About Hannah

I’ve worked in learning and development for 25 years as an external consultant and heading up North America’s sales training department at Foresters, a life insurance company in Toronto.

Over that time, I helped learning and development professionals create training programs that changed behaviour and aligned with the organization’s strategic goals.

I bring my experience to organizations and leaders to develop their employees and create high-performing teams.

Bridging formal learning and learning culture

Often the training and development function is tasked with employee development resulting in formal training programs. 

In my 25 years of experience in learning and development, I’ve found that these formal programs only get us part way there. Learning needs to also live in the DNA of teams. We need to develop leader-lead learning as a strategy alongside formal programs.

When considering the roles of formal training and leader-led learning, it’s helpful to think of a partially constructed bridge. The bridge represents organizational resiliency, high-performing teams, and employee engagement.

One side represents Learning and Development and formal training programs. So often, I’ve seen learning and development professionals create fantastic programs only to have them fall short. The programs fail to change behaviour and impact business results.

The other side of the bridge represents leaders and their teams. For teams to be high-performing, organizations resilient, and employees engaged at work, leaders need to take ownership of employee development and foster a learning culture. They need to Lead with Learning.

I bring my 25 years experience in learning and development and my work with leaders and their teams to bring a Lead with Learning approach to leadership and development. I bridge the gap between formal training and learning embedded in the DNA of teams.

Partnership Agreements

I have a vendor of record agreement with the Ontario Government and the Canadian Government.

Testimonials

Hear how others describe working with me.

Eileen Polson
When a trusted colleague recommended Hannah for our work, I was expecting great results and Hannah did not disappoint. I valued Hannah’s collaborative style which was a cornerstone of our partnership starting with her ability to ask great questions to gain clarity on our needs and what success...
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Eileen Polson
HR Consulting and Executive Coaching
When a trusted colleague recommended Hannah for our work, I was expecting great results and Hannah did not disappoint. I valued Hannah’s collaborative style which was a cornerstone of our partnership starting with her ability to ask great questions to gain clarity on our needs and what success would look like for us. Given our lack of knowledge about on-line learning, Hannah took the time and used simple concepts to help us understand the world of e-learning, the process for developing an online course and what it would take to create a successful program. She guided us every step of the way and worked with us to refine the content to ensure a quality product. Not only was it a quality product, it also an awarding winning product having received the 2019 Standard of Achievement Award from the Institute for Performance and Learning.
Eileen Polson
Eileen Polson
HR Consulting and Executive Coaching
Julie Dupont MA., MCOD., ACC
Hannah is a pleasure to work with! What impresses me most about her is her resourcefulness! She is very knowledgeable about various learning and development best practices and takes her career as a learning consultant very seriously - without being too serious a person! Hannah's personable style is an asset ...
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Julie Dupont MA., MCOD., ACC
Leadership Development Expert | Team Builder | Energetic Facilitator
Hannah is a pleasure to work with! What impresses me most about her is her resourcefulness! She is very knowledgeable about various learning and development best practices and takes her career as a learning consultant very seriously - without being too serious a person! Hannah's personable style is an asset to her as she works with her clients with the utmost professionalism.
Julie Dupont MA., MCOD., ACC
Julie Dupont MA., MCOD., ACC
Leadership Development Expert | Team Builder | Energetic Facilitator
Edwin Weinstein
Working with Hannah on a project was a wonderful experience. She is well-organized and thoughtful. She excels at both project and team management. The project we worked on was complex and aimed to set licensure standards for a profession that would be rigorous and acceptable to all provinces. Standards ranged ...
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Edwin Weinstein
President, The Brondesbury Group
Working with Hannah on a project was a wonderful experience. She is well-organized and thoughtful. She excels at both project and team management. The project we worked on was complex and aimed to set licensure standards for a profession that would be rigorous and acceptable to all provinces. Standards ranged from administration & instructor qualifications to course delivery and exams. Necessarily, the project team had members with complementary and considerable expertise. From the initial proposal to the final report, Hannah managed time and resources quite well, nimbly adjusting to the unexpected events that are typical for complex projects. Well-defined plans, including time and personnel commitments for each task the project required, made both role and time commitment clear. Relations between team members remained cordial and grew stronger under her leadership. Her approach demonstrated respect for the expertise and the time of team members. We started the project as a group of individual experts, and under her leadership, we finished the project as a coherent team with a sense of a job well-done. As a licensed organizational psychologist, I can heartily recommend working with Hannah to get complex projects done smoothly and professionally.
Edwin Weinstein
Edwin Weinstein
President, The Brondesbury Group
Janet Holmes CTDP, MBA
I first met Hannah on the Institute for Performance & Learning Exec Committee for our local chapter. Very impressive in her dedication and willingness to dig in and contribute. Her ideas really moved our volunteer group forward. And since then, I continue to be impressed with her competence and confidence ...
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Janet Holmes CTDP, MBA
Creative Learning Consultant | Helping teams achieve outcomes by developing skillful leaders & engaged employees
I first met Hannah on the Institute for Performance & Learning Exec Committee for our local chapter. Very impressive in her dedication and willingness to dig in and contribute. Her ideas really moved our volunteer group forward. And since then, I continue to be impressed with her competence and confidence in designing learning programs and willingness to be a resource. Thank you, Hannah !
Janet Holmes CTDP, MBA
Janet Holmes CTDP, MBA
Creative Learning Consultant | Helping teams achieve outcomes by developing skillful leaders & engaged employees

