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Marie Wehrung is rewiring and designing her next chapter after a 30-year career at Rice University. She’s a seasoned talent and organizational development professional who designs and implements talent strategies, develops and delivers training, and serves as a thought partner whose insight, experience, and programming leads to increased engagement, retention of top talent, and productivity. She has facilitated hundreds of training sessions to thousands of individuals over the course of her career.Marie also is a certified coach through the International Coaching Federation. She works with individuals and organizations who are committed to figuring out what matters to them, changing behavior, and performing at their best.Marie has an AB in biological sciences from Smith College and an MS in human resources development from Texas A&M University—Central Texas. She’s especially passionate about two things: applying design thinking her work and enhancing lives by coaching others and facilitating programs that lead to desired results.Marie was a chapter author for Leading the Learning Function, served as chair of the ATD Forum’s advisory group, and served on the ATD 2022 Conference PAC. She is also serving on the ATD 2023 Conference PAC.Marie lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband, Len. They are mostly empty nesters, with daughters earning their bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She maintains her sanity through running (when she’s not dealing with foot problems!) and yoga.

Marie Wehrung

Roll up your sleeves and engage with talent development peers to ideate new ways to look at your pressing workplace and workforce challenges. That’s what the ATD Forum is about. It is a consortium for senior learning practitioners and their organizations that connect and collaborate in a confidential environment. Throughout the year, Forum members network, share innovative ideas, and benchmark best practices through on-demand surveys. During Forum Labs, generally held at a member’s facilities, Forum members come together for hands-on, interactive sessions to talk through pressing issues members have brought forth.A Forum Lab is considered one of the greatest Forum benefits. During ATD22, attendees have the opportunity to attend a Forum session that replicates the hands-on, lively discussions of common talent challenges that are typical of Forum Labs. Because these sessions are popular, pre-registration is required.Sessions one and three—“Leadership Development Is Our Project. Why Is It Not Working?”—enable participants to take a deep dive into their leadership development programs and the aspects that are and are not working. They take place Monday 1–2 p.m. and Tuesday 10:30–11:30 a.m., respectively, in room 203. Register at td.org/ForumLeadershipDev.Sessions two and four—“Staying Future-Ready One Trend at a Time”—help participants learn how to use design thinking to convert a training idea into a concept that they can share for feedback. They take place Monday, 3-4 p.m. and Tuesday, 1-2 p.m., respectively, in room 203. Register at td.org/ForumFutureReady. Check the mobile app for the speakers for all sessions.Another Forum-sponsored session, “Learning in the Metaverse? It’s Happening Now!” will take place Wednesday, 10:30-11:30 a.m. It will provide attendees insight into Accenture’s use of extended reality in the onboarding learning processes.On Saturday, Forum members gathered for the one-day lab, “Zeroing In on Data That Really Matters.” To start, they learned about the Center for Talent Reporting Executive Director David Vance’s Talent Development Reporting Principles Framework. They also heard more about event host Siemens’ learning data journey using the framework as well as Performitiv CEO Kent Barnett’s model for optimizing learning’s impact. Between speakers, participants reflected on presented information, had small-group discussions, and reported back to the larger group. They finished the day by completing a capstone project on how they could apply the framework to a talent development scenario.Want to learn more about the ATD Forum? Stop by Room 203 during office hours on Monday from 4 to 5 and Tuesday from 2 to 3 and 4 to 5.Determined to Become a Forum MemberBefore becoming an ATD Forum member, Marie Wehrung—who in her role at Rice University oversees programs that enable organizational, team, managerial, and individual success—was a keen observer of Forum sessions that replicated the Forum Lab experience. As a member, she explains, “I learned about design thinking from these engaging sessions and have gained experience using practical design thinking tools and techniques. I’ve been able to apply these back in my organization, on projects big and small. I have had the opportunity to connect, collaborate, and share with other learning/talent development professionals, whether they were sitting at my table, facilitating the session, or sharing resources as members of the Forum.”Wehrung summed up that attending the Forum sessions during the conference “quite possibly could be the most engaging, interactive ones you’ll attend during the entire conference. Seek them out, build them into your schedule, then throw yourself in and participate in your session(s) fully. You’ll be so glad you did!”

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