April 7, 2026 9:00 – 4:00
DoubleTree by Hilton Fort Myers at Bell Tower Shops
13051 Bell Tower Dr.
Fort Myers, FL 33907
SWFLN Staff Development Day (formerly Paraprofessional Day) is a one-day, in-person learning experience for library staff at all levels, with a focus on public-facing, operational, and support roles. This year’s theme, Game Changers: Level Up Your Impact, highlights practical skills, timely topics, and real-world strategies you can apply immediately in your day-to-day work.
Join colleagues from across Southwest Florida for engaging sessions, interactive discussions, and meaningful peer connections. Sessions are designed to be approachable, inclusive, and relevant—no matter your role, title, or years of experience.
Break Out Sessions & Interactive Workshops
Choose Your Own UnFunkt Adventure
Keynote, Jaime Marco
Start Staff Development Day with energy, connection, and practical tools you can use immediately. Author and keynote speaker Jaime Marco delivers a lively, meaningful, and interactive keynote where the audience helps choose the direction in real time. Using simple “micro-moves,” participants will explore how to improve communication, strengthen connection, and support workplace wellness, no matter their role or personality style. Bring your phone, bring your curiosity, and get ready to choose your own UnFunkt adventure.
Jaime’s book, UnFunkt™: Quiet the Noise. Ignite the Light., will be included as part of the attendee experience, followed by a short post-session book signing so participants can leave with a signed copy and a lasting takeaway.
The New Rules of Ambition: How to Break the Rules, Build a Career You Love, and Redefine Success on Your Own Terms
Ashleigh Droz, MA
Ambition isn’t what it used to be, and that’s a good thing. In a world where burnout is normalized and expectations often feel impossible to meet, many professionals are questioning whether the old rules of career success still apply (spoiler: they don’t). In this powerful session, Ashleigh Droz unpacks how career satisfaction has changed, how professionals are redefining success, and what it means to pursue goals that actually align with who you are and what you want. Through The New Rules of Ambition, attendees leave with a values-based framework for building a meaningful, sustainable, and powerful professional life that’s both empowering and actionable.
Harmony in the Hustle: Crafting A Balanced Life in the Modern Work Landscape
Ashleigh Droz, MA
What if professional success didn’t require sacrificing your well-being? In this session, Ashleigh blends practical career development strategies with deep insight into the habits that ensure your career is integrated into a full and fulfilling life. Designed for high-achievers and overextended professionals alike, this talk explores what it really means to build a sustainable, aligned career and offers actionable ways to recalibrate when you’ve lost yourself in the hustle.
Making AI Work for You (2 sessions)
Anna Haney Withrow
AI is often described as a game-changer for libraries, but its real impact depends on the choices we make. In this interactive session, get hands-on practice using AI as a coaching partner to reflect on work, grow professional skills, and make intentional decisions. Explore the potential of AI in a space that turns down the noise from the hype and focuses on agency, thoughtful trade-offs, and staying connected to the human relationships at the heart of library work.
Self-Aware Self-Care: An Exercise in Recognizing the signs of Burnout and Practical Tools
Megan Cobb, MAm
Learn how to spot the early signs of burnout and build resilience with simple, practical tools you can use every day. This interactive session will help you strengthen your work/life balance, recharge your energy, and create lasting habits for well-being.
Flock Together: A Bird's-Eye View of Communication Styles
Laurie Brown
We don’t all communicate the same way, and that’s actually a good thing! Join us for an hour of self-discovery as we explore four communication styles through the lens of our feathered friends.
Are you a bold Eagle who dives straight to the point, a chatty Parrot who lights up every room, a steady Dove who keeps the peace, or a detail-loving Owl who always does the research first?
Find out which bird you are, what makes you soar, and what occasionally ruffles your feathers. Leave with a better understanding of yourself and a whole new appreciation for the other birds on your team, so you can connect with every bird in the flock, including the ones who are nothing like you.
When Nice Isn't Enough: The Art of Handling Difficult People
Laurie Brown
Smiling and nodding only gets you so far. This workshop digs into what actually works when conversations go sideways. You’ll explore the power of active listening, explore de-escalation techniques, and learn proven service recovery strategies. You’ll walk away with a toolkit for turning conflict into connection, no matter who walks through the door.
