Profession Leadership

5Originally I was educated as an engineer, then one day I realize what I had been doing was project management. In an effort to formalize my PM knowledge I enrolled into a certificate program. The most significant nugget from that program was, 80% of being a successful PM is leadership! Since completing the certificate program, I’ve focused on developing my leadership skills thru a number of opportunities.

In 1997, 66 colleagues and I banded together to form the PMI – Silicon Valley Chapter. This is a chartered component of the Project Management Institute (PMI) and an independent, nonprofit California corporation. I have been engaged in providing leadership thru many roles and in the process contributed to setting architecture for the current portfolio of member benefits.

Roles

  • Founding Member – 1997
  • Board of Director Positions
    • President – 1999, 2002, 2013, & 2014
    • President-Elect – 1998, 2001 & 2012
    • VP Operations – 2011
    • Senior Director of Chapter Development – 2003 thru 2006
  • Symposium Operations PM; Election Nomination Committee; By-laws Update Contributor – 2009
  • Symposium Program Manager – 2010
  • Presidential Advisor – 2015

Key Past Contributions

  • Created initial breakfast meeting and oversaw expansion to seven within a year, plus later expansion for specialized topics
  • Chartered the first symposium in 1999 and participated in the successful symposiums of 2009, 2010 and 2011
  • Started volunteer recognition programs
  • Created the PMP Certification Info meeting
  • Created the Career Management Seminar series
  • Established the Tools & Techniques Seminar series, originally as a joint venture with the Software Development Forum
  • Oversaw 2001 incorporation of the chapter, including structural reorganization through initial set of bylaws, plus contributed to bylaw’s update during 2008
  • Championed merger of Women’s PM Forum into PMI-SV
  • Drove creation of Initial PMI-SV Strategic Plan
  • Wrote PMI-SV’s policy “Chapter Values and Principles”
  • Initiated first joint PMI-SV and San Francisco Bay Area Chapter (SFBAC) event
  • Lead communications transition from paper-based newsletter, to email and web site modes, plus, direct involvement in all but one of the 6+ web site renewals/transitions
  • Lead effort to establish new volunteer onboarding process and enhancement of volunteer operations
  • Participated in the resurrection of the Monterey Bay Area Chapter

Over the 18-years of its existence, PMI-SV has grown the largest chapter in PMI Region 7 (Southwest), 2,200+ members; has become the most active PMI chapter worldwide in member events, 240+ per year; has been financially stable; has two-thirds of the members certified.