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Day Pitney LLP is pleased to announce that Learning & Development professionals Carrie E. Kirby and Crystal L. Fernandes-Harris have been honored with the Excellence in Scholarly Practice Award from the Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD).

Kirby, Day Pitney's Learning & Development manager, and Fernandes-Harris, a Learning & Development specialist, received the award for writing a scholarly article on the subject of corporate training, titled, "Flipping the Corporate Training Classroom: Challenging the Norm in Legal Technology Training." The authors, who provide new hire and other training initiatives in all of Day Pitney's 11 offices for 575 employees, conducted research and wrote the article on corporate training strategies with Dr. Robin S. Grenier, Associate Professor of Adult Learning in the Department of Educational Leadership at the University of Connecticut.

"Their dedication and passion for legal technology training, and for learning as a profession, shows clearly in the creativity and energy that Carrie and Crystal put into their work, whether creating e-learning platforms, writing scholarly articles, or delivering training sessions," said Kirk R. Rossi, Day Pitney's Chief Operating Officer/Chief Financial Officer. "We are honored and pleased that their abilities to understand and respond to business needs and requirements have been recognized with this award."

The AHRD's Excellence in Scholarly Practice Awards are bestowed annually for human resource development projects and interventions that apply research and theory to impact organizations and address specific organizational needs. According to the AHRD, the award is given to those who expertly apply scholarly Human Resource Development theory and research to practice in a manner that brings measurable improvement to an organization and/or has the potential to advance the field of HRD.

In the article, Kirby and Fernandes-Harris discuss how the Learning & Development department at Day Pitney implemented a new learning model, which, according to the authors, "allow[ed] us to develop a blended learning approach that focused on only the most relevant content."

The authors noted that after their research, the use of this model has "bolstered [their] confidence" as their "initial success has led to [their] sharing of [their] program with others working in the field of legal technology."

The award is the second honor to be bestowed upon the department in recent months. In January, Fernandes-Harris was honored with a 2016 Emerging Training Leaders Award by Training Magazine, gaining recognition among 25 training professionals across the U.S. who have "demonstrated exceptional business skills, business savvy and training instincts."

AHRD is a global organization made up of, governed by, and created for the Human Resource Development (HRD) scholarly community of academics and reflective practitioners. The Academy was formed to encourage systematic study of human resource development theories, processes, and practices; to disseminate information about HRD; to encourage the application of HRD research findings; and to provide opportunities for social interaction among individuals with scholarly and professional interests in HRD from multiple disciplines and from across the globe.

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