners ready for advanced work. Committed to confidentiality, active participation, and no selling.
Not for beginners or those looking for passive networking.

Registration Details

Monthly, 60 minutes, virtual. Included for members. $10 for non-members. There are no more than 3 people per session.

To join, sign up online or contact administrator@tdcentralmass.org.

When you register here, you are registering for one program. There will be a unique Zoom link for each session.

Host & Facilitator

Author of Be. Lead. Innovate. MBTI Master Practitioner. Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD). Host of Othman's Leadership Podcast.

Capability Model: Consulting & Business Partnering , Collaboration & Leadership, Communication, Coaching