About + Team
Former Operators Who Build Learning That Works on the Frontline
Modern Training is a fractional learning + development (L+D) team founded by former operators. We support learning strategy, content development, and collaborative work with a wide range of services, and we bring clarity, care, and real-world experience to every project, whether it's a multi-language rollout for a global brand or setting up an LMS for a small team.
Who We Are
We're a fractional L+D team, which means you get a complete learning + development department on demand: strategists, writers, designers, and client success leads who plug into your team at the size and speed you need. Passionately collaborative, we work as if we're in the building with you, learning your brand and operations deeply.
We're also relationship-focused, bringing credibility, quality assurance, consultation, and a good amount of humor to our work together.
Why We Do It
We're former operators with roots in the field, and our experience with operations helps us develop training that truly works on the frontline.
We've seen what great training can do: how it empowers teams, strengthens operations, and drives real change. That's why we build learning that doesn't just check the box, it actually makes work better.
How We Work
Working with us starts with a conversation, not a contract, and it runs on a clear path: scope, plan, build, launch, and support past the launch, with your team in the loop at every step.
Meet the Modern Training Team
Matt Nelson
Matt Nelson is the CEO + Founder of Modern Training, a fractional learning + development (L+D) team that plans, builds, and delivers training for frontline brands in restaurants, retail, hospitality, and more. A former operator, Matt spent years in kitchens and corporate training before founding Modern Training. With over 30 years of experience, he has helped multi-unit operators of all sizes create and evolve their learning experiences, from learning strategy and custom content to learning deployment and AI adoption.
Matt runs the team on a simple belief: L+D drives revenue, not overhead. He works as if he's in the building with clients, learning their brand and operations deeply, and he brings credibility, care, and a good amount of humor to every project.
Cassie Douglas
Cassie leads the strategy behind our client work. She figures out what each client actually needs, shapes the approach, and makes sure the training we deliver is high-quality and lands on the timeline they're counting on. She also keeps every project moving, both for clients and inside our own team, and supports the people doing the work along the way.
From becoming a host at 14 all the way to GM, Cassie grew up in restaurants. She has a master's in educational leadership, and she spent years as a general manager taking over low-performing restaurants and building them back up into top performers. Once she connected what she was doing every day as a manager to her training in educational leadership, the whole job clicked into place. Now she is passionate about building training for new managers that makes that same connection early so they can feel confident and capable in their roles.
Outside of work, Cassie is a mom of five, and she loves setting up systems and automations that make family life easier for working parents. Most weekends, you can find her at a cheer competition, a tumbling class, or a vocal performance, cheering her kids on as loud as she can.
Shante Veach
Shante strives to build engaging content that promotes lasting behavioral change. She believes that impactful learning doesn't happen by chance. For her, it happens from intentional planning and execution. How learners engage with the content is considered at each step of her design process. As a former educator and healthcare worker, Shante loves to create learner-centric solutions that combine best practices with innovative software. Her enthusiasm for technology has inspired her to dabble into responsive design and usability.
When not focused on projects, Shante likes to spend her free time playing video games, browsing online artwork, and trying out new Instant Pot recipes.
Alex Torres
When you work with Alex, you're partnering with someone passionate about understanding how people learn. Having spent years in retail, restaurants, and manufacturing, she knows firsthand that clear training at the right times leads to real growth. That insight led her to Modern Training, and she's been building better learning experiences here ever since.
Alex gets to know your brand inside and out so every piece of content matches your exact tone, feel, and team culture. She also leads our AI initiatives, constantly testing new tools to keep your learning programs ahead of the curve. Expect someone who is hyper-organized, focused on the details, and always ready for the next challenge.
Off the clock: You'll likely find her paddleboarding, baking, reading, or playing with her two kids.
Sarah Obeck
Sarah's hospitality career started with hands-on experience working in restaurants and country clubs before earning her degree in Hospitality Management from James Madison University. Those early years gave her a love for working with people and creating great experiences.
At Modern Training, Sarah is the go-to connection between our clients and our team. Her days are a mix of leading client communication, reviewing projects, setting up and managing LMS platforms, and finding new ways to use AI to make processes smarter, faster, and better. She loves building relationships with clients, solving problems, and jumping in wherever she's needed to keep projects moving.
In her free time, Sarah enjoys working out, exploring the outdoors with her dogs, trying new restaurants, and watching new TV shows.
Our core team partners with USA-based contractors for extra design bandwidth.
Common Questions
What is Modern Training?
Modern Training is a fractional L+D team. We plan, build, and deliver training for growing and enterprise brands in restaurants, retail, hospitality, and more, from strategy and content to LMS services and AI adoption.
What makes Modern Training different?
We come from operations, continuing that passion for execution and service, and knowing what makes training move from concept to sustainable execution in the field. We work as if we're in the building with you, and we're relationship-focused, with credibility, quality assurance, consultation, and a good amount of humor.
How big is the team we'd work with?
Sized to the project. Every engagement gets the mix of Content, Design, Client Success, and Strategy roles it needs, from a focused pair to a full team.
Where are you located?
We work remotely with clients everywhere, and we come onsite when the work calls for it: openings, mentoring, video shoots, and field evaluations.
How do we get started?
Schedule a call or email [email protected]. Discovery conversations are free.
Let's Meet the Team Behind Your Next Project
Ready to work with people who've stood where your teams stand? We'd love to meet you.
