Canary Patterns
I've always noticed things early. Shelter dogs learning to trust. Nervous systems under pressure. Teams heading somewhere no one wants to go. Patterns other people don't see yet.
Canary Patterns is what I built around that gift — learning design, writing, and tools for people who want to see what's coming before it arrives.
Early signals from animals, nervous systems, and organizations.
Early signals from animals, nervous systems, and organizations.
About
I'm Delisa. I've spent more than a decade in learning and development, and most of that time I've been noticing things other people didn't want to hear yet.
I have the M.Ed. and the résumé. But the way I actually work has always been less about frameworks and more about pattern recognition. I notice when an onboarding program is creating the attrition it's trying to prevent. I notice when a team's high performers are masking. I notice when a training problem isn't actually a training problem at all.
I'm also a multipassionate by nature. I volunteer at an animal shelter. I was a classical musician. I'm neurodivergent. I build small tools when I can't find an existing answer. For a long time I thought the breadth was a liability. I've come around to the opposite view: the breadth is how I notice.
What I do
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For companies and animal welfare organizations that want training to actually train. I work with teams who are tired of onboarding that doesn't stick, leadership development that doesn't develop anyone, and programs that look good on paper but fall apart in practice. [Learn more →]
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A collection of prompts built specifically for L&D practitioners working with AI. Practical, tested, and designed to save you from generic output. [Get it →]
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My AI-powered training design tool for L&D practitioners. Built around a diagnosis-first methodology that starts with understanding the problem before generating the content. [Join the waitlist →]
In The Works
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A field guide for anxious professionals.
[Notify me →]
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A self-paced course for multipassionates who are done trying to fit in one box and ready to turn their range into a real practice. [Notify me →]
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Prompts, workflows, and practices for neurodivergent professionals who want AI to work with their brain instead of against it. [Notify me →]
Selected Work
Canary Patterns is about noticing what others miss, and these projects are what that looks like in practice. Each one started with a gap I kept seeing: in how L&D tools work, in how teachers are trained to support neurodivergent students, in what pet owners know when something goes wrong. Each one is an attempt to close that gap.
ADHD Awareness for Teachers
A self-paced course for K–12 educators on recognizing and supporting students with ADHD. Built around real classroom moments and the small, specific moves that change how a student experiences the room.
Thinking Forge
An AI-powered training design tool built around diagnosis, not content generation. It rules out broken processes and unclear expectations before it lets you design a single thing.
First Aid for Pet Parents
An eLearning teaching dog and cat owners how to respond to emergencies before they reach a vet. Organized the way a panicked owner actually needs it: by symptom and severity, in the order you'll hit the decisions.
If you've ever been told you notice too much, you're in the right place.
Whether you're here about a consulting project, a product you're curious about, or something I haven't thought of yet, I'd love to hear from you.