Kara Yates Email & Phone Number

Newburgh, In, Us

At Craftastic, we are dedicated to fostering a vibrant community where creativity thrives and joy blossoms. Our mission is to provide an inviting space where individuals can explore their artistic passions, discover new talents, and celebrate the beauty of handmade craftsmanship. We operate a brick-and-mortar store complemented by an ecommerce website, specializing in a comprehensive range of products and services for crafters and custom apparel enthusiasts.Key Responsibilities:-Oversee all aspects of business operations including finance, marketing, networking, customer service, and creative design.-Manage inventory to ensure essential crafting supplies are consistently available both in-store and online.-Ensure high-quality standards by sourcing products from reputable suppliers and conducting thorough quality checks.-Provide exceptional customer service, offering personalized assistance and expert advice to help customers complete their projects successfully.-Conduct educational workshops and classes, and maintain an online presence with tutorials and instructional content.-Manage custom design and printing services for both small and large orders, ensuring timely delivery and customer satisfaction.-Engage with the community by organizing events and actively seeking customer feedback to continuously improve products and services.Achievements:-Expanded marketing and advertising efforts, increasing brand awareness and customer engagement.-Remodeled the store to create a more inviting and functional space for customers and crafting classes.-Established a loyal customer base through the launch of a loyalty program, rewarding repeat customers with discounts and exclusive offers.

Richfield, Ohio, Us

• Developed and implemented a comprehensive training strategy in collaboration with the global Talent Management organization• Led the implementation of new innovative learning strategies, increasing engagement and adoption of training content.• Optimized existing training content to align with key performance objectives and workflow standards, resulting in increased effectiveness and learner satisfaction.• Designed and delivered training programs that applied micro-learning principles and technology to enhance the learning experience, resulting in increased knowledge retention and application.• Collected and analyzed feedback from stakeholders to continuously improve the quality of training content and delivery• Partnered with stakeholders across the organization to drive the training strategy, integrate information, and accomplish goals, increasing collaboration and alignment.• Led and developed a team of learning and development professionals• Developed and executed onboarding and training standards that were consistent across all teams• Demonstrated strong leadership skills, including setting direction, building organizational capacity, inspiring others, and delivering on business needs

Evansville, In, Us

-Developed and implemented strategic learning plans that aligned with broader learning strategy and incorporated functional needs and priorities, resulting in an increase in learner engagement and satisfaction.-Led cultivation of learner-centric culture by incorporating people-centric perspective and learning expertise into products and solutions, resulting in a 15% increase in learning program adoption and utilization.-Initiated and led ground-breaking, scalable, and relevant learning industry trends centered on impact and accessibility, resulting in 10% increase in learning program effectiveness and renewals.-Led and developed a team of instructional designers and product writers, resulting in improved efficiency and customer satisfaction.-Clearly defined the content audience and created strategies for continuous improvement, resulting in increased customer engagement and retention.-Took overall ownership of customer-facing product documentation and implemented a scalable process for authoring and publishing, leading to improved product understanding and adoption.-Successfully crowd-sourced content from customers and partners, resulting in a wider range of perspectives and improved customer satisfaction.-Collaborated with key internal stakeholders, including professional services, customer success, and sales, to develop a comprehensive product training strategy.-Delivered effective product training through various mediums, including self-guided tutorials, e-learning, webinars, and in-app guides, resulting in improved product adoption and customer success.-Defined and created a product university curriculum and certification program, resulting in improved employee and partner product understanding and proficiency. Partnered closely with product management and engineering teams to create training collateral and implement scalable testing mechanisms, resulting in improved product adoption and customer satisfaction..

Evansville, In, Us

Sellersburg, In, Us

• Orchestrated/administered the development, promotion, and curation of company's Learning Management System, Pyxis.• Developed marketing materials/strategies/campaigns for social and digital ecosystems to increase brand awareness.• Created and produced company podcast (Models of Possibility) to influence audience/target market.• Engineered and delivered training dashboards/professional development workshops on topics like Google, technology integration, internal best practices, streamlining practices/protocols.• Evaluated the effectiveness of regional growth objectives to understand ROI and customer perspective.• Partner with cross-functional creative teams to develop short- and long-term strategic plans based on company goals/core values.• Optimized company CRM system (HubSpot) to improve customer retention, promote sales/marketing growth, and streamline process workflows.• Leveraged design thinking skills to continuously improve product lifecycle processes, solve business problems, and promote passionate internal culture.

