Director of Talent Pathways & Learning, David Jackson III’s (also known as DJ3) journey into learning and development began in 1982 when he enlisted in the Army, gaining valuable skills from his time as a Platform Instructor and Small Unit Trainer. His skills from the Army helped expand his career as a learning and development professional as he continued to grow in the City of Seattle and at Boeing before joining HealthPoint in 2019. DJ3 shares, “Early in my career, my leaders saw that I was good at helping people learn… At various points in my career, I was responsible for the design, development, and delivery of learning.”
His “not so typical” day can change from day to day. DJ3 explains, “My days can range from delivering learning, strategy planning, assisting other departments with their learning needs, exploring new learning tools, supporting my team as they support learning across the organization and sometime, I get a chance to learn something new myself.”
DJ3’s talent for teaching others and sharing his wealth of knowledge goes beyond the four walls of HealthPoint. When he isn’t developing the skills of HealthPoint professionals, DJ3 has also spoken at national conferences, shared his expertise as a published author, and has been found collaborating with the organization, the Seattle Jobs Initiative (SJI). As a board member, DJ3 lends his voice to the collective Board to advocate for the learning and development of clients and SJI staff.
What’s next for David Jackson III? He is working on his biggest dream yet, breaking down barriers for Black Men in the academic world. DJ3 continues, “I am going to be presenting at a conference later this year where they will 3 keynote speakers and 120 general session speakers, for a total of 123 speakers. 3 of those speakers, including me, are Black Men. I want to break down barriers and open doors to such as extend that Black Men being seen and utilized in these roles as presenters, keynote speakers, and leaders in the learning and development space is the norm and not the exception.”
Check out the video below to learn more about DJ3 and some of his learning initiatives here at HealthPoint.