People to Follow in Learning & Development in 2026

AI is changing the way we design learning, roll it out, and figure out whether it’s actually working. At the same time, more organizations are leaning into skills-based development and building learning ecosystems that connect more directly to performance. Put together, it’s pushing L&D leaders to rethink what growth at work should look like.

A solid way to keep up is to follow the thinkers, hands-on practitioners, and creators who reliably share useful ideas and keep giving back to the learning community. Here are 13 influential voices helping shape where L&D is headed in 2026.

1. Dr. Philippa Hardman, PhD

Philippa is a learning scientist and the person behind the DOMS™ method. She takes solid research and turns it into practical frameworks that learning teams can pick up and use right away. Her Substack is now a go-to read for people who want to apply evidence-based ideas in their work.

2. Ross Stevenson

As the founder of Steal These Thoughts, Ross shares grounded, practical takes on learning, building leadership skills, and improving performance. The mental models he uses, along with his systems-thinking lens, tend to click with leaders working in fast-paced organizations.

3. Lavinia Mehedințu

As the co-founder of Offbeat, Lavinia is still widely seen as a leading community builder in L&D. Through the insights she shares, the conversations she hosts, and the research she brings together, she helps practitioners broaden their perspective and keep up with new and evolving trends.

4. Anamaria Dorgo

As the founder of L&D Shakers, Anamaria strongly believes in learning driven by the community. Her work is mainly about social learning and facilitation, and about how people can grow together inside today’s organizations.

5. Melissa Kruminas

Melissa’s work brings together learning, technology, and business results you can actually measure. She focuses on Learning and Development, enablement, and customer education, using what we know about how people learn and pairing it with what AI can do to build strategies that make a real difference inside organizations. Her posts share straightforward, useful ideas for people who care about performance, innovation, and making learning a real driver of growth.

6. Eugenia Dabu

Eugenia shares content about strategic, people-centered learning, looking at it through capability building and organizational development. Her posts are thoughtful, and they’ve been picking up more attention in the L&D community over time.

7. Julie Dirksen

Julie, who wrote Design for How People Learn, is widely seen as a trusted voice in learning science. Learning professionals still often turn to her work on behavior change, motivation, and how to make smart choices in instructional design. (She’s also set to deliver the opening keynote at the 2026 Customer Education Management Association conference!)

8. Patti Shank, PhD

Patti shares research that’s very practical, focusing on how people learn and how to create instruction that actually improves performance. She’s known for taking complicated learning science and turning it into clear, usable takeaways.

9. Sarah Cannistra

Sarah supports people who are trying to get into L&D or move deeper into it as they build careers that feel worthwhile. Her content mixes mindset work with clear, practical steps for getting hired and doing well in learning roles. She also released her book, Land Your Next L&D Role, earlier this year!

10. Hadiya Nuriddin

An award-winning leader in talent development, as well as an author and facilitator, Hadiya shares practical insights through workshops, her books, and her consistently helpful presence on LinkedIn. She’s also written StoryTraining and Quality Management in Learning & Development.

11. Lori Niles-Hoffman

Lori shares practical insights on culture, building skills, and how organizations can shift the way they learn. Her frameworks help teams put together learning strategies that support real business goals and make a clear impact. She’s also the author of The Eight Levers of EdTech Transformation.

12. Laura Overton

Laura has spent decades studying how learning affects results and how organizations grow and mature, which is why many people in L&D see her as a voice they can rely on. What she shares helps learning teams connect their work more clearly to business value.

13. JD Dillon

As Axonify’s Chief Enablement Architect, JD helps make sense of frontline learning, performance support, and how learning ecosystems work in real life. He focuses on what’s practical, keeps things simple, and ties it back to business needs. He wrote The Modern Learning Ecosystem and is set to release a new book in 2026 called The Frontline Enablement Playbook.

These practitioners, researchers, facilitators, and creators keep pushing Learning and Development forward. What they share helps L&D professionals stay up to date, stay motivated, and get ready for how quickly workplace learning is changing. If you want to broaden your view, improve your skills, or connect with others in the field, these 13 voices are a solid place to begin.