Welcome Discovery Senior Living Team Members!
Unlock your potential and elevate your impact with Level Up Learning—Discovery’s new series of high-impact, 90-minute virtual classes designed to strengthen the professional and leadership skills that matter most.
Level Up Learning classes are practical, engaging, and immediately applicable. Each class gives you the tools, insights, and confidence to take your performance—and your career—to the next level. Whether you're looking to sharpen communication, build stronger relationships, lead with greater influence, or navigate complex challenges, these sessions are built to help you grow with purpose and momentum.
Important Note: Bookmark this page to easily register as sessions become available.
For questions about this program, please reach out to Judy Whitcomb at jwhitcomb@discoveryseniorliving.com. For questions or issues with the enrollment process, please email executive.education@depaul.edu.
Who Should Attend
This program is for Discovery Senior Living team members. See session descriptions for more details on the target audience for each class.
Enrollment Expectations
- Courses fill quickly and many sessions have waitlists. Please enroll only in classes you can fully attend.
- Ensure you have the technology, connectivity, and environment necessary for an engaging virtual learning experience.
- Complete pre-class program assignments when required.
- Complete post-class assignments when required.
Full Participation Requirement
- Cameras must remain on for the duration of the session to support interactivity, collaboration, and engagement.
- Team members are expected to participate fully, including breakout discussions, activities, and chat interactions.
- Joining late or leaving early may forfeit credit for the course.
Attendance, Cancellations, & No-Show Policy
- Any cancellation must be submitted at least 24 hours in advance to allow another team member to enroll. To cancel, please email executive.education@depaul.edu.
- Cancellations made within 24 hours are considered late cancellations unless due to a documented business emergency.
- No-shows and late cancellations without a valid business emergency will result in a $250 charge to the team member’s department.
Requirements to Earn the Course Completion Badge
- Attend and participate in the entire course, from start to finish.
- Meet all engagement expectations, including camera-on participation.
- Partial attendance does not qualify for badge issuance or course completion.
- Badges are issued through Credly, which allows you to showcase your achievements and easily share them on platforms like LinkedIn or your digital resume.
Professional Courtesy & Learning Culture
- Treat these sessions as dedicated professional development time and an investment in you by Discovery!
- Please review this linked document for best practices for virtual learning.
August 19, 2026
So, You Want to Be a Leader? Strategies for Early Career Leadership Development
<div class="ck-content"><p><strong>Facilitator</strong>: <a href="https://www.depaul.edu/faculty/jaclyn-jensen">Dr. Jaclyn Jensen</a>, Faculty at DePaul University</p><p><strong>Date/Time:</strong> August 19, 2026 - 1:00pm CT</p><p><strong>Format</strong>: 90-Minute Virtual Instructor-Led Session</p><p>Leadership begins long before you have a title. In this interactive session, participants will explore practical strategies to accelerate their leadership development, build meaningful relationships with mentors and sponsors, and strengthen the confidence needed to lead effectively. Learners will discover how to expand their professional network, establish credibility, and increase their influence through everyday leadership behaviors. Whether you're aspiring to lead a team or simply looking to expand your impact, this course provides actionable tools to help you take the next step in your leadership journey.</p><p><strong>Target Audience</strong>: Aspiring Leaders</p></div>
September 16, 2026
Tackling the Transition from Individual Contributor to Leader
<div class="ck-content"><p><strong>Facilitator: </strong><a href="https://www.depaul.edu/faculty/erich-c-dierdorff">Dr. Erich Dierdorff</a>, Faculty at DePaul University</p><p><strong>Date/Time:</strong> September 16, 2026 - 1:00pm CT</p><p><strong>Format</strong>: 90-Minute Virtual Instructor-Led Session</p><p>Making the transition from individual contributor to leader is one of the most challenging and rewarding career milestones. In this session, participants will explore the fundamental responsibilities of leadership, identify common pitfalls new managers face, and learn practical strategies to successfully navigate their first six months in a leadership role. Drawing on proven practices, learners will develop tools to build credibility, lead others effectively, and establish a foundation for long-term success. Participants will also explore how adopting a continuous learning mindset can accelerate their growth as leaders.</p><p><strong>Target Audience</strong>: New or Aspiring Leaders</p></div>
