Introducing the Next Step Skill Building Program: New Growth Opportunities for Individual Contributors

In response to employee feedback requesting more development options for all roles, a new RISE program has launched: Next Step Skill Building. This initiative is designed specifically for individual contributors who want to grow and refine their skills—right where they are.

This pilot program kicked off August 20 with 40 nominated team members from across companies, departments, and locations. Next Step Skill Building uses a group cohort model to encourage peer learning and collaboration. The program includes six structured sessions that build on each other, with a balance of soft and hard skills.

Session Topics:

• Session 1 – Personal Awareness through the Predictive Index (Soft Skills)

• Session 2 – Introduction to AI – Microsoft CoPilot (Hard Skills)

• Session 3 – Communication (Soft Skills)

• Session 4 – Leveraging Excel for Clearer Communication (Hard Skills)

• Session 5 – Goal Setting/Time Management Strategies (Soft Skills)

• Session 6 – Time and Task Management with Outlook and SharePoint (Hard Skills)

To qualify for the program, participants must:

• Meet or exceed performance metrics on a consistent basis

• Consistently model our core values

• Be trained as a new hire mentor

• Have at least 1 year of employment

• Commit to attending all scheduled sessions

Participants in the first cohort represent a diverse group of high-performing team members from Cork Medical, Rehab Medical, and Forza Commercial Real Estate, including remote and corporate staff from states like Texas, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Florida, and North Carolina.

Congratulations to members of our first cohort:

Cork Medical:

·         Matt Cranfill – Clinical Engineer, Remote Texas

·         Sylvia Fillenwarth – HR Assistant, Corporate

·         Shane Kopy – Territory Sales Rep, Michigan

·         Brittani Simms – Insurance Approvals, Corporate

·         Stephanie Redmon – Poster, Indy Corporate

Rehab Medical:

·         Kelly Martin – Customer Experience Rep, Indy Corporate

·         Karina Barragan - Customer Experience Rep, Indy Corporate

·         Troy Thompson – Inventory Specialist, Detroit

·         Jermani Hayes – Office Assistant II, Atlanta South

·         Tatiana Lewis - Inventory Specialist, Atlanta South

·         Katie Dunlap - Office Assistant II, Augusta

·         Emily Garcia - Office Assistant, San Antonio

·         Joshua De Los Santos – Delivery Technician, Dallas

·         Carrie Moore – Office Assistant II, Columbus

·         Shelly Hickman – Inventory Specialist, Indy North

·         Vitaly Zganyayko – Inventory Specialist, Lexington

·         Brad Kanter – Inventory Specialist, Cincinnati

·         Sunni Tidwell – Office Assistant, Baton Rouge

·         Chandler Sedlacek – Inventory Specialist, Pensacola

·         Angila Baisa – Sr. Accounts Payable Specialist, Indy Corporate

·         Tanisha Rogers – Sr. Accounts Payable Specialist, Indy Corporate

·         Sarah Gegner – HR Generalist, Indy Corporate

·         Michael Carlock - Insurance Approval Coordinator, Indy Corporate

·         Lela-Ann Kemp – Business Support Representative, Indy Corporate

·         Joshua Owens – Director of IT, Indy Corporate

·         Katelyn McGaha – Sales Specialist, Indy Corporate

·         Breanna Mack – Marketing Specialist, Indy Corporate

·         Kathryn Burkhard – Payer Relations Rep, Indy Corporate

·         Rebecca Wininger – Revenue Cycle Trainer, Indy Corporate

·         Subha Virinchipuram Manivachaka – Insurance Collector, Indy Corporate

·         Sarah Nichols – Sales Representative, Cincinnati

·         Kylea Nix - Sales Representative, Austin

·         Dan Sinclair - Sales Representative, Pensacola

·         Jessica Abbate - Sales Representative, Tampa

·         Grant Aqui – Sales Representative, Orlando

·         Alec Graham – Sales Representative, Dayton

·         Matt Haidle – ATP Support, Indy South

·         Jason Skinner – ATP Specialty, Indy South

·         Stephen White – Sales Representative, Indy North

Forza:

·        Angie Hedges – Sr. Accountant, Forza

We’re excited to see how this pilot helps employees take the next step in their careers—and we’re hopeful to continue Next Step Skill Building with more cohorts in 2026.

Interested in joining a future Next Step Skill Building cohort?

Let your manager know! In the meantime, we encourage everyone to explore the development tools and programs already available to them through RISE.