The ACMP Midwest Chapter is proud to offer the events listed below. You can also check out the ACMP Global events page for more great events.
Advancing the Discipline of Change Management One Student At A Time
Registration Closes August 1st
ACMP Midwest Chapter and jTask CCMP Training would like to extend a special offer to obtain the 21-hours of training necessary to apply for the CCMP Exam. The special Midwest chapter member reduced rate for this four-day course will be just $880 if you use the code. And, jTask is donating $100 to the chapter for each member who registers with the special chapter discount code for 2025.
jTask CCMP Training course gives you the knowledge, skills, and tools to pass the CCMP Exam. The training will teach you how to use the ACMP Standard for Change Management on real projects. You will leave with templates and job aids that leverage the Standard’s best practices to effectively manage change and enhance project results.
The ACMP Standard for Change Management and the CCMP designation have emerged as a global standard for individuals and teams charged with leading change.
In our four-day course, you’ll explore each paragraph of the Standard and learn how to apply it in your change management practice. This deep dive into the standard is full of exercises, quizzes, memory techniques and strategies to help students internalize and use the Standard in their day-to-day and explain the value of change managements to executives.
This interactive virtual instructor-led training is designed for those seeking to have a structured approach to change management that is free, open and vetted by thousands. It prepares students to take and pass their CCMP Exam. The course delivers the 21-hours of training required to successfully apply to take the exam.
What’s New
The course is for:
This training meets 4 times, every Friday.
Registration Closes August 29th
Don't miss out! Registration closes September 2nd!
We are glad to announce our three-day, virtual Prosci Certification program on September 9th - 11th. This program will be held online. Class will be held 9:00 am-5:00 pm CDT.
In this experiential session, you will:
Please note that this program is run exclusively for all ACMP Global members
Cost of this three-day program is $3,500 instead of the standard $4,500 Prosci rate. You save $1000!
Please note
Speaking Up at Work: Leading Change as an Independent Thinker
If you have ever feared speaking up about your ideas or have done so but are frustrated by your lack of success, this workshop is for you.
You’ll learn from several stories of others who have been a “lone voice” or an “independent thinker” and their attempts at change—both successful and unsuccessful. By learning from their experiences, you’ll gain insight into effective tactics and pitfalls to avoid.
Along with stories ranging from CEOs to individual contributors, I’ll share insights from studies in psychology and management that explain how to effectively speak up about your ideas.
This session will be based on Ryan Smerek’s book “Speaking Up at Work: Leading Change as an Independent Thinker.” In addition to sharing stories and research insights, audience members will have a chance to briefly coach and receive coaching from another individual about a change issue.
About the Speaker:
Ryan Smerek
Ryan is currently an Associate Professor and Associate Director in the MS in Learning and Organizational Change program at Northwestern University. He is the author of Speaking Up at Work: Leading Change as an Independent Thinker and Organizational Learning and Performance: The Science and Practice of Building a Learning Culture.
Over the last 20 years, Ryan has researched, taught, and published in the areas of learning and new executives, decision-making, innovation, and organizational culture. At Northwestern, Ryan teaches classes on learning and development, design thinking, cognitive design, and people analytics. He also leads the Organizational Effectiveness Certificate.
Before coming to Northwestern University, Ryan taught organizational behavior as an Assistant Professor at Hiram College. He also worked at Denison Consulting — a culture and leadership assessment firm in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He received a B.A. from Dartmouth College, an Ed.M. from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.
In this engaging course participants raise their change management skills through a practical, results-oriented ACMP, ATD, ICF and SHRM Approved Program! Using a case study and the ACMP Change Standard, participants learn how to successfully plan and execute organizational change. The course is ideal for mid to senior-level professionals and provides 22.5 credits for the full CCMP™ educational requirement, ATD, ICF and SHRM Recertification.
WHAT YOU GAIN
COURSE DELIVERY
Virtual Live Training
Self Paced Blended Training
Boot Camp Dates
September 16th - 19th from 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Schedule and Location Details
Each boot camp is a 4-day training at 6 hours per day Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
Live Boot Camp Cost: Using your Chapter code, your price is $1550, a $250 discount off of the regular Change Management Boot Camp price.
SELF PACED OFFERING - At your convenience
Members can use their chapter coupon code to register for this course and take advantage of the discount.
Self-Paced Cost: Using your Chapter code, your price is $1250, a $250 discount off the introductory price.