Background

2024
2024

Into the Hands of Leaders

Into the Hands of Leaders: Employee Growth through Learning, emphasizes the importance of leaders cultivating a Growth through Learning orientation and offers a fresh perspective on employee development.

2024
2024

Lead, Learn Grow! Conversation Cards

Created these conversation cards for leaders to help them embed learning into their daily team interactions. Ideal for meetings or workshops.

Find out More

2023
2023

Growth through Learning podcast

Launched a six-episode podcast series with industry leaders to explore the concepts in my book, Into the Hands of Leaders: Employee Growth through Learning.

Find out More

2023
2023

HannahBrown.co

Rebranded to focus on the importance of Leading with Learning as a way to bridge learning and development effectiveness and the leader’s role in employee development.

2022
2022

Training that Clicks: Virtual Design Playbook

Published, Training that Clicks: Virtual Design Playbook for people who design virtual training and who don’t have a learning and development background, or who are looking for ways to elevate their virtual courses, so they’re more engaging and have more impact. 

Available for purchase on Amazon. 

2021
2021

Training Design award from the Institute for Performance and Learning (I4PL)

Received award for program, Design for a Digital Age, which provides a practical process and hands-on skill building to design and deliver virtual courses more effectively and efficiently

2019
2019

DISC and Five Behaviors Partner

As a distribution partner, I am certified to facilitate, certify others and distribute the full suite of DiSC and Five Behaviors of Cohesive Teams assessments and programs. 

2019
2019

Training Design award from the Institute for Performance and Learning (I4PL)

For program, Blended Learning to Mitigate Risk for Shad Canada, which included an elearning course for newly hired staff to decrease risk in their summer programs, and recommendations for a learning management system to host the course.

2018
2018

Certified Coach

Certified Associate Coach through Integral Coaching Canada (ICC), which is recognized by International Coach Federation (ICF).

2015
2015

Volunteer Recognition Award from the Institute for Performance and Learning (I4PL)

Recognized for executive role on Waterloo Wellington chapter over a seven-year period and providing expertise to enrich the I4PL and the learning profession.

2011
2011

Certified Training and Development Professional (CTDP)

Obtained Canadian professional designation for Workplace Performance and Learning from the Institute for Performance and Learning.

2010
2010

Performance Matters

Founded Performance Matters to provide consulting on learning program and course design to change performance.

2006
2006

Life Insurance License

Obtained license through the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO).

2004
2004

Director, Sales Training, North America at Foresters

Led a team to provide sales onboarding for life insurance agents, advanced sales training and in-field support for sales leaders.

2002
2002

Masters Adult Education M.Ed.

Obtained Master’s degree focused on Workplace, Learning and Change from O.I.S.E. University of Toronto.

2000
2000

Sr. Consultant and Learning Designer at Benchmark Performance

Designed curriculum programs for various clients on Leadership, Business Leadership, and Onboarding.