Anna Graf Williams, Ph.D.

Anna Graf Williams, PhD is the cofounder and a senior partner of Learnovation®, LLC. Dr. Williams leads the development team in career development, research and outcomes assessment work. Cornerstone products in the areas of job readiness/ life skills and career portfolios; motivation, strategic planning and youth programs for education, industry, government and faith-based organizations are innovative and responsive for both the local and national clients being served by Learnovation®, LLC.

Professionally Speaking
Anna’s knowledge of career advancement, education, hospitality & tourism and her passion for how individuals learn makes her a vibrant, well spoken, entertaining presenter and facilitator. Anna is a recognized professional speaker in the areas of motivation, career advancement, job readiness and educational expert.

Anna is a high-energy person, down to earth and very prescriptive: a futurist, she has a great sense of humor that connects very well with her audiences. You'll benefit from her insights, sense of humor, honesty and expertise. She has a captivating style which integrates, research, story telling and the holistic approach.

Career Development & Job Readiness
Anna has been coaching and teaching individuals how to use their transferable and soft skills to target career goals. She has co-authored such books as Creating Your Career Portfolio At- a- Glance Guide for Students and Creating Your Career Portfolio at A- Glance- Guide for Dietitians. Throughout her teaching she worked on the industry, student, and school partnerships that make up strong placement. Anna served for five years as the editor in chief of the Hospitality Career Magazine for students--Hosteur. She continues to write and design on the topic of Careers and Career Portfolios. Career Portfolios are created with the hope and confidence of a better career. The self-reflective process and the collection of work samples allow individuals to create their own path.

Anna is a popular guest on the nationally syndicated The Career Clinic ® radio show, having been interviewed over 24 times on career portfolio related topics. She continues to do radio and newspaper interviews on the topics of career advancement.

Anna has a keen ability to draw out hidden talents and identify transferable skills in the quest for and reshaping of the career. Strategic planning and analysis of the local job market and the global economy help the Learnovation® LLC team teach the how-to's of developing career portfolios and job placement assessments.

Strategic Planning/Management
Anna has worked with many different organizations, from hotels, restaurants, quick service, retail and daycare facilities, to chambers of commerce and visitor's bureaus, non-profits and government agencies helping them to focus their skills and better market and manage themselves. Over the years she has developed and led visioning sessions, re-organization plans, and product positioning for the service industry. She has a unique ability to pull teams together and motivate people.

Outcomes Assessment/Performance Based Outcomes
Anna has spent years focused on determining measurable goals and outcomes. Each program, pamphlet, presentation and component of instruction is designed to be measured. Anna and her team have a keen understanding of how people learn and how people test, allowing for accurate test methods to be applied.

With specialties in end-user interaction Dr. Williams is able to better increase participant interaction. Her work began with her work at Johnson & Wales University in the internship program. She continued her efforts serving on several accrediting bodies for hospitality and university education. Today Anna heads up corporate and agency efforts to determine and measure performance based outcomes related to employment and life skills. Her work with Career Portfolios has sharpened her experience with taking both technical and soft skills and quantifying them into performance measures. Curriculum mapping, job description analysis, identification of best practices and how to observe and document outcomes all serve as Anna’s foundation for outcomes assessment.

Marketing
Marketing is art with a plan that meets the needs of the marketplace. Anna Graf Williams’ marketing efforts include market research, conversion studies, focus groups, and economic impact studies. Anna best utilizes her creativity through marketing design/planning, web development and people planned marketing efforts.

Publishing and Achievements
Anna Graf Williams is well published with over 250 articles, several book chapters, and well over 500 speaking engagements. She also has co-authored several books: Hospitality Cases in Marketing & Operations, Creating Your Career Portfolio, The Family Guide to the American Workplace, The Immigrant's Guide to the American Workplace, and Quick Reference to Food Safety & Sanitation. Her latest book focuses the career portfolio process on the needs of dietitians. Additionally, she has served as a developmental editor for several trade and academic publications in Safety & Sanitation and Education.

Anna has held several positions for the regional and national
Council of Hotel Restaurant Institutional Education (CHRIE) organization including editor of the student career publication in hospitality—HOSTEUR and member of the CHRIE board of directors. In 1999 and 2000 she co-chaired the Midwest Regional CHRIE Conference in Merrillville, Indiana.

Educator
Anna is formerly one of the youngest full professors in the country with specialties in Hospitality, Strategic Planning, Marketing and Curriculum Development. During her tenure in the Hospitality College at Johnson & Wales she spearheaded internship programs, accreditation standards and grant writing. Anna has extensive academic and industry experience in restaurants, lodging, retail, quick service operations and tourism marketing.

Over her 10 years of educational consulting she has worked with curriculum development and outcomes assessment strategies for programs ranging from preschools to hospitality specialized college curriculum. Anna is known for setting up systems and evaluation methods for traditional and non-traditional programs.

As an educator, Anna is known for her innovative teaching and instructional design methods. Anna has extensive work in career development, specifically the career portfolio process for student and employers.

Education
Anna Graf Williams, Ph.D. got her start at the University of Illinois in the field of Consumer and Family Studies with a focus on Institutional Foods. She went on to get a master’s degree in Restaurant Hotel Institutional Management. Anna has an additional master’s degree in curriculum development and design, as well as a doctorate in educational administration from Purdue University. She has specialized throughout her educational career in innovative and effective teaching methods, outcome assessment, marketing and management.

Personal
Anna enjoys spending time with her three growing boys who are active in soccer and other sports. In any spare time she works in her herb garden, enjoys baking and cooking, and works on her photography interests. Anna is an active volunteer in the greater Indianapolis area.