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John Gartin
John Gartin
01:16

John Gartin

Northern Arizona University

Flagstaff, AZ USA

"Change is normal and it’s okay. For us, we have to be antifragile, we have to be flexible."

Career Roadmap

John's work combines: Education, Technology, and Teaching / Mentoring

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Day In The Life

Director, Learning & Organizational Development

I help people learn, grow, and build the skills they need to adapt and succeed in a changing workplace.

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Day In The Life Of A Director Of Learning And Organizational Development

My Day to Day

My work is centered on helping people learn and grow. I develop programs that welcome new employees, build leadership skills, and help people upskill and reskill as their work changes. I also create learning materials and explore how tools like AI can make that work more efficient and reach more people.

Skills & Education

Here's the path I took:

  • High School

  • Bachelor's Degree

    Geography

    Old Dominion University

  • Graduate Degree

    Geography

    University of South Carolina

  • Graduate Degree

    Organizational Leadership

    Northern Arizona University

Learn more about different paths to this career

Life & Career Milestones

I've taken a lot of twists and turns

  • 1.

    I served eight years in the Navy Reserve, which helped me pay for my undergraduate education and became one of the first chapters of my working life.

  • 2.

    After college, I spent two years working in public relations and discovered I hated it, but I carried everything I learned there into what came next.

  • 3.

    I went to graduate school and eventually found myself thriving on the water at Mission Bay Aquatic Center, which began a two-decade-long journey working in the sport of rowing.

  • 4.

    I started at Northern Arizona University in athletics and went on to serve as a faculty member, career development director, and eventually a leader in HR.

  • 5.

    Across coaching, teaching, and career development, I realized the common thread in my work was helping people get better and reach their potential.

  • 6.

    In 2022, my brother introduced me to ChatGPT, sending me down a rabbit hole of learning how AI could help me teach, lead, and support people at a larger scale.

  • 7.

    I began experimenting deeply with AI, building tools and even digital versions of my own work to explore how technology could augment my expertise without replacing it.

  • 8.

    Today, I lead Learning and Organizational Development at NAU, helping employees learn, grow, and adapt while preparing them for a workplace that keeps changing.

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