Please note: Registration is a two-step process; please follow instructions:
About the Speakers:
Amy Laures
Centric Consulting OCM Manager
Amy is an Organizational Change Management (OCM), Project Management Professional (PMP), and Business Transformation professional with 30 years of experience planning and implementing large-scale transformation initiatives across multiple industries, with an emphasis on supporting Finance & Accounting teams within large organizations. Her areas of expertise include: operating model strategy and support; OCM assessments & capability builds; executive coaching and leadership alignment; change communications; impact assessments and stakeholder engagement; process redesign; and project management. She resides in the Chicago area and is married with 2 adult kids, a Labrador puppy and a cat. Amy is an amateur musician & singer, a passionate Chicago sports fan, and an avid reader.
Mark Paulson
Centric Consulting People & Change Practice Lead
Mark Paulson is a veteran practitioner in the OCM space with over 20 years of experience in management consulting. He currently co-leads the Centric Consulting’s Chicago People & Change practice. Prior to joining Centric, Mark spent 13 years at Accenture and 2 years at KPMG. Mark has supported and led multiple engagements involving process and technology driven change management strategy definition and execution, leadership alignment, change leadership, operating model design, organization and job design, workforce planning, talent definition, and HR transformation. When not working, Mark loves spending time with his family (wife, two kids, dog). Mark loves spending time on the water and is usually found glued to the TV during college football season.
Sponsored By: Centric Consulting
Unlocking AI's ROI Potential Through Change Management
Rich Diaz (CEO, Advanced Resources) will moderate a conversation with featured subject matter experts. Together, we’ll explore real-world strategies, lessons learned, and practical guidance on driving adoption, value, and impact of Change Management from AI-enabled initiatives. Meet the Panelists and Moderator: Rich Diaz Rich Diaz is an accomplished CEO, board director, and human capital strategist with nearly 30 years of experience driving high-growth transformations across private, public, and private equity-backed companies. As CEO of Advanced Resources, Rich has led the firm to national prominence, earning repeated Best of Staffing awards for excellence in client and consultant satisfaction. Under his leadership, Advanced Resources has become a trusted partner in delivering strategic human capital solutions that align people strategies with business goals to deliver measurable outcomes. In 2025, Rich was appointed to the Board of Directors for HF Foods Group (NASDAQ: HFFG), where he supports strategic growth and governance. A passionate advocate for equity and access, he supports community initiatives through organizations like the Chicago Public Library and serves in advisory roles for emerging companies. As a member of YPO, Rich is engaged in a global community of CEOs focused on impactful leadership and continuous learning. Neil Shah Neil Shah is the founder and CEO of Altruva AI, an innovative company building AI agents to automate finance and fundraising functions for non-profit organizations. Before launching Altruva AI, Neil spent two decades serving as both an outsourced and in-house Chief Financial Officer for non-profit organizations across the United States, with annual budgets ranging from a few million dollars to nearly half a billion dollars in combined government and philanthropic revenue. Neil is known for being a collaborative partner to leadership teams, bringing a financial perspective while also helping colleagues understand the non-financial aspects of decisions, finding common ground, and ensuring long-term financial sustainability. He sits on the Board of Directors for non-profits Camelback Ventures and Jazz Empowers. Neil holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. Dr. Carl Henson Dr. Carl Henson is a nationally recognized executive, AI strategist, and growth advisor with more than 25 years of leadership experience in sales, marketing, revenue operations, and innovation. As the founder of MarZeka Consulting and a Fractional Chief AI Officer (CAIO), Carl helps organizations unlock practical, measurable growth through custom AI solutions and strategy. He is widely known as The AI Sales Doctor: a trusted expert who reflects his unique ability to diagnose business challenges and prescribe AI-powered strategies that accelerate growth. Carl holds a Doctorate in Marketing from the University of Florida, where he conducted academic research on how professionals adopt artificial intelligence in the workplace. Carl is a certified Vistage speaker and a recipient of OnCon’s Top 50 Marketer Icon award, recognized for his work integrating AI across organizations of all sizes. Carl’s mission is simple: make AI practical, accessible, and transformational for leaders at every level. Sponsored by:
Rich Diaz (CEO, Advanced Resources) will moderate a conversation with featured subject matter experts. Together, we’ll explore real-world strategies, lessons learned, and practical guidance on driving adoption, value, and impact of Change Management from AI-enabled initiatives.
Rich Diaz
Rich Diaz is an accomplished CEO, board director, and human capital strategist with nearly 30 years of experience driving high-growth transformations across private, public, and private equity-backed companies.
