TLN's Lea Diele wins Educational Excellence Award

Lea Diele was awarded the Travel Institute’s annual Educational Excellent Award at the Travel Leaders Network’s annual EDGE conference in Washington, DC, on June 9.

A two-time Magellan award winner and the vice-president of education for Travel Leaders Network, Diele said she shared credit for the award with TLN leadership and her team of five trainers, which has a collective 123 years of industry experience as former travel advisors, managers and owners with real-world industry experience.

“It’s an incredible honour to receive this award,” she said. “It affirms the value of agent education for our industry and the value we’ve been able to provide TLN members while also reflecting the critical support of our leadership in making and keeping education as a key priority.”

Established in 2022, the annual award from the non-profit education leader recognizes organizations and individuals that demonstrate a significant and ongoing commitment to quality education for travel advisors and that make a substantial, meaningful investment to ensure its delivery.

“It’s truly a pleasure to recognize Lea and her team for a well-defined, thoughtfully constructed and comprehensive learning path that recognizes and supports all 55,000+ network members throughout their careers, whether they are new agents or seasoned mega agency owners,” said Diane Petras, president of the Travel Institute. “Importantly, Lea also understands agent education is never ‘one and done,’ maintaining a significant focus on both foundational and continued education while also continuously evolving the program.”

TLN’s Tiered Learning Path advisor training program has been operational since 2019 and includes a tool for advisors to identify their starting point based on skill level and learning needs.

Both in-person and virtual training sessions available, and under Diele’s leadership, virtual registrations are up approximately 250 per cent since the program started.

“No one is more deserving of this award,” said Roger Block, president of Travel Leaders Network. “She has built a formidable team that keeps the member experience top of mind. On behalf of our members, I thank Lea for developing learning programs that are rigorous, that offer options for every level of advisor, and that give them tangible knowledge to put to work in their agencies.”

Supplementing TLN’s internal training efforts, the company also works with select industry partners, including the Travel Institute, to offer advisors select industry certification programs.

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