Sarah Gillam

Above all else, I love to learn, and I love to help others learn. I am an instructional designer, content developer, writer, and educator.

I am an expert learner who loves to dive into a complex topic, separating the important information from the noise and then synthesizing it into a form to meet the project's goals, with a focus on how this will actually impact the users and organization. I have extensive experience that allows me to choose the most effective instructional approach and methods depending on the topic and goals of the training.

For fun, I read about psychology and neuroscience because I love understanding how my mind works and how others' minds can work differently.

I'm the one colleagues come to for tech support because I love to research and figure out solutions. I troubleshoot and problem-solve and make tools/processes/communications more accurate, streamlined, and user-friendly.

My full-time career path = high school English teacher --> adult career development instructor
But if you look at my full experience below, you can see I've always dabbled in side projects. I'm an overachiever, and I enjoy constantly challenging myself. My tendency to go above-and-beyond has resulted in a promotion at the first opportunity at nearly every job.

What it’s like to work with me:
• Focused: I’m the person tuning out distractions when working alone and gently steering the conversation back to the goal when working in groups.
• Introverted: I prefer to work behind the scenes, but I am a skilled leader with a "calming presence" who specializes in empathy-based motivation techniques.
• Flexible/Open: I seek new perspectives that might change my current ideas. I also focus on opportunities, believe that blame is rarely useful, and let go of things that are out of my control.
• Analytical: I love to analyze (people, data, processes, etc.), understand, and improve. I also constantly analyze my own mind through metacognition and mindfulness.

Project examples:
• Developed full-year curricula and instructional materials for three new high school language arts courses.
• Created a four-session workshop and webinar series to help job seekers use LinkedIn like experts.
• Piloted an early e-learning program using iPads and computers in the classroom, along with learning management systems (LMS), for more effective and individualized instruction.