Tuesday keynote
Tuesday, September 29
12:45–1:45 p.m.
The Art of Innovation: Unleash Your Inner Innovator
Everyone can innovate . . . even me? Yes! 1000% YES!
Innovation isn’t only reserved for people at the cutting edge of technology. Innovation is for everyone and it can be applied to every role and industry—including learning and development.
In this exciting Core4 opening talk, you’ll learn about the who, what, why, and how of innovation. You’ll see this concept in a completely new way and explore how to infuse its principles throughout your everyday work.
You’ll uncover how every person can be an innovator—even if you don’t think of yourself or your organization that way. And if you already love developing innovative ideas, you’ll learn new techniques to push them even further.
Come find out what innovation is all about and embrace the call of the innovator.
During this Core4 keynote, you’ll:
- Reimagine what innovation REALLY is.
- Discover (or boost) your innovation superpowers.
- Apply an innovation mindset throughout your life and work.
- Take actionable next steps on your innovation journey.
Hands-On Keynote Companion
Tuesday, September 29
5:30–6:40 p.m.
Build Your Inner Innovator: A LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® Experience
You’ve heard the call. Now, it’s time to build your response.
This is the hands-on companion to The Art of Innovation keynote.
In today’s keynote, you discovered that innovation isn’t reserved for a small subsection of the world—it’s for everyone, including YOU. In this session, we’ll make it even more real.
In this interactive, hands-on LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® session, you’ll turn those insights into action, one brick at a time. Bring your LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® kit and get ready for an experience you won’t forget.
Through guided prompts, you’ll model your innovation superpowers, give shape to ideas sparked by the keynote, and leave with a concrete next step for your innovation journey.
No prior LEGO-building experience required.
In this session, you’ll:
- Innovate with hands-on practice.
- Gain clarity on your innovation superpower.
- Connect and have fun with other Core4 attendees.
- Find a tangible next step for your innovation journey.
Meet the Speaker
Leo Chan
Chief Innovation Igniter
Abound Innovation
Leo Chan, Chief Innovation Igniter at Abound Innovation, is a people- and heart-first entrepreneur who believes everyone can innovate. With 80 U.S. patents and 20+ years of experience, he has empowered organizations—from nonprofits to Fortune 100s—across industries from automotive to wastewater—to unleash their employees’ creative potential.
Leo has trained over 155,000 global professionals, unleashing breakthrough thinking at the world’s most innovative companies.
A five-time LinkedIn Learning instructor and speaker at conferences like TEDx, SXSW, ATD, WEC, SHRM, STORY, CPSI, WBECS, and FEI, Leo combines his industry experience and joyful enthusiasm to make innovation accessible and practical for all.
As a certified LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® trainer and facilitator, he helps teams unlock curiosity, creativity, and professional fun in the workplace. As he puts it, you can’t LEGO® without Leo.
Leo’s mission is to ignite innovation in everyone, empowering individuals and organizations to thrive.
Wednesday Keynote
Wednesday, September 30
8–9 a.m.
A Better Relationship With Work: The New Science of Performance and Well-Being
Performance and well-being are often treated as an impossible trade-off: perform at a high level or protect your well-being. When the tension grows, for our learners or ourselves, the first instinct is often to look for another solution: another tool, another initiative, another way to help people do more, cope better, or work differently. But what if we have been overlooking something hiding in plain sight: the work itself?
Blending cutting-edge science, engaging storytelling, and practical application, organizational behavior professors and Thinkers50 Radar honorees Dr. Allison Gabriel and Dr. Kate Zipay invite you to pay closer attention to your relationship with work. Drawing on the Working Well Framework, they will explore how the everyday decisions, practices, and assumptions that shape work also shape performance, motivation, and well-being.
Whether you are seeking to craft learning experiences that help employees feel supported, facilitate classrooms of people feeling pulled in two directions, or figure out this balance for yourself, you will leave with practical, evidence-based strategies to help people and the work they do thrive together.
