About Assurgent Learning

Assurgent Learning empowers communities and organizations with learning technologies and content that inspire upward movement — toward knowledge, opportunity, and lasting impact. Assurgent Learning is the trade name for The Center for Professional Certification, a Florida-based 501(c)3, nonprofit organization.

Our Mission

To provide learning technologies and content to support organizations and learners in their quest to better themselves and gain success.

Our Vision

Empowering people and organizations to pursue learning opportunities to advance life skills and career ambitions.

How We Support Learners

Engaging Learning

Learning that gains, and sustains, the attention of the learner over time, often by pressing the learner on a quest to answer overarching questions or make meaning.

Learning Content that is viewed by learner as mattering to their own life and context; content is viewed as useful and application of learned skills is expected by the learner in their future.

Learning content that not only increases content knowledge, but also build confidence in the learner; they increasingly come to greater and greater beliefs about their ability to succeed with the learned skills.

Learning that includes positive reinforcements and change—for example, intrinsic beliefs about one’s own ability and achievement, and/or extrinsic rewards (from the simple certificate of completion, to landing a new position based on learned skills).

Learning that is personalized. Personalizing the learning means learners can focus on specific areas in which they need to grow and achieve to find the best path forward. The promise of building a personalized learning path—one as unique as the learner themselves—to move themselves and their career forward is the goal.

Learning that is collaborative. Learners can work with and reach out to others to increase their knowledge gains.

Learning that is customized. Customized for the organization and to the needs of individual learners.

Learning that produces a Return on Investment for the learner and organization.

Learning that covers all the ways people learn, and the sources they go to for learning content – live, online, self-directed, in classrooms, instructor-led, through third-party providers.

Learning that allows an individual to assess their own knowledge, background and experience and get a personalized learning track for tailored to their needs.

Learning that is effective. Learning efficacy refers to the degree of individual’s confidence in actual application of skills and knowledge taught to them in either classroom or training sessions. Effective learning provides you, and your team, with the learning tools, content, and technology to make sure your training programs are effective and can be applied to skills the learner utilizes in their everyday life.

Board of Directors

Julie Barker

Julie Barker brings more than two decades of dedicated experience in K-12 education, early childhood and childcare program leadership to Assurgent Learning’s Board of Directors. Starting her career as a classroom educator and program coordinator, Julie advanced into roles where she designed curriculum, oversaw extended-day and enrichment programs, and developed child-care partnerships across public and private sectors.

She holds a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York College at Cortland and is known for her strategic work in aligning instructional design with regulatory standards and operational best practices in K-12 and childcare settings.

Julie’s depth of experience in K-12 and childcare systems help shape the organization’s growth in educational programming, stakeholder engagement and enterprise-level training. Her leadership supports the Board’s mission to deliver high-quality, compliant, and equitable learning solutions across sectors.

Augie Ghilarducci

Augie Ghilarducci brings over 15 years of extensive experience in corrections, offender rehabilitation, and professional development for justice-involved populations. With a background spanning frontline case supervision, vocational training initiatives inside facilities, and management of post-release workforce reintegration programs, Augie has demonstrated a strong commitment to creating pathways to employment and self-sufficiency for individuals impacted by the justice system.

Augie holds a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice and is known for designing evidence-based training curricula tailored to the unique needs of justice-involved learners and institutional settings.

Augie’s experience as a formerly incarcerated person, his expertise in corrections training and justice-involved professional development supports the Board in advancing mission-aligned solutions, developing targeted learning experiences, and expanding access to high-impact, outcome-driven programs that promote equity, workforce readiness, and second-chance opportunities.

Gary Priest

Gary Priest brings more than three decades of leadership in nonprofit organizations and conservation education to his role on the Assurgent Learning Board. As a long-standing professional fellow of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums (AZA) and member of its Animal Welfare Committee, Gary has spearheaded high-impact initiatives in wildlife care training, stakeholder collaboration, and educational outreach in zoo and aquarium settings as a founding leader in the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance Academy.

With a deep commitment to mission-driven work, he excels at building capacity, guiding strategic growth, and fostering partnerships that enhance sustainability and learning outcomes.

Gary’s expertise in conservation education and nonprofit leadership informs Assurgent Learning in program design, governance excellence, and the advancement of training solutions that support diverse learners and nonprofit and governmental organizational excellence.