As CEO of Advanced Resources, Rich has led the firm to national prominence, earning repeated Best of Staffing awards for excellence in client and consultant satisfaction. Under his leadership, Advanced Resources has become a trusted partner in delivering strategic human capital solutions that align people strategies with business goals to deliver measurable outcomes.
In 2025, Rich was appointed to the Board of Directors for HF Foods Group (NASDAQ: HFFG), where he supports strategic growth and governance. A passionate advocate for equity and access, he supports community initiatives through organizations like the Chicago Public Library and serves in advisory roles for emerging companies. As a member of YPO, Rich is engaged in a global community of CEOs focused on impactful leadership and continuous learning.
Neil Shah
Neil Shah is the founder and CEO of Altruva AI, an innovative company building AI agents to automate finance and fundraising functions for non-profit organizations. Before launching Altruva AI, Neil spent two decades serving as both an outsourced and in-house Chief Financial Officer for non-profit organizations across the United
States, with annual budgets ranging from a few million dollars to nearly half a billion dollars in combined government and philanthropic revenue.
Neil is known for being a collaborative partner to leadership teams, bringing a financial perspective while also helping colleagues understand the non-financial aspects of decisions, finding common ground, and ensuring long-term financial sustainability.
He sits on the Board of Directors for non-profits Camelback Ventures and Jazz Empowers.
Neil holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California.
Dr. Carl Henson
Dr. Carl Henson is a nationally recognized executive, AI strategist, and growth advisor with more than 25 years of leadership experience in sales, marketing, revenue operations, and innovation. As the founder of MarZeka Consulting and a Fractional Chief AI Officer (CAIO), Carl helps organizations unlock practical, measurable growth through custom AI solutions and strategy. He is widely known as The AI Sales Doctor: a trusted expert who reflects his unique ability to diagnose business challenges and prescribe AI-powered strategies that accelerate growth.
Carl holds a Doctorate in Marketing from the University of Florida, where he conducted academic research on how professionals adopt artificial intelligence in the workplace.
Carl is a certified Vistage speaker and a recipient of OnCon’s Top 50 Marketer Icon award, recognized for his work integrating AI across organizations of all sizes.
Carl’s mission is simple: make AI practical, accessible, and transformational for leaders at every level.
Sponsored by:
Registration Closes September 26th
Don't miss out! Registration closes September 30th!
We are glad to announce our three-day, virtual Prosci Certification program on October 7th - 9th. This program will be held online. Class will be held 9:00 am-5:00 pm CDT.
In today’s challenging business environment, the ability to drive and sustain change is more critical than ever. But beyond frameworks and methodologies lies a deeper challenge: communicating the value of change in a way that inspires action, builds alignment, and overcomes resistance. Join a dynamic panel of seasoned change leaders as they share real-world stories and hard-earned insights from the front lines of transformation. This engaging discussion will explore the art and science of sharing and selling change—not just to executives, but to teams, stakeholders, and entire organizations. Panelists will reflect on the challenges they’ve faced, the strategies that helped them find common ground, and the shared purpose that fuels their commitment to leading meaningful change. Whether you're navigating a digital transformation, cultural shift, or organizational redesign, this session will offer practical wisdom and fresh perspectives to help you champion the value of change with clarity, confidence, and conviction. Event Schedule: 4:30pm Doors Open / Networking 5:00pm Panel Discussion 6:30pm Networking 7:00pm Event Concludes Meet the Facilitator and Panelists: Facilitator: Paul Owen, Practice Director, Human Capital, Catena Solutions Paul is an experienced leader in recruitment operations, sales enablement, and process improvement, specializing in human capital transformation and organizational change management. With over a decade of leadership experience and a strong background in the foodservice industry, Paul leverages his expertise as a certified change management practitioner and experienced project manager to drive successful organizational transformations. Panelist: Mary Harden, VP, Sr Change Management Advisor, Wintrust Mary is a results-oriented professional with distinctive experience in program and project management, change management, commercial operations, communications, and technology implementations. Demonstrated success executing high-profile strategic initiatives from conception to completion. Accomplished in collaborating with senior executives, leading complex global programs, and managing cross-functional team members to deliver strong performance and results. Panelist: Renee Giacalone, Founder and Principal, RSG Consulting Renee is an experienced Change Management and Project leader in the Food and Beverage industry. She has led high-performing PMOs and driven