SORRY, REGISTRATIONS IS CLOSED FOR THIS EVENT.
Engaged people and strong cultures drive better experiences, and disciplined transformation leadership makes them stick.
WHY ATTEND
This year’s Professional Development Day is designed as a full progression:
- Morning focus on engagement and culture
- Late morning real-world case study on transformation and public engagement
- Afternoon focus on disciplined transformation execution
You will leave with practical tools you can apply immediately to strengthen team performance, governance discipline, and organizational outcomes.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Morning Keynote: The Employee Engagement Advantage by Jeff Tobe - Key insights on how winning cultures drive better customer experiences, with takeaways on engagement, ownership, and touchpoints.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Distinguish between customer service and customer experience, and explain why the difference drives business results.
Apply the Four Pillars of Engagement, Creativity, Commitment, Accountability, and Communication, to strengthen team performance and stakeholder relationships.
- Increase team buy-in using two practical engagement questions that encourage ownership and accountability.
- Address and overcome the “that’s how we’ve always done it” mindset to foster innovation and continuous improvement.
- Implement communication techniques that align with individual working styles to improve collaboration and outcomes.
- Connect employee engagement strategies directly to improve customer experience and measurable organizational success
PDU Allocation: 1.0 Power Skills | 0.5 Ways of Working | 0.5 Business Acumen
Late Morning Session: Museum Transformation and Public Engagement by Saleem Choudhry - A practical look at how large-scale transformation, programming, and community engagement come together to drive sustainable impact and operational excellence.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Understand key considerations in museum renovation and gallery reimagination
- Explore strategies for public education and community engagement
- Identify approaches to managing large-scale transformation initiatives
- Recognize operational challenges and sustainability planning in cultural institutions
- Gain insights into program development, including conservation and outreach initiatives
PDU Allocation: 1.0 Ways of Working
Afternoon Interactive Session: Managing Difficult Transformations by Olivier Lazar - Hands-on session on diagnosing transformation vs. improvement, aligning governance to complexity, and strengthening decision discipline.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Apply a structured Transformation Continuum model
- Diagnose transformation level using defined criteria
- Identify appropriate governance escalation triggers
- Recognize misclassification risk patterns
- Increase transformation decision discipline
PDU Allocation: 1.0 Power Skills | 0.5 Ways of Working | 0.5 Business Acumen
Total PDUs for the entire day
5.0 (2.0 Power Skills | 2.0 Ways of Working | 1.0 Business Acumen)
COST
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MEMBER
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NON-MEMBER
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STUDENT
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Early Bird
(March 1 - April 30)
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$75
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$80
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$75
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Regular Pricing
(May 1 - June 17)
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$90
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$100
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$90
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Costs include the presentation, food and beverages, and parking fees.
Breakfast: Continental Breakfast, Decaf and Regular Coffee, Water and Tea.
Lunch: Your choice of (1) Turkey and Provolone Cheese (2) Ham & Swiss or (3) Buffalo Cauliflower Wrap
No walk-ins. Attendees must register by June 19th and be able to provide proof of registration to enter.
Printable flyer: 2026 PDD event
Directions and Parking: https://www.cmnh.org/visit/hours-directions-parking
Questions: Send email to events@pmineo.org with any questions.
