Company Leaders

The Kirkpatrick Partners leadership team runs the U.S.-based global office. They also provide guidance for Kirkpatrick Affiliates worldwide, so professionals around the world can benefit from the value the Kirkpatrick Model provides. 

On August 1, 2023, Kirkpatrick Partners named Vanessa Alzate as its new President and 100% shareholder.

Alzate replaces Wendy Kirkpatrick, who founded Kirkpatrick Partners in 2008 and has served as President since its inception. Alzate plans to honor and continue the Kirkpatrick legacy while keeping it relevant through new product development and brand growth.

Dr. Jim Kirkpatrick and Wendy Kirkpatrick remain actively involved in the business as contract consultants. They are both very excited about the enhancements Alzate will bring to the company and the brand. The Kirkpatrick Partners office and staff in Newnan, GA remain intact so there will be no changes or disruption of company programs and services. 

Vanessa Alzate

President

Vanessa Alzate is the President and CEO of Kirkpatrick Partners and Founder and CEO of Anchored Training, a custom training development agency. She received a BA in both Communications & Political Science from Rutgers University, and an MS in Corporate & Organizational Communication from Northeastern University.

For almost 15 years, Vanessa has consulted with many mid-large organizations in industries ranging from government,  pharmaceutical sales, to fashion in an effort to develop training strategies tailored to each individual organization, team, and learner. Vanessa is a dynamic educator in the classroom and works to bring that classroom experience to life online via webinar training and eLearning.

Throughout her career, Vanessa has excelled in assisting companies and individuals to expand their industry knowledge through innovative eLearning and classroom curriculum, and encourages her clients to look around them to find inspiration and strategies to engage their learners. Vanessa gives back to the learning community as a speaker for the Association for Talent Development, Training Magazine, and the Learning Guild.

Vanessa is committed to helping everyone become the best versions of themselves. She is an advocate for empowering women and increasing belonging. 

Wendy Kirkpatrick, founder of Kirkpatrick Partners

Wendy Kayser Kirkpatrick

Senior Consultant

Wendy Kayser Kirkpatrick is a Senior Consultant for and Founder of Kirkpatrick Partners. As a global driving force of the use and implementation of the Kirkpatrick Model, Wendy leads companies to measurable success through training and evaluation.

Wendy’s results orientation stems from three decades of business experience in retailing, marketing, and training. She has held positions as a buyer, product manager, process manager and training manager, which leveraged her ability to organize complex, multifaceted projects and yield rapid results. As a training manager, she managed the training curriculum for 1500 sales and customer service representatives across North America.

Wendy and Jim Kirkpatrick have written four books, including Kirkpatrick’s Four Levels of Training Evaluation. They also served as the subject matter experts for the United States Office of Personnel Management’s Training Evaluation Field Guide: Demonstrating the Value of Training at Every Level.

Wendy is a recipient of the 2013 Emerging Training Leaders Award from Training Magazine.

Dr. Jim Kirkpatrick, Senior Consultant, Kirkpatrick Partners

Jim Kirkpatrick

Senior Consultant

Dr. Jim Kirkpatrick is the senior consultant for Kirkpatrick Partners. He is a visionary and an expert in training evaluation and the creator of the New World Kirkpatrick Model.

Using his 15 years of experience in the corporate world, including eight years as a training manager, Jim trains and consults for corporate, government, military and humanitarian organizations around the world. He is passionate about assisting learning professionals in redefining themselves as strategic business partners to become a viable force in the workplace.

Jim delivers lively keynote addresses and conducts workshops on topics including maximizing business results, creating powerful training and evaluation strategies, building and leveraging business partnerships and increasing the transfer of learning to on-the-job behaviors.

Jim co-authored three books with his father, Don Kirkpatrick, who is credited with creating the Kirkpatrick Model. He also has written four books with Wendy Kirkpatrick, including Kirkpatrick’s Four Levels of Training Evaluation and Training on Trial. Jim and Wendy also served as the subject matter experts for the United States Office of Personnel Management’s Training Evaluation Field Guide: Demonstrating the Value of Training at Every Level.

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