Webinars

Natalie Steck, originally from Melbourne, Australia, and currently residing in Seattle, Washington, is the founder and CEO of Viewpath, a SaaS company specializing in project management. She is a natural leader and has navigated challenging roles in large and small firms focusing on sales, marketing, talent management, and leadership. Natalie loves people, public speaking, and problem-solving and is grateful for the opportunity to speak with PMI Portland.

As the COVID-19 crisis spread to a global pandemic, many businesses have shifted to a purely virtual landscape. This unprecedented transformation forced leaders to scramble and find solutions to the challenges in communicating with employees, keeping them engaged, and holding them accountable to ensure the business can continue as usual. In this webinar, she shares her experience, challenges, best practices, and helpful tips on leading virtual teams.

Attendees will leave with the following takeaways;

• Effective communication
• Employee engagement strategy
• Change management practices

In today's agile world, strategic plans should be well planned yet flexible enough to respond to change. Agile is all about having iterative cycles where we devise and execute, then take what we've learned and respond to change. This interactive session focuses on having an adaptable, solution-based approach and the importance of project leaders being cross-functional and well versed in numerous Lean-Agile principles, practices and frameworks. Examples include Scrum, XP, Kanban, and various scaling frameworks. You will learn through real-world case studies from IT and non-IT contexts to help your organization deliver maximum value. For more information watch this short video.

Niel Magsombol is an Agile Transformation Coach who has led Enterprise Agile Transformations in Global Fortune 100 Companies such as Caterpillar, Prudential, Pfizer, Boston Consulting & Fidelity. Known for his infectious energy and engaging humor, Niel has presented to diverse audiences at development conferences, colleges, sporting events and Fortune 500 Companies, on topics ranging from Agile Transformation to Leadership and Unlocking Human Potential. He is a John Maxwell Certified Leadership Trainer, Coach, Speaker & DISC Behavioral Analysis Trainer and will persuade organizations to deliver value in the most innovative and efficient ways possible.

Michel Thiry, PhD co-founder and managing partner of Valense Ltd. has extensive worldwide experience and has worked in many cultural environments. He has been recognized as a worldwide authority in strategic applications of project, program and value at organizational level and supported the development and implementation of numerous strategic programs for major corporations in various fields.

Michel has obtained a PhD from Middlesex University in London on Contextualizing Project Organizations and was awarded the title of Fellow by the Project Management Institute in 2006. In 2007 he became a Fellow of the Association for Project Management in the UK and in 2008, he was awarded the Life Value Achievement Award by the Canadian Society for Value Analysis.   In 2014, he was awarded the PMI Eric Jenett Project Management Excellence Award for outstanding contributions to the practice of the profession and leadership in advancing project management concepts, techniques, practices or theories.

During this session he will cover:

Changes in the Certification process:

• Certification Requirements
• Exam Contents

Sitting the Exam
Changes in the Study References:

• PMBOK® Guide 6th Edition
• PMI Agile Practice Guide
  PMBOK® Guide 7th Edition

In the engineering field, evaluations are usually done on technical skills, not other skills, such as project or people management. However, as we enter a new decade, engineers who invest in perfecting their project management skills often find they are given more responsibilities within the business.

Join us for a panel discussion brought to you by Columbia River Section (CRS) Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and Project Management Institute (PMI) Portland. You will hear about our panelists’ career choices, journeys and also learn about their project management best known methods (BKM’s), tools and individual engineering project management practices. Bring your questions to this interactive session and network with a professional group of women engineers.

Participants will be able to self-report 1 technical PDU for attending.

The Society of Women Engineers is the world’s largest advocate and catalyst for change for women in engineering and technology. We are glad to bring this opportunity to introduce PMI Portland chapter members and CRS SWE members to each other and help build their prospective professional network. 

This event will be moderated by Sireesha(Siri) Akula, VP of Professional Development at PMI Portland chapter. Panelists include Lisa Perigault, Technical Program Manager at Intel, Brianna LaBarge, Sr. Process Engineer at Nike, and Kathy Faraci-Roberts, Senior Program Manager at Lam Research. Don’t miss this great opportunity to learn and network with another local non-profit professional organization! Register now for this exciting event! 

