OUR STORY
Creative Courseware was founded in 1984 by our matriarch, Connie Swartz, an educator and entrepreneur committed to making training engaging and effective. “Courseware” is a relic from those early days—a throwback to simpler times when company training meant VHS tapes and Computer-Based Training (CBT), although in many cases without interactivity!
In 2015, after 15 years as a high school English teacher, Annie Swartz pursued a master’s degree in leadership and purchased Creative Courseware. Now serving as the Owner and President, she continues to build on Creative Courseware’s legacy—delivering effective training that transforms teams.
At Creative Courseware, a few things remain constant. We build customized training programs by working directly with you (or your trusty HR team). And we embrace our small size, so we can nimbly adjust to your needs and goals.
We Promise
to analyze needs first and never assume before developing training materials and processes.
We Promise
to collaborate closely with you to customize training to your company size, culture, and learning styles.
We Promise
to make your employees smarter and more effective by developing engaging training that they can use on the job.
THE TEAM
We’ve recruited a diverse team of experienced learning professionals who provide efficient and effective L&D services. Leveraging our staff saves you time and money.
Developer
Learning
Consultant
Project and Program Manager
Instructional
Designer
User Experience
and Testing
Multimedia
Designer
Meet our Team
Annie Swartz
Annie Swartz comes from a family of educators and entrepreneurs. Her dad was a high school and college educator for 45 years, and her mom founded Creative Courseware in 1984. Unable to choose between the two professions, Annie chose both! After 15 years as a high school English teacher in California and Colorado, Annie completed a master’s degree in leadership. In 2015, she acquired Creative Courseware from her mom and is now the Owner and President.
Her focus at Creative Courseware is business development, financial oversight, and strategic planning.
Annie lives in Kansas City, MO in a 104-year-old house (older than Lisa’s).
Lisa Ogan
Lisa Ogan has more than 20 years of experience in Instructional Design and consulting. She began her career at Sprint as a baby instructional designer, developing and facilitating training for software applications. After transitioning to a freelancer/consultant, she specialized in developing e-learning system simulations for software applications and managing large projects as a lead Instructional Designer.
Her focus at Creative Courseware is operations, project management, and other technical things no one wants to do.
Lisa lives in Kansas City, MO, with her wife, two cats, and a dog in a 100-year-old house.
Jill Bechtel
Jill has over 20 years of experience in learning and development roles, including consulting, design, and corporate L&D leadership. Jill began her Human Resource Development (HRD) work at Synergy Services, a community-based not-for-profit. She spent the next 10 years at Sprint University in instructional design, project/relationship management, and management roles. Most recently, Jill spent 10 years at BNSF Railway as a learning and HRD manager.
Her focus at Creative Courseware is managing accounts and leading projects.
Jill lives in Kansas City, MO. When she isn't working, she can usually be found driving a carpool.
Karen Geldhof
Karen Geldhof has more than 30 years of experience in training and development, including instructor-led training, e-learning design, LMS management, and facilitation. She originally began her career as an entrepreneur, opening a computer training school for children before discovering that the parents wanted training just as much as the kids did. From there, adult learning became her focus.
Her role at Creative Courseware centers on project management—keeping instructional designers on track, projects moving forward, and clients supported throughout the development process.
Karen lives in Kansas City. Outside of work, she can usually be found reading sci-fi novels or immersed in her latest RPG adventure.
Jamie Greason
Jamie Greason is a Learning Experience Designer who specializes in turning complex content into practical, engaging learning experiences that help people do their jobs with confidence. She combines adult learning theory with learner-centered design to create training that’s thoughtful, interactive, and built for real-world performance.
Jamie develops instructor-led and e-learning experiences using tools like Articulate Storyline, Rise 360, Adobe Captivate, and the Adobe Creative Suite. She holds a post-graduate certificate in instructional design and strategy from Northwestern University, a master’s degree in adult learning, and a Missouri teaching certificate.
Jamie lives in Prairie Village, KS. When she’s not designing learning experiences, she’s usually driving her two daughters somewhere, organizing community events, or attempting to keep up with an enthusiastically overgrown garden.
Kelly Fairchild
Kelly Fairchild has more than 10 years of experience in advertising, campaign strategy, digital marketing, and project management. Over the years, she’s worked across everything from email and social campaigns to event planning and guerrilla marketing for Fortune 500 companies. She’s especially skilled at finding creative solutions that work within real-world constraints, timelines, and moving targets.
Her focus at Creative Courseware is project coordination, marketing support, and testing—keeping projects organized, communication flowing, and details from slipping through the cracks.
Kelly lives in Prairie Village, KS, where she spends much of her free time bouncing from one ball field to another.
Bob Lyons
Bob Lyons has spent more than 20 years architecting, developing, and improving custom software and technology solutions. His career began in the early days of e-commerce and evolved alongside just about every major tech trend that followed, from front-end development to back-end systems, mobile applications, and everything in between.
At Creative Courseware, Bob leads video production efforts and provides technical support across projects, helping solve the inevitable “How is this suddenly broken?” moments that come with custom learning development.
Outside of work, Bob has remained deeply involved in music and film communities, balancing the structured world of programming with creative outlets that keep things interesting. If it lights up, powers on, or makes noise, there’s a good chance Bob wants to take it apart and figure out how it works.
Bob lives in Kansas City, KS, in a 150-year-old building (older than both Lisa’s and Annie’s) that is either one of his greatest joys or his most regrettable decision, depending on the day.
