Instructional Design / AI-Enabled Learning
Learning that changes how people work.
I'm Ray Hayden, an instructional design leader building AI-forward credential programs, live virtual training, and simulation-based learning for HR professionals, healthcare teams, and enterprise workforces.
Who I Am
Clinical rigor, applied to learning design.
I lead instructional design at SHRM, the world's largest HR professional society, where I build specialty credentials, seminars, and eLearning used by HR professionals around the globe. Before moving into learning and development, I practiced as a registered nurse and managed orthopedic clinical research, and I still hold an active RN license alongside a Master of Health Administration and a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt.
That dual background is the through line in my work. I design for high-stakes environments where learning has to translate into performance on the job, not just completion on a dashboard. Whether the audience is an HR leader implementing AI or a clinical team adopting a new workflow, the standard is the same: measurable behavior change.
Worked and Built With
SHRM
SHRM
What I Do
Four disciplines, one standard.
Instructional design and curriculum architecture
End-to-end program design, from needs analysis through capstone assessment. More than 40 eLearning modules and 30 seminars shipped across specialty credentials, live virtual programs, and self-paced courses for HR, healthcare, and corporate audiences.
AI-enabled learning
Credential programs, hands-on AI labs, and simulation-based training that teach professionals to work with AI. I build with AI in the workflow, not just in the curriculum.
LMS and learning operations
Enterprise LMS administration for organizations of 1,200+ employees, authoring tool strategy, template systems, and intake processes that let design teams scale without losing quality.
Facilitation and instructor-led training
Virtual and in-person delivery, instructor enablement and focus groups, and live program design built for engagement rather than lecture.
The Toolbox
Fluent across the L&D stack.
Authoring tools are interchangeable when the design thinking is sound. These are the ones in regular rotation, but if your organization runs on something else, the learning curve is short.
Authoring and media
Platforms and standards
AI and development
How I Work
A closed loop, every project.
Analyze
Every project starts with the goals, the audience, and the performance gap. The discovery phase surfaces the "why" behind the training and anchors every design decision that follows.
Design
Insights become a blueprint: objectives, content structure, and interactions planned against both the learner experience and the business outcome.
Develop and implement
I build the course, integrate interactive and visual elements, and make sure it runs cleanly in the target LMS or platform. Increasingly, that build process includes AI-assisted development to move faster without cutting quality.
Evaluate
I close the loop with learner data, feedback, and performance outcomes, then use what I find to make the next iteration stronger.
Featured Work
SHRM AI + HI Specialty Credential
A structured journey of exposure, curiosity, and experimentation with AI, ending with a personalized implementation plan for each learner's organization. The credential has earned well over $1M since launch, with nearly $600K in its first four months alone, and has become one of SHRM's flagship offerings.