About the Speakers
Jaime Marco, Keynote Speaker
Jaime Marco is an internationally recognized leadership and customer experience entertrainer, keynote speaker, and Connection Catalyst with more than 25 years of experience helping organizations unlock their full Potential.
She is the creator and author of UnFunkt™: Quiet the Noise. Ignite the Light., a fresh, funny, and deeply relatable guide to reclaiming energy, focus, and leadership mindset in a noisy world.
Known for her high-energy, highly interactive approach, Jaime blends storytelling, humor, and actionable insights to transform leadership, culture, and team dynamics. Her work spans both the public and private sectors, reinforcing a truth she sees everywhere she goes: regardless of role or industry, success comes down to humans working even better together. Jaime has worked with organizations across technology, healthcare, education, government, real estate, and the nonprofit sector. Her experience includes partnerships with technology, healthcare, education, government, real estate, and the nonprofit sector, including global technology companies, national telecom organizations, professional sports franchises, higher education institutions, hospital systems, national home builders, and senior living communities. She is also a member of Google’s Master Faculty. One of the few speakers whose message truly translates across every industry and both the private and public sector.
Laurie Brown, CSP
Laurie has over three decades of experience as a trainer, coach and speaker, helping her audience improve their presentation, communication and customer service skills. In that time she has earned a reputation as a highly engaging, fun and effective professional, whose work gets results for her clients. A key asset that Laurie brings to her work is her range and depth of experience. She has an international clientele, having worked on four continents and in numerous countries including the UK, Panama, Japan, Mexico, Germany, Spain, Australia, Thailand and Bahrain, as well as throughout the United States and Canada. Laurie has worked with culturally diverse audiences at all corporate levels, and a wide range of clients from Fortune 500 companies, technology and manufacturing companies, professional services, law firms, government agencies and small family-owned businesses. Her clients include Joybird, Accenture, SalesForce, KPMG, Manatee County, Newfold, BAM, Google and Ford Motor Company, among many others. Laurie is passionate about providing engaging training and coaching that makes a difference. She is the author of The Greet Your Customer Manual, The Teleprompter Manual and Brand-Aid.
Ashleigh Droz, MA
Ashleigh is a nationally recognized career development and experiential learning leader with over 18 years of experience helping people design meaningful, fulfilling professional lives. She is the founder of both Linnea Consulting, a private career coaching practice, and What She’s Worth, a platform and podcast dedicated to empowering women in the workplace through speaking, media, and thought leadership. She is the author of The Internship Playbook: How to Stand Out, Gain Experience & Get Ahead with Work-Based Learning (Kendall Hunt Publishing, 2025), and a sought-after speaker and facilitator known for blending inspiration with practical, actionable tools for growth. She also currently serves as the Director of Internships & Cooperative Programs at Florida Gulf Coast University, where she leads innovative, high-impact internship and career education initiatives across all majors. All of her work focuses on helping people reconnect with purpose, build confidence, and move forward with clarity, whether they are students, professionals, or organizations navigating change. Based in Florida and California, Ashleigh is available for private coaching, group facilitation, and speaking engagements and looks forward to supporting audiences nationwide – and wherever meaningful work is happening.
Megan Cobb
MAm, Lee Health
Bio Coming Soon
Anna Haney-Withrow
Anna is the Director of the Institute of Innovative and Emerging Technologies at Florida SouthWestern State College, where she plays a pivotal role in fostering a collaborative and innovative culture at the College and beyond. With a rich background in teaching and learning design, Anna has a proven track record of leadership in both the private sector and academia, bringing deep thinking and boundless energy to educational innovation and cross-sector partnerships. She is committed to helping our community build the mindsets and skillsets to leverage emerging technologies for human thriving.
A teacher at heart, Anna continues to teach and develop curricula in the Humanities and Professional Writing. Prior to joining the team at FSW, she owned a small business that provided specialty training and has also served as a faculty member at Florida Gulf Coast University and the University of Cincinnati.