Pleasure Allen works as a trainer for Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Iowa in the Talent Development Department. In 2011 Pleasure partnered with and served on the Membership Engagement Committee and many other areas to help promote the message and purpose of ASTD. Pleasure currently resides in Pleasant Hill , Iowa. She is married to the love of her life, Jason, and has two wonderful children, Jayda (9) and Uriah (5). In her free time she likes to give back to her community with volunteer activities. She serves on the African American Leadership board in Des Moines Iowa, and is very active in her local church.
Bryan Slauson is a Senior Instructional Designer at Aviva North America in West Des Moines. Bryan has been with Aviva since May 2011. Prior to working at Aviva, Bryan worked at Nationwide Insurance as a Senior Trainer totaling five years of service in offices located in Des Moines, Iowa & Portland, Oregon. In addition to working for Aviva, Bryan is an Adjunct Instructor at Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) teaching Finance & Insurance courses; part of the Financial Services Academy. Bryan’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts: Psychology in Communications from Louisiana State University (2005) and a Masters in Teaching & Learning from Ashford University (2011).
Dee Oviatt is returning this year as VP of Operations for Central Iowa ASTD. He currently works for Pioneer Hi‐Bred International as a manager in Talent Development.
Austin Johnson has encountered many different aspects of training over the last 15 years. Five of those years have been spent in his current position as Sales Training Coordinator for GuideOne Insurance. In 2010 Austin served on the ASTD Trainers Institute committee and the ASTD WLP Awards Director. Austin currently resides in Ankeny, Iowa with his wife and their three‐ and one one‐year old daughters. Austin has served on the YMCA Camp board for several years, and currently as the marketing manager. In his free 0me he enjoys hunting, fishing and spending 0me with his family.
Cheryl Conner is the President and founder of Innovative Learning and Development Soluti0ns, L.L.C. As a learning and development consultant, her passion is to offer her highly developed expertise to organizations that want their employees to work more competently and productively to fulfill the company’s goals. This year, as a contract Instructional Designer, Cheryl has worked with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage and the U.S. Army National Guard. Cheryl has earned two masters degrees. She has a Master of Arts Degree in Instructional Design and Technology from the University of Iowa. She also has a Master of Science Degree from Drake University in Adult Learning, Performance, and Development. Cheryl is a Certified MBTI Practitioner and is also certified as a Microsoft Office Specialist in Word 2007. Cheryl is an active member of the Central Iowa Chapter of ASTD. She has been a member of the Programming Committee for two years. She is also a member of ASTD National and is working to obtain the CPLP.
Alan Feirer is a leadership trainer and organizational development consultant. For the last 13 years, he has worked with leaders and their team members to improve their organizations through leadership training, team‐building and strategic planning. Alan was also a band director for 19 years. A native of Winneconne, Wisconsin, he earned degrees from Wartburg College and the University of Northern Iowa. He lives in Winterset with his wife, Julie, and daughter, Mara. He’s an active member of Op0mists, Madison County Area Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Des Moines Partnership, and the American Society for Training and Development. His other interests include competitive Scrabble, running, travel, dining, and playing Wii with Mara.
Sara Giesler is a Sales Learning and Performance Specialist with Allied Insurance. She has worked for Allied Insurance for the last eight years and has been a learning and performance facilitator for the last five. Sara graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a Communication degree in 2003 and received her Masters of Public Administration from Drake University in May 2009. Sara has been a member of the Central Iowa - ASTD since 2006.
Steve Couchman is a Learning & Performance Consultant with Nationwide Agribusiness in Des Moines. Steve has been with Nationwide Agribusiness since May 2010, and with Nationwide for four years. Prior to working at Nationwide, Steve worked for several retail operations in Senior Management roles for over 15 years. Steve is part of Nationwide Agribusinesses 2011 WLP award winning learning and performance team. In addition to his work at Nationwide Agribusiness, Steve has been Adjunct Faculty member at Des Moines Area Community College for the past 12 years. Steve's educational background includes stops at DMACC (AAS, 1993), Iowa State University (BLS, 2000) and Bellevue University (MA, 2008). Steve has been active with Central Iowa ASTD since 2007. During his time in the chapter, he served on the Networking Committee, and was Vice President of Professional Development in 2011.