September 30, 2026
Managing Performance Issues Effectively
<div class="ck-content"><p><strong>Facilitator</strong>: Judy Whitcomb, Kimberly Hoffman, and Marcela Hermosillo-Tarin</p><p><strong>Date/Time:</strong> September 30, 2026 - 1:00pm CT</p><p><strong>Format</strong>: 120-Minute Virtual Instructor-Led Session, 30 minutes pre-class and post-class assignment</p><p>This class is designed to help leaders confidently address employee performance challenges.</p><p>After this class, participants will be able to: </p><p style="margin-left:40px;">• <strong>Identify </strong>root causes of performance issues</p><p style="margin-left:40px;">• <strong>Prepare </strong>effectively for performance conversations</p><p style="margin-left:40px;">• <strong>Conduct </strong>difficult performance discussions with clarity, empathy, and confidence while managing resistance or emotion</p><p style="margin-left:40px;">• <strong>Document </strong>performance concerns accurately and objectively in alignment with organizational and legal expectations</p><p style="margin-left:40px;">• <strong>Navigate </strong>escalation and separation decisions, including managing terminations professionally and minimizing risk</p><p><strong>Target Audience</strong>: Managers of people</p></div>
October 1, 2026
AI Prompt Engineering and Practical AI Integration
<div class="ck-content"><p><strong>Facilitator</strong>: <a href="https://www.depaul.edu/faculty/james-moore">James Moore</a>, Faculty at DePaul University</p><p><strong>Date/Time:</strong> October 1, 2026 - 1:00pm CT</p><p><strong>Format</strong>: 90-Minute Virtual Instructor-Led Session</p><p>This hands-on session moves from understanding AI to actively using it. Participants learn how to communicate effectively with AI tools through structured prompting techniques that improve the relevance, quality, and usefulness of AI-generated outputs.</p><p>Learners will practice writing clear, role-based prompts, using multi-turn conversations to refine results, and applying AI across real work workflows such as research, drafting, problem-solving, and editing. The session emphasizes practical application — helping participants integrate AI into daily work in a way that saves time, improves quality, and supports better outcomes.</p><p>Participants will also begin building a personal prompt library with reusable templates they can immediately apply in their roles after the session.</p><p>After this class, participants will be able to: </p><p style="margin-left:40px;">• Write effective prompts that generate clearer, more targeted AI responses</p><p style="margin-left:40px;">• Use role-based and structured prompting strategies to guide AI behavior and tone</p><p style="margin-left:40px;">• Apply AI across key workflow stages (research, drafting, refining, editing)</p><p style="margin-left:40px;">• Use multi-turn conversations to iterate and improve outputs</p><p style="margin-left:40px;">• Build and maintain a personal library of prompts and templates for ongoing use</p><p><strong>Target Audience</strong>: This course is designed for team members who use or desire to leverage AI in their roles at Discovery.</p></div>
October 7, 2026
Negotiation Fundamentals
<div class="ck-content"><p><strong>Facilitator</strong>: <a href="https://www.depaul.edu/faculty/michelle-g-caplan">Michelle G. Caplan</a>, Faculty at DePaul University</p><p><strong>Date/Time:</strong> October 7, 2026 - 1:00pm CT</p><p><strong>Format</strong>: 90-Minute Virtual Instructor-Led Session</p><p><strong>Prerequisite:</strong> Introduction to Negotiations or a basic negotiation framework.</p><p><strong>Pre-Work:</strong> Approximately 30 minutes of pre-class work is required prior to attending the session.</p><p>Build a strong foundation in effective negotiation by learning the principles of win-win negotiation, distinguishing between positional bargaining and principled negotiation, and applying both distributive and integrative negotiation strategies. Participants will also learn how to generate options for mutual gain and develop practical techniques for navigating difficult negotiations and challenging personalities with confidence.</p><p><strong>Target Audience</strong>: Team members who have responsibility for negotiation either internally or externally. This is an introductory course.</p></div>