During this keynote, you will learn how to:
- Attune to the demands of work and the realities of the moment.
- Discern wiser ways of working and supporting learners in their work.
- Sustain both high performance and well-being over time.
Meet the Speakers
Kate P. Zipay, PhD
Associate Professor of Management
Associate Director of Research & Impact
Purdue Center for Working Well
Kate P. Zipay, PhD, is an associate professor of management and associate director of research & impact at the Purdue Center for Working Well in Purdue University’s Mitch Daniels School of Business. Her research explores how experiences both inside and outside of work shape how people think, feel, and perform, with the goal of helping people build healthier, more sustainable relationships with work.
Kate’s research has been published in leading management journals, including the Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Organization Science, and Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. She was recognized as one of Poets & Quants’ Top 40 Undergraduate Business Professors and, together with collaborator Allison Gabriel, was named to the Thinkers50 Radar Class of 2026, recognizing emerging management thinkers whose ideas are shaping the future of leadership and work.
Kate and Allison also received BetterUp’s Center for Purpose & Performance Research Prize for their collaborative work on Intuitive Working, a research program exploring healthier, more sustainable ways of working.
Before entering academia, Kate began her career in Big Four professional services, giving her a perspective that helps bridge rigorous organizational science and the realities of today’s workplace.
Allison “Allie” Gabriel, PhD
Thomas J. Howatt Chair in Management
Director, Purdue Center for Working Well
Allison “Allie” Gabriel, PhD, is the Thomas J. Howatt chair in management and director of the Purdue Center for Working Well in Purdue University’s Mitch Daniels School of Business. Her research explores how people can build healthier, more sustainable relationships with work while continuing to perform at a high level. She is an internationally recognized scholar of employee well-being, emotions, motivation, workplace relationships, recovery, and women’s experiences at work.
Allie’s research has been published in leading management journals and featured in outlets including Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Fast Company, CNN, and Psychology Today. Her contributions to the science of work have earned numerous national and international honors, including election as a Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, one of the field’s highest professional distinctions.
Together with collaborator Kate Zipay, Allie was named to the Thinkers50 Radar Class of 2026. They also received BetterUp’s Center for Purpose & Performance Research Prize for their collaborative research on Intuitive Working, which explores healthier, more sustainable ways of working.
In addition to leading the Purdue Center for Working Well, Allie serves as senior editor for micro research at the Journal of Management. She is passionate about translating organizational science into practical ideas that help leaders and organizations thrive.
Thursday keynote
Thursday, October 1
11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Closing the Recognition Gap to Open Doors
Perhaps you or a colleague were passed over for a prime opportunity despite doing valuable work. Maybe you watched a valuable team member leave because they felt undervalued. If you’re independent, you may wonder why your client list isn’t growing.
Many learning professionals experience a gap between the value they create and the opportunities they receive. Excellent work alone is no longer enough to create forward momentum in your career. But the solution isn’t what most people assume, and it may be more aligned with who you are than you think.
This keynote challenges common assumptions about recognition and opportunity. You’ll leave with a better understanding of what influences your professional standing, why talented individuals are sometimes overlooked, and fresh ideas for narrowing the recognition gap.
During this final Core4 keynote, you’ll explore:
- Why excellent work doesn’t always lead to recognition and opportunity
- A more effective and authentic model for becoming visible
- Practical ways to close the recognition gap and open new doors
- How to maintain your momentum after the conference
Meet the Speaker
Connie Malamed
Founder and Mentor
Mastering Instructional Design Community
Connie Malamed helps people strengthen their instructional design skills and professional visibility through her courses and community, Mastering Instructional Design, and her coaching program, Visibility Coaching for Learning Professionals. Connie is an international speaker and the author of Visual Design Solutions and Visual Language for Designers. She shares practical insights through her long-running site and podcast, The eLearning Coach.
