53: Dads in Professional Development

Parents At Work

Lori Mihalich-Levin and Jason Levin are so excited to introduce a new set of interviews with moms and dads in professional development.

Lori and Jason are thrilled to welcome Joshua Troy and Neil Dennis to today’s podcast! Neil and Josh are both amazing dads in professional development.

Josh Troy is the Director of Talent Management at Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, where he engages with attorneys and staff to ensure their professional and personal success. Josh is a proud parent of two daughters, one almost six years old and the other four, who were excited to learn their dad was being interviewed!

Neil Dennis is the Director of Professional Development at Blaney McMurtry LLP, a mid-sized full-service law firm in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is responsible for the recruitment, professional development, and training of legal professionals at the firm. Before joining the firm, Neil led career development at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law and held similar positions in Washington DC, including as the Assistant Dean of Career Services at the Howard University School of Law and a Director of Career Services at Georgetown Law Center. He lives in Markham, a suburb near Toronto. He is married to Kia, who has a much cooler job than him as an author of thriller mystery novels. They have two kids, Bryson, age 13, and Miles, age 10 (almost 11).

Stay tuned to hear what Neil and Josh have to share about their lives as dads working in the world of professional development!

Show highlights:

• The challenges Josh faced when his oldest daughter was born. (5:15)
• How Neil got into the field of professional development, and what it means to him. (8:33)
• How Neil draws inspiration from his kids and being a dad in his career. (11:05)
• Josh describes his path into professional development and explains what it’s like to be a parent in that field. (13:02)
• The workplace support Josh found especially helpful when he became a working parent. (18:09)
• Josh discusses his experience of being in Covid lock-down with his young children. (19:49)
• Josh shares some tips about backup care from his experience. (21:37)
• Having conversations about figuring out the best way to space out your leave after having a child. (27:50)
• What Neil learned from his very first job. (30:49)
• The skills Josh and Neil gained from being parents that are helpful to them in their professional development roles. (34:56) (37:53)
• A workplace change that affected working parents. (41:44)
• Changes in the field of professional development that could affect working parents. (43:58)
• Neil and Josh each share their advice for working parents. (47:15) (48:53)

Links and resources:

Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP

Joshua Troy on LinkedIn

Blaney McMurtry LLP

Neil Dennis on LinkedIn

Mindful Return blog post: What Is Backup Childcare and How Does It Work? An Interview with 3 Working Mamas

If you are the leader of a working parent or caregiver employee resource group (ERG) or affinity group at your organization, please join us in the Working Parent Group Network (WPGN) learning ,ollaborative. Go to www.mindfulreturn.com/wpgn to sign up.

Recommended Books:

The Questioneers – A series by Andrea Beaty (Author) and David Roberts (Illustrator)

Relationships to Infinity by Jason Levin

Mentioned in this episode:

Get the new book: Relationships to Infinity, the Art and Science of Keeping In Touch from Ready, Set, Launch

Head over to www.readysetlaunch.net to grab your copy of the book, Relationships to Infinity, the Art and Science of Keeping In Touch.

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