After greeting me with his usual warm hug and beaming smile during a fleeting encounter last September during our TechLearn Conference in New Orleans, Ray Jimenez got straight to the point.
Ray excitedly told me he was embracing generative AI and plotting a test concept to deploy ChatGPT in our Training Magazine Network (TMN), the social media community he and Gary Van Antwerp founded in partnership with Training magazine 15-plus years ago. And he mentioned he had just launched an AI ChatGPT learning system for self-improvement, critical problem solving, and expertise development.
This was at the age of 72, when most folks are contemplating retirement (if not already retired), but I wasn’t surprised. That was Ray—always inquisitive, always looking ahead, always seeking to learn more about everyone and everything around him, including the latest technologies.
We exchanged a flurry of e-mails on the topic and I was lucky enough to see a demo of what Ray was proposing for TMN. Sadly, Ray passed away just two months after our meet-up in New Orleans, but I know his legacy will continue to light up and influence the learning and development (L&D) industry for years to come.
AN L&D PIONEER
L&D icon Ray Jimenez 100 percent lived up to his name—his all-encompassing warmth, welcoming smile, and brilliant mind touched the lives of countless L&D professionals, helping them to grow and thrive over the years. Well-known for his trademark bow tie, unfettered enthusiasm, and never-ending curiosity, he was a Ray of sunshine, a Ray of hope, and a Ray of inspiration to everyone he met.
Ray started his career as a management consultant for Coopers and Lybrand in the areas of learning technology innovations, information management systems, and management development. He went on to found VignettesLearning.com, an eLearning consulting and systems development company specializing in implementing applications for social learning, rapid eLearning, games, simulation, learning systems, and specific custom projects.
This led him to partner with Training magazine in 2008 to develop and launch what was one of the first peer-to-peer social media communities for the L&D industry: TrainingMagNetwork.com. Driven, in part, by Ray’s forward thinking, vision, and technical expertise, TMN today boasts 200,000 L&D professional members and hosts more than 100 Webinars a year. In 2019, Training awarded Ray its “Premier Partner in Innovation” award, which recognizes an individual, group, or company that has partnered with Training in the successful development of a product or service that benefits the overall training profession.
A sought-after speaker and thought leader, Ray was a long-time facilitator of 180 Webinars, online certificate programs, conference sessions, and dine around mixers (his table was always full!) for Training.
The core of Ray’s expertise was in Workflow Learning Systems, Microlearning Expertise Systems, Story-Based Learning Designs (SBLD), and Contextual Learning Platforms (CLP). He invented the kernel learning design called “SRIA”—Set up, Relate, Interpret, and Apply—which applies to all modalities, including microlearning and mobile learning. Ray also was the founder and champion of the Microlearning Implementation Process and author of “Workflow Learning,” “3-Minute e-Learning,” “Scenario-Based e-Learning,” “Story-Based eLearning Design,” and “Do-It-Yourself eLearning” books.
ONCE UPON A TIME…
Ray was a master storyteller, and he never missed the chance to both share his extraordinary knowledge, experience, and expertise and brainstorm new ideas with others in the L&D space—or anywhere he went.
“My dad’s love of storytelling was directly related to his genuine desire to connect with those around him,” recalls Ray’s daughter, Francesca Jimenez. “During our family’s last visit to the Philippines in August 2023, we ate at a restaurant called Wild Flour, a clever play on words for the restaurant and bakery. During the meal, he posed the question, ‘How do you say Wild Flour in Tagalog?’ His seemingly small inquiry sparked a discussion around language and meaning, as well as hearty laughs with the staff” and manager as he asked each of them the same question, contemplating how the English context translated to Tagalog.”
Francesca fondly notes how her father was the type to laugh at his jokes before he executed the punch line. “He had an infectious laugh and smile that makes us remember to nurture those tiny moments of joy and child-like spirit, no matter what age we are. He was inspired by life and human connection and relationships. I know many of our family adventures, his internal reflections, and all aspects of life colored his life’s work in L&D. His legacy and passion for learning and development live on in all those he has inspired.”
One of Ray’s colleagues, Crystal Fernandes- Harris, captured the essence of Ray on his online memorial page (https://www.forevermissed.com/ray-jimenez/about): “Ray was the hardest working, most intellectually curious person I’ve ever known. He was also generous—with his knowledge, his network, his time, and his friendship. In a room filled to the brim with people, if you were talking to Ray, you felt like the only person in the room. He loved his family, but treated those of us lucky enough to work with him like extended family.”
All of us at Training were privileged to be part of Ray’s “work family.” We miss him deeply, but we are grateful that L&D professionals all over the world will continue to benefit from Ray’s genius and teachings for many years to come. Access Ray’s Webinars and content in his dedicated TMN “Learning Center”: www.TrainingMagNetwork.com/Ray