Adele Cook
Arizona Department of Economic Security
Council Speaker
Council - 2022 Aug 31 GrowthSpace HR Council - West
Adele Cook is a learning leader with more than 25 years’ experience in both the private and public sector. For the past 20 years, she has worked for the citizens of Arizona with the Maricopa County, the Arizona Department of Administration, and Arizona Department of Economic Security. She oversees a team of 140 learning professionals who provide more than 550 learning products to the more than 8500 employees of the State’s social safety net. The training and other development provided covers leadership, job-readiness, onboarding, and compliance training, as well as self-directed professional development intended to allow employees to reach their own goals, not just the organization’s goals. Over the years, Adele has found her unique value in turning around underperforming organizations, and continuing the drive to the next level: driving engagement, improving processes, quality and timeliness, and driving overall organizational change through training. The mission of her unit says it all: changing lives through learning experiences. She is proud to be a part of the learning industry: enabling learning is a noble pursuit, and when it is done to support the vulnerable, it becomes a noble calling.