Calendar of Events

2026 Professional Development Day – Let’s Make History!

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 Meenakshi Sharma - 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

Early Bird Pricing Until April 30th!

MEMBER

NON-MEMBER

STUDENT

Early Bird
(March 1 - April 30)

$75

$80

$75

Regular Pricing
(May 1 - June 17)

$90

$100

$90

 

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 17th 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 

TOPIC

PDUs

START TIME

END TIME

Registration and Breakfast

 

8:30 am

9:00 am

MORNING KEYNOTE: Jeff Tobe

2.0

9:00 am

11:00 am

Break

 

11:00 am

11:15 am

LATE MORNING SESSION: Meenakshi Sharma

1.0

11:15 am

12:15 pm

Lunch

 

12:15 pm

1:15 pm

AFTERNOON INTERACTIVE SESSION: Olivier Lazar

2.0

1:15 pm

3:15 pm

Break

 

3:15 pm

3:25 pm

Raffle Prizes and Close

 

3:25 pm

3:40 pm

CMNH-2.png

Cleveland Museum of Natural History

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OL Leadership Strategies

Speakers


Jeff Tobe

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. 

Meenakshi Sharma

Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer
Meenakshi Sharma is the Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, a role she assumed in 2022. She oversees key areas including Visitor Experience, Operations, Education, Wildlife, and Exhibits, and plays a central role in executing the Museum’s strategic plan. Her leadership is helping guide a $150 million transformation, reimagining the Museum’s campus, programs, and community impact. 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.

Olivier Lazar 

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
Register for this event
Register for this event

Information

Type of category: PDD

Date: June 24th, 2026

Hour: 8:30AM to 4:00PM

Early bird deadline: April 30th, 2026 at 11:59PM

# of PDUs: 5.0

Price

Early bird student: $75.00

Early bird member: $75.00

Early bird non member: $80.00

Students: $90.00

Members: $90.00

Non members and Guests: $100.00

Location

Cleveland Museum of Natural History

1 Wade Oval Drive
Cleveland, OH, 44106

[Click here for Map and Directions]