enterprise-wide strategic initiatives for Fortune 500 companies such as Kellogg, McDonald’s, and Bank of America. As a Partner at Centric Consulting, she played a key leadership role in advancing the PMO and Organizational Change Management practices. Panelist: Alex Rippberger – Director, Change Management at Wesco Alex leads the enterprise change management team at a Fortune 200 distribution, logistics, and supply chain solutions company, where he has worked for two years. Prior to Wesco, Alex led the US change practice for a mid-size technology consulting firm. He has also worked at Capgemini where he helped Bayer and Monsanto complete their SAP system transformation as part of their merger, and at Cerner where he led large-scale healthcare electronic health record transformations. Panelist: Ladan Saeid – Sr. Director, Change Management at Sysco Ladan brings diverse leadership experience and demonstrated success in developing and implementing strategic, employee-oriented initiatives that contribute to operational growth and productivity. She has consulted with or worked for companies in a variety of industries including Food & Beverage, Manufacturing, Life Sciences, Tech, and Financial Services. Her areas of Presenter Submission Form Terms & Conditions Page 3 | 6 concentration include organizational change management, organization transformation, and HR transformation. Sponsored By:
In today’s challenging business environment, the ability to drive and sustain change is more critical than ever. But beyond frameworks and methodologies lies a deeper challenge: communicating the value of change in a way that inspires action, builds alignment, and overcomes resistance.
Join a dynamic panel of seasoned change leaders as they share real-world stories and hard-earned insights from the front lines of transformation. This engaging discussion will explore the art and science of sharing and selling change—not just to executives, but to teams, stakeholders, and entire organizations. Panelists will reflect on the challenges they’ve faced, the strategies that helped them find common ground, and the shared purpose that fuels their commitment to leading meaningful change.
Whether you're navigating a digital transformation, cultural shift, or organizational redesign, this session will offer practical wisdom and fresh perspectives to help you champion the value of change with clarity, confidence, and conviction.
Event Schedule:
4:30pm Doors Open / Networking
5:00pm Panel Discussion
6:30pm Networking
7:00pm Event Concludes
Meet the Facilitator and Panelists:
Facilitator: Paul Owen, Practice Director, Human Capital, Catena Solutions
Paul is an experienced leader in recruitment operations, sales enablement, and process improvement, specializing in human capital transformation and organizational change management. With over a decade of leadership experience and a strong background in the foodservice industry, Paul leverages his expertise as a certified change management practitioner and experienced project manager to drive successful organizational transformations.
Panelist: Mary Harden, VP, Sr Change Management Advisor, Wintrust
Mary is a results-oriented professional with distinctive experience in program and project management, change management, commercial operations, communications, and technology implementations. Demonstrated success executing high-profile strategic initiatives from conception to completion. Accomplished in collaborating with senior executives, leading complex global programs, and managing cross-functional team members to deliver strong performance and results.
Panelist: Renee Giacalone, Founder and Principal, RSG Consulting
Renee is an experienced Change Management and Project leader in the Food and Beverage industry. She has led high-performing PMOs and driven enterprise-wide strategic initiatives for Fortune 500 companies such as Kellogg, McDonald’s, and Bank of America. As a Partner at Centric Consulting, she played a key leadership role in advancing the PMO and Organizational Change Management practices.
Panelist: Alex Rippberger – Director, Change Management at Wesco
Alex leads the enterprise change management team at a Fortune 200 distribution, logistics, and supply chain solutions company, where he has worked for two years. Prior to Wesco, Alex led the US change practice for a mid-size technology consulting firm. He has also worked at Capgemini where he helped Bayer and Monsanto complete their SAP system transformation as part of their merger, and at Cerner where he led large-scale healthcare electronic health record transformations.
Panelist: Ladan Saeid – Sr. Director, Change Management at Sysco
Ladan brings diverse leadership experience and demonstrated success in developing and implementing strategic, employee-oriented initiatives that contribute to operational growth and productivity. She has consulted with or worked for companies in a variety of industries including Food & Beverage, Manufacturing, Life Sciences, Tech, and Financial Services. Her areas of Presenter Submission Form Terms & Conditions Page 3 | 6 concentration include organizational change management, organization transformation, and HR transformation.
Sponsored By:
You’ll get to know more about:
When: 10/10/2025 from 12 pm - 1pm CT
Meeting information:
Registration Closes October 24th
When: 12/12/2025 from 12 pm - 1pm CT
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