Sellersburg, In, Us

• Partnered with school superintendents/administrators to create or improve technology integration processes.• Spearheaded creative curriculum development to maximize learning technology use in classrooms.• Facilitated impact analysis reports/workshops for school districts by coordinating survey feedback, focus groups, on-site observations, and performance feedback from technology coaches.• Headed innovative fundraising programs by engaging with current/potential clients, partnering with influencers, and attending networking meetings.• Ensured e-learning tool effectiveness by monitoring instructional strategies, faculty training, student support, learning management systems (LMS), assessment techniques, integration, best practices, and troubleshooting.• Oversaw account management by assessing client needs, writing proposals, determining project plans, and crafting specific solutions for customers.• Served as the brand/voice of company by managing social media accounts, partnering with Southern Indiana districts on digital leadership, and promoting success stories.

Sellersburg, In, Us

• Lead strategic planning and design thinking initiatives.• Conduct instructional assessments to constantly improve user experience and product quality.• Communicate regularly with the leaders of current Technology Integration Services (TIS) customers.• Partner with sales to communicate the offerings of our Technology Integration Services (TIS).• Lead online and onsite training sessions on learning management systems (LMS) and other topics upon request.• Manage, present, and maintain a presence at various education conferences in the Midwest.• Work collaboratively with members of the Technology Integration Services (TIS) team.

Hendersonville, Us

• Planned, marketed, and hosted district-wide technology conference to provide thought leadership and best practices for implementing effective educational innovations.• Consulted executive leadership on emerging technologies, best practices, and market trends that could help transform current curriculum.• Formulated an improved system for organizing, tracking, and retrieving multiple data sets, resulting in a streamlined assessment documentation process.• Coordinated performance management process for District/School report card and improvement plans to ensure timely submission and completion.• Provided administrative, technical, and ethical support to foster technology-rich teaching and sound accountability system.

Hendersonville, Us

• Google Certified Educator• Technology Integration Strategic Planning• Online repository of resources on best practices, innovations, & emerging trends• Acuity Trainer • Blended Learning/Flipped Classroom• Conference Presenter• Organized technology integration conference for entire district• ISTE member• KYSTE member

• Identified school process improvement opportunities to boost student achievement and accountability ratings.• Assessed/strengthened schools' culture, achievement, leadership, and practices to improve student outcomes.• Collaborated with districts to develop curriculum maps, common assessments, proficiency plans, and PLCs.• Served as subject matter expert by providing technical assistance to school districts.• Established partnerships with schools/communities to develop programs that fulfill student learning needs.

• As a teacher in the classroom this year, I continue to serve on the Leadership Team and Datawise Team.• I am a curriculum leader in my building and will serve on the ETA District Curriculum Mapping Committee for the eighth grade.• I am a member of The Network and CODE. I have worked to build tier 2 and 3 interventions into our day for RTI.• Literacy and 21st Century Skills have been the focus in my classroom as I have worked to integrate a workshop model for reading and writing in a middle school ELA classroom.• Data driven instruction has been a cornerstone in my approach to teaching. I am a detail-oriented person who excels in multi-tasking and time management. I also bring a sense of humor that has helped in coaching, leading professional development, and working with teachers. I bring passion and dedication to the work that I strongly believe in.

• I was able to organize the PD for the building-both in curriculum and technology, arrange site visits to other buildings, analyze data for presentations, orchestrate a book study for the entire staff, arrange speakers, generate reports at the administrative level and create opportunities for parent involvement.• I served on the Datawise team and actually led our school through most of the backwards design process as our school leader.• I was the lead trainer at the building level, prepared PD, reporting documents, and presentations. I was also able to analyze data and move the team forward from the patterns we found.• I worked closely with the Leadership Team to ensure that the positive changes needed were taking place.• I created agendas and facilitated all the meetings.• I provided focused PD, vision, and resources toward a common goal.• We gathered data from stakeholders, looked at school wide data, and began to create a focus to move our school in a forward motion.• PLC’s were another piece to build our school improvement and I was able to help create and lead the professional development that helped our staff practice and then implement the PLC team concept.• I lead professional development days for all grades in all schools in the North Attendance District to curriculum map, proficiency plan, create common assessments, and implement differentiated instruction.• I worked closely with the data coaches for our district to ensure that data-driven decisions were being made.• In my role as eLearning coach, I received training in a multitude of digital resources that I was able to pass along to teachers.• I worked with other building administrators to design professional development to meet the needs of their staffs.• I trained schools in Google Apps, Web 2.0 tools, and worked with teams and individual teachers to find digital tools and resources to engage their students and streamlined paper trails, progress reports and PLC resources.

Master'S Degree, Building Level Administration

Bachelor Of Arts (B.A.), Secondary Education And Teaching; Middle School Endorsement; Speech & Communication