LDN’s CEO Melissa Williams is recognised on world stage for leadership in adult learning.
Melissa Williams, CEO of LDN, has been recognised at the 2025 International Women’s Stevie Awards in New York for changing how adults learn at work.
She was awarded:
- Gold Stevie® Award: Woman of the Year – Education
- Silver Stevie® Award: Female Thought Leader of the Year – Business Services
Melissa’s instructional design work has supported thousands of adults to reconnect with their own capacity to learn. Her leadership has ensured that learning programs delivered by LDN are built with intention, designed around how people actually take in, process, and apply new information at work.
Why this approach won
Every wondered by some training sessions shift how people think, work, and show up? Strong facilitation helps, but it is the design of the learning that does the heavy lifting. The judges specifically called out Melissa’s advocacy for different learning styles, her use of evidence based methods and the way her programs create confidence and real change at work. At the centre of LDN’s instructional design of our training is the 4MAT® model, developed by Dr Bernice McCarthy. It gives structure and clarity to the natural learning process and informs how LDN creates training that speaks all learning styles and preferences based on four clear stages: why, what, how, and what if.
It respects the fact that people learn in different ways – and that’s ok! This way of designing workplace training builds relevance for every participant and encourages critical thinking, becuase participants don’t just hear new ideas and concepts – they work with them, test them, and figure out how to make them useful. That’s what creates meaningful shifts in behaviour and performance in the workplace and at the foundation of all LDN’s programs, as well as our flagship Learning About Learning workshop.
You’re not the problem. The learning design was.
In her acceptance speech, Melissa named something many adults carry quietly from school into their working life:
“At school, I believed I was dumb. It took decades to find evidence that I am successful. I am smart, and I am savvy.”
Too many people assume they are poor learners. In reality, the issue is often the design of the learning, not the learner. When programs ignore different ways of thinking and processing information, they leave people behind. Through her leadership and instructional design approach, more people are being given the space and support to learn at work in ways that make sense to them. That matters. And it’s working.
A proud moment, shared globally
This recognition reflects years of work by the LDN team under Melissa’s leadership, designing and delivering learning that sticks across leadership, safety and cultural change programs. It is also a proud Australian moment, capped off by Melissa’s win being featured on a billboard in Times Square, New York.
Want training that actually sticks?
We design programs using the proven 4MAT® model to make learning engaging, practical, and easy to apply in the real world. Whether you need support designing your next program or want to upskill your team in learning design through our Learning About Learning workshop, we can help.
Contact us on 03 9510 0477 or click below.
Want to know more about the 4MAT® approach and Learning About Learning?
Watch our webinar presented by Melissa Williams, CEO of LDN and only one of four experts worldwide awarded 4MAT® Master Certification.
REQUEST A COURSE OUTLINE AND EXPRESS YOUR INTEREST IN THE LEARNING ABOUT LEARNING WORKSHOP
