Esther Matthews

Learning Strategy and Operations Leader | MBA | M.Ed. | Customer Education | SaaS | L&D Industry Author

Atlanta, Georgia, United States

About

I help organizations build learning ecosystems that don't just educate — they accelerate business outcomes. As a learning strategy and operations leader with over a decade of experience across SaaS, retail, and higher education, I specialize in translating complex business goals into education operating models, certification programs, and cross-functional initiatives that drive customer adoption, partner readiness, and organizational growth. At Salesforce, I led a global L&D roadmap spanning 1,500+ courses and 300+ customer success resources, and built a centralized $5M+ program governing vendor relationships, licensing, and operational spend across all customer-facing education initiatives. At Alteryx, I've continued that work — designing AI-enabled learner journeys, maturing certification strategy, and connecting education outcomes directly to product adoption and revenue visibility. Areas of Expertise • Learning strategy & customer education • Learning operations & LMS transformation • AI-enabled learning innovation • Skills-based certification development • Cross-functional leadership with Sales, Customer Success, RevOps, Product, and GTM stakeholders Thought Leadership I'm an active contributor to the L&D community through industry articles and conference presentations focused on the future of learning, enablement, and workforce capability.

Experience

  • Principal, Global Customer Education at Alteryx
    Apr 2025 - Present · 1 yr 3 mos

    Education and customer enablement leader driving scalable learning ecosystems, LMS transformation, certification strategy, and customer adoption programs. Builds operating models that connect education strategy to measurable business outcomes — including product adoption, learner engagement, revenue visibility, and customer success. Lead cross-functional education initiatives that align learning strategy, platform capabilities, certification, and customer adoption goals across Sales, Customer Success, RevOps, Product, and GTM stakeholders. Design scalable learner journeys spanning digital learning, instructor-led training, certification, and post-sale enablement with an AI-first mindset. Translate complex business needs into education operating models, platform requirements, data and reporting frameworks, and execution roadmaps. Govern education operations through structured project workflows, prioritization frameworks, stakeholder management, and content lifecycle processes. Advance visibility into education impact by building reporting around learner engagement, certification outcomes, training-influenced revenue, and customer enablement metrics.

  • Salesforce (Remote)
    • Manager, Product Education
      Oct 2022 - Apr 2025 · 2 yrs 7 mos

      Led strategy, operations, and execution for a global product education portfolio spanning 1,500+ courses and 300+ customer success content deliverables across e-learning and instructor-led training modalities. Partnered cross-functionally to align learning investments with business outcomes at scale. Developed and executed a strategic L&D roadmap supporting all Salesforce products, driving alignment between learning content, certification, and customer success goals. Envisioned and launched a centralized $5M+ program governing vendor relationships, licenses, and spend across all customer-facing Product Education and Credential Development globally, resulting in streamlined oversight and strategic budget management. Led RFP and vendor selection for learning operations tooling, maturing program infrastructure and operational efficiency. Built and implemented intake, planning, and prioritization frameworks to support a growing, high-demand learning organization. Ensured training programs were consistently aligned with business objectives, learning outcomes, and industry best practices to drive measurable impact at scale.

    • Sr. Analyst, Global Partner Enablement
      Aug 2021 - Oct 2022 · 1 yr 3 mos

      Drove enablement strategy and operational improvements for a global partner audience, leading cross-functional initiatives to modernize learning delivery, unify fragmented L&D units, and improve partner onboarding effectiveness. Spearheaded change management initiative to consolidate siloed enterprise L&D units across the global organization, improving strategic alignment and operational consistency. Conducted discovery and gap analysis on the global partner onboarding experience, informing a revised enablement framework with clearer learning paths and success milestones. Identified and implemented tools and workflow improvements that increased team efficiency and reduced execution friction across enablement programs. Defined and measured training effectiveness for a global partner audience, establishing benchmarks and feedback loops to guide continuous program improvement. Guided instructional designers through review cycles and provided structured feedback to elevate content quality and drive innovative enablement solutions.

  • Contributing Author - TD Magazine at Association for Talent Development (ATD)
    Aug 2022 - Aug 2022 · 1 mo

  • The Home Depot (Full-time · 2 yrs 2 mos)
    • Instructional Design Lead
      Aug 2020 - Aug 2021 · 1 yr 1 mo

      Led complex adult learning initiatives using Agile project management, partnering with business stakeholders to design scalable instructional solutions and establish the foundation for a growing digital adoption practice. Defined the Digital Adoption Instructional Designer role and built the processes and measurement frameworks needed to scale the program. Partnered with the UX team to facilitate design thinking sessions, applying human-centered methodologies to L&D process improvement. Founded and led a gamification Community of Practice, cultivating a continuous learning culture and strengthening the L&D organization's relationships with business stakeholders. Designed and launched a centralized development portal that eliminated cross-functional silos and expanded access to growth opportunities for 165+ HQ employees. Led multi-phase digital adoption projects from planning through execution, coordinating cross-functional stakeholders to ensure alignment and delivery. Developed learning content using Articulate 360 and Adobe Creative Cloud across a range of modalities and complexity levels.

    • Instructional Designer
      Jul 2019 - Aug 2020 · 1 yr 2 mos

      Designed and developed engaging, interactive learning experiences aligned to business objectives and learner needs, collaborating closely with subject matter experts, stakeholders, and creative teams to deliver high-quality instructional content across multiple projects simultaneously. Applied a range of instructional design methodologies to produce storyboards, scripts, simulations, assessments, video, and visual aids that drove learner engagement and knowledge retention. Collaborated with graphic designers and multimedia developers to translate instructional concepts into compelling, visually driven learning experiences. Built assessment strategies to measure learning effectiveness and gathered stakeholder and learner feedback to inform continuous program improvement. Managed concurrent learning projects, consistently delivering within scope, timeline, and budget.

  • Adjunct Instructor, Health Sciences at West Georgia Technical College
    Jul 2018 - Jul 2019 · 1 yr 1 mo

    Designed and delivered Health Sciences coursework using innovative, culturally responsive instructional approaches aligned to professional accreditation standards. Applied adult learning principles to create engaging classroom experiences that reflected both disciplinary expertise and a commitment to student success. Developed and adapted curriculum to meet board accreditation requirements and program learning outcomes. Incorporated culturally responsive teaching strategies to support a diverse learner population and foster inclusive classroom environments.