Meet our April Member of the Month: Michael Merritt, MAED

Tell us about your experience in the Talent Development space or what you would like to do. Places you’ve worked, roles you’ve held or want to hold, and organizations you’re a part of.

I’ve been in Education/Training/Learning and Development/Talent Development for nearly 30 years, which in learning years is basically dog years. I’ve designed and led training across healthcare, construction, financial services, and now retail — wearing just about every hat along the way: designer, facilitator, videographer, people leader, and lifelong learner.

I got my start at Bryan Health in Lincoln back when “eLearning” meant rolling computer carts floor to floor and manually running completion reports (no LMS… no mercy). That experience pushed me into a master’s program in adult learning and eventually into building full corporate university at The Nebraska Medical Center, leading learning teams at ACI, HDR and Kiewit, and developing training for both employees and clients.

After stops in healthcare, AEC, and construction — plus a brief but educational detour in financial services — I landed at Walmart in 2025 after moving to Bentonville during a snowstorm that literally shut down the town my first week here. These days, I serve as a Manager, learning and development for automation technologies at Walmart HQ, which means helping thousands of technicians learn how to maintain and fix robots and the environment they move and store product in. Those environments are anywhere from a nice 75 degrees to 17 degrees in our cold food environments and I get to spend lots of time in those environments capturing content for our trainings. No pressure.

What are some of your interests, strengths, and unique qualities that would help others get to know you better?

I’m a learning-tech nerd at heart and have spent over half my career focused on eLearning, emerging tech, and now AI. Strategy consistently shows up as a top strength — which is handy when your team supports automation training for multiple technologies across global distribution centers that are already open with technicians who need to know how to keep them running.

Contrary to popular belief, automation doesn’t reduce jobs — we’re hiring over four thousand more technicians — and helping people gain those skills is one of the most exciting parts of my role.

Outside of work, I’m usually biking, chasing live music, enjoying the outdoors, or finding a good brewery in Bentonville with my Aussie, Granite, who fully supports all of these activities. I’m diving into the rental home world this year as a new homeowner in The Villages, Florida and looking at a few properties here in Bentonville which is surprisingly a big tourist destination.

Being somewhat new to the Bentonville community, I’m looking for my next volunteer opportunity as many of you know I led a cancer charity in Omaha for over a dozen years and was involved in a number of local organizations and am excited about finding my next opportunity to support my new community.

Check out Michaels ChatGPT image.  Super fun!

What "work related" accomplishment(s) are you the most proud of?

It’s hard to pick just one. I’ve worked on projects for organizations ranging from NASA to the American Cancer Society, served in leadership roles with ATD at both local chapter and national levels, and been recognized with a number of awards by peers along the way. Watching our brand-new team of six get recognized by senior leadership in a company of over two million associates — supporting a 100,000 person supply chain is a pretty great feeling which I guess you can call an accomplishment as well.

What I’m most proud of is the collective impact: building meaningful learning, supporting others as they grow their skills and careers, and doing it with great people for organizations that serve communities far beyond where I live.

Favorite quote

“Knowledge is power, community is strength, and positive attitude is everything.” — Lance Armstrong (It’s old, he's a little controversial, but still solid advice.)

Are there specific people in the Talent Development space you follow and why?

I’ve followed leaders like Dr. Michael Allen, Allison Rossett, Elliott Masie, Malcolm Gladwell, Marcus Buckingham, and Simon Sinek — some from afar, some I’ve been lucky enough to meet. Their work has heavily influenced how I think about learning, storytelling, and impact. 

Locally, those that have had the greatest impact on my development and career include Mary Hoppe, Lisa Hayes, and Tricia Danielsen. These three are a wealth of knowledge and expertise in all things ATD and learning and development.

Do you have a lesson you’ve learned in your career you’d like to share with others?

Build your network. ATD has been a huge part of my career, and nearly every role I’ve had came through relationships and connections. Over my career, my move to Walmart has been the only role I’ve taken that I did not have an ATD connection to help me get a foot in the door, a good word to a hiring manager, or a recommendation to a director. In our field, you never know what tomorrow may bring and building a strong network is key not only for opportunities, but for someone to bounce ideas off, share resources, and most important, to learn from. Learning is collaborative — careers are too.

And one bonus lesson: take chances. If you don’t ask yourself, “Can I really do this?” in the first few weeks of a new role, you might not be stretching enough.

Do you have any favorite books or resources that you think others would find helpful?

On the learning tech side: anything by Dr. Michael Allen or Ethan Edwards, plus eLearning and the Science of Instruction by Ruth Clark and Richard Mayer. For storytelling and visuals, Slide:ology and Resonate by Nancy Duarte are classics for a reason. And for virtual learning, Cindy Huggett’s ATD books are quick, practical reads — you might even spot my name in one.

ATD! Without a local chapter, it’s great that there are so many virtual opportunities available from our local chapter to national resources to stay in touch and up to date with our industry.

LinkedIn URL:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelmerritt/

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