Oliver C. Allen, Jr

CEO, Training & Development Strategies LLC

Oliver is a renowned and dynamic national speaker with over 41 years of leadership and training experience. He has served in numerous senior leadership positions within the Federal government and the military and currently is the CEO for Training and Development Strategies, LLC. He is also a former adjunct faculty member at the University of Phoenix with a focus on advanced career development and organizational management. He is the recipient of the Attorney General’s Award for Equal Employment Opportunity and the Justice Management Division’s Leadership Collaboration Award.

As a national speaker, Oliver infuses his audiences with storytelling, simulated exercises, gamification, and life experiences to ignite interactive discussions and learning. He has presented at numerous national conferences and has conducted workshops for numerous federal and state governments. His article titled Diversity and Inclusion: Where Do I Belong, was recently published in the LRP EEO Advisor (March 2019). Oliver has been a featured speaker on the Federal news program FEDTalk and a featured speaker for the LRP audio webinars. Oliver received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Strayer College and a Master of Science in Administration in Human Resources from Central Michigan University.

On December 1, 2020, Oliver was appointed to serve on the Racial and Social Justice Commission for Prince William County, Virginia. He also holds memberships with the Association of Talent Development, the Society for Human Resource Management, the Federal EEO and Civil Rights Council, and the Association of the United States Army. He also served on the advisory board for the Talent Management Alliance Inclusion Summit.

Panel Information

Tuesday, July 26

1:30 PM EST

Individual Development Plan (IDP)- A Custom-Tailored Career

Life gives us many choices; for example, you purchase shoes to fit and buy clothes that make you look and feel good. Better yet, custom-tailored. There is nothing like it! In each, you choose the size, color, comfort, and the benefits it will bring you at the time of purchase and future. The question becomes whether you do the same for your career development or do you just accept whatever is available, let’s say, on the rack? Guess What? You simply do not have to accept just anything for your career development. You can do as you buy clothes and tailor your career to fit your needs so that you will look and feel good now and in the future. By using the Individual Development Plan, you can become the “Tailor” to your career development. An excerpt from the President’s Management Agenda states, “We will take new steps to attract, hire, involve, develop, support, and empower talent who can help us meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.” A realistic, well-researched, clearly written Individual Development Plan is a valuable tool for you and your organization. Whether your agency or organization has mandatory IDPs or not, you still need to chart your own course. This workshop will give you the knowledge, resources, and strategy to develop an IDP that will yield a successful and illustrious career.

Wednesday, July 27

10:15 AM EST

The ABCs to Leading Employee Resource Groups (ERG)

Focused and skilled leadership is the primary ingredient for successful ERGs. Effective ERG leaders bring passion and enthusiasm to their position. However, even if the ERG leader has supervisor or manager experience, motivating, directing, and obtaining optimal productivity from a volunteer group is very different than managing a group of employees. This workshop will give ERG leaders and future leaders strategies for maximizing their team’s engagement as well as productivity. Participants will gain innovative ideas for how to promote and sell their ERGs mission and value to the organization. Participants will learn how to improve their briefing techniques by using simplified but powerful models. Additionally, participants will learn the difference between, ERGs, SEP committees, and affinity groups as well as the general purpose for each group. Participants who attend this training will have the tools necessary to build and sustain the ERG momentum.