AGENDA
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TOPIC
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PDUs
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START TIME
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END TIME
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Registration and Breakfast
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8:30 am
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9:00 am
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MORNING KEYNOTE: Jeff Tobe
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2.0
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9:00 am
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11:00 am
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|
Break
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11:00 am
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11:15 am
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LATE MORNING SESSION: Saleem Choudhry
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1.0
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11:15 am
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12:15 pm
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Lunch
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12:15 pm
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1:15 pm
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AFTERNOON INTERACTIVE SESSION: Olivier Lazar
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2.0
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1:15 pm
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3:15 pm
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Break
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3:15 pm
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3:25 pm
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Raffle Prizes and Close
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3:25 pm
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3:40 pm
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Speakers
Founder, Coloring Outside the Lines
Certified Speaking Professional, Jeff Tobe’s credentials are impressive. His keynote to the PMI LIM in Orlando was the hit of the conference and he has since keynoted 32 chapter PDD’s/Symposiums worldwide! Readers of Convention & Meetings Magazine chose him as one of their favorite speakers with other celebrities including Bill Clinton, Anderson Cooper, Condoleezza Rice and Daniel Pink. He is a creativity and customer experience expert, professional speaker and bestselling author who works with companies and organizations who want to increase their bottom line by changing their customer experience and retaining great talent.
Tobe founded Coloring Outside the Lines in 1994 and since then has worked with hundreds of clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies to ones with less than 20 employees including Microsoft, PepsiCo, Bank of America, ReMax International and many more!
Jeff Tobe believes that no matter what the project (from agile to waterfall etc.), there are only 4 traits that project management professionals need for survival in today’s marketplace.
His articles have been read in hundreds of publications and he is the author of the hugely popular book, Project Management Professionals are Coloring Outside The Lines! He is the co-author of three other books and his newest book, The Lemonade Stand: Customer Experience Lessons from a 9-Year-Old Entrepreneur, is quickly becoming one of the hottest business books on the market.
Senior Director of Museum Services
aleem Choudhry is a passionate advocate of museums, learning, history, and a focus on the future.
He serves as the Cleveland Museum of Natural History's Senior Director of Museum Services. In that role, he oversees several departments, including Facilities, Private Events, Visitor Experience, and Volunteers, and is also involved in the Museum's programming.
Saleem played a pivotal role in the Museum's $150 million Transformation project, which opened to the public in December 2024. He brings extensive expertise in project management, operations, sustainability initiatives, and is deeply knowledgeable about the Museum and its future direction.
Prior to joining the Museum, he served as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Staff in Canton, Ohio, for over 30 years. His most recent position was as Vice President of Museum/Exhibit Services. Saleem oversaw the entire Museum Operations and Collections of the Hall of Fame as well as the Hall of Fame’s yearly Selection Process for determining new members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
He managed a staff which was responsible for the Hall of Fame’s 3D collection (40,000 items), the Hall’s paper/photo/digital collection (over 10 million documents) and Volunteer/Docent Operations (175+ Volunteers). He was a key leader of the development and implementation of many new in-house and traveling exhibitions for the Museum and all yearly updates of existing exhibits and displays.Before joining the Museum, Sharma served as Assistant Dean at Case Western Reserve University’s Weatherhead School of Management. There, she led corporate engagement, student programs, and cross-functional teams. Known for her collaborative and empathetic leadership style, she has consistently driven improvements in processes, partnerships, and stakeholder experiences.
Sharma holds advanced degrees in business, program management, and biology, along with executive certifications from Weatherhead. She has been recognized with multiple honors, including Smart Business Magazine’s Smart 50 and Progressive Women awards, and Cleveland Magazine’s Cleveland 500. She also serves on the board of the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center and actively mentors students, while living in Westlake with her family.
International Leadership Strategist
Olivier Lazar is an international leadership strategist, governance architect, and transformation executive with more than twenty-five years of global experience. He advises boards and senior leaders on governance design, ethical leadership, AI-enabled decision systems, and strategic execution in complex organizations.
He is Founder and Principal of OL Leadership Strategies LLC and Co-Founder and CEO of N2X Labs, an AI-driven assessment and certification platform supporting institutional capability and governance maturity. He also co-founded the Ethics & Leadership Association and PM4TheWorld, and serves as Principal Advisor to The Global ESG Leadership Organization and board member of Junior Achievement Europe.
Author of The Four Pillars of Portfolio Management (Routledge), he is a former PMI Vice President and a frequent keynote speaker on leadership, governance, and transformation