Your panelists:

Lisa Perigault is a Technical Program Manager at Intel and an Innovation champion and cofounder of Patent101 Workshops. She owns developing and optimizing workflow processes across the IP development cycle and IP pathfinding. Her innovation journey started when as a recent college graduate, she filed a patent for a new high-performance package design, all while working full time in VLSI Technology and studying for her MSEE at Santa Clara University.  She completed her graduate studies while working at Rambus and then joined Silicon Graphics (SGI) as a Member of their Technical Staff. Her work has spanned from ASIC qualification and validation of Foundry products, to package and interconnect characterization and development to technical program management in Graphics, USB and Chipset Design. Her 14 year career at Intel has included recruiting at SHPE and SWE conferences as well as presenting in WIN and mentoring aspiring innovators. When she’s not growing the technical pipeline, Lisa enjoys reading, running and spending time with her husband and their three daughters.

Brianna LaBarge is currently a Sr. Process Engineer for Nike Air Manufacturing Innovation. She has worked on many Nike Air products such as Air Max 90, 97, 270, 720, 2017 and Lebron 17. Her work on these products helped her organization win the Global Maxim Award for being on the offense, as well as the Founders Award, Nike’s highest honor. Brianna is currently the President-Elect of the Society of Women Engineers Columbia River Section, has held numerous leadership positions since becoming a member in 2010 and has presented at various conferences for SWE and other organizations. She holds a BS in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Central Florida and has several certifications including Six Sigma Black Belt, PMP and Athletic and Outdoor Product Management. As a true Oregonian, Brianna enjoys hiking, traveling and working out with the Nike Training Club. 

Kathy Faraci-Roberts is a Senior Program Manager at Lam Research in Tualatin Pilot Operations. At Lam, Kathy manages new product introduction programs as they transition through Pilot into high volume manufacturing. Kathy started out as a Design Engineer, then moved into System Engineering before going into Program Management. She has over 20 years’ experience in hardware engineering and previously held positions at Xerox and InFocus. 

Kathy is certified with her DfLSS Black Belt and Systems Green Belt. She received her degrees from Oregon State University in Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Physics. Kathy has been married for 20 years and has 2 middle schoolers, Andrew age 13 and Elizabeth age 11.  

Your moderator:

Sireesha (Siri) Akula is currently an Engineering Manager at Intel Corporation bringing the flagship Ethernet products to market. She is an accomplished leader in validation and customer management with over 15 years of industry experience backed by a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering and PMP certification. Her leadership and service spans across many non-profit organizations and are mostly significant with Society of Women Engineers, Project Management Institute, Beaverton School district and Washington County community gardens. In her spare time, Siri loves to cook, garden and spend outdoors with family and friends.

Join Annie Agle for this session on Stepping up with Corporate Social Responsibility. This interactive workshop will give participants steps to consider when it comes to corporate brand strategy and how corporate social responsibility fits into existing company culture and agenda. Annie will explain steps she used when working with small to large corporations and the lessons learned along the way. Participants will engage in virtual breakout room conversations around refining their strategy and will take away steps to implement corporate social responsibility projects that connect with the overarching business strategy. The event is FREE for all members and $5 for non-members. To participate fully, participants are encouraged to have their webcams on for the breakout sessions of the workshop and the networking portion of the chapter meeting. Participants will be able to self-report 1 strategic PDU for attending.

Strong public speaking skills are a key ingredient to success in any profession. But even for the most confident of communicators, it is a nerve-wracking and humbling experience. Nevertheless, an invitation to speak before any audience provides an excellent opportunity to promote organizational initiatives and your career. To maintain the confidence of your audience, you must learn to captivate and motivate through the power of delivering an impactful message while simultaneously leaving your trepidation at the door.

In this presentation, Award-Winning Branding and Business Communication Strategist, Shakira M. Brown will reveal secrets behind creating a lasting impression as a presenter. Attend this presentation to acquire techniques for how to best convey ideas clearly and convincingly; and to win over an audience with a fresh confidence in which audiences listen and are inspired to take action.  Participants will be able to self-report 1 leadership PDU for attending.

Attendees will leave with the following takeaways:

• Leverage the fundamentals of public speaking to become more confident and effective
• Overcome fears holding you back from addressing any audience
• Let your personality shine via speech, dress, gesture and body language for a lasting impression
• Deliver your message with a new relaxed confidence and influence
•  

Don’t miss your chance to loosen up. 

Join Raj Mukherjee as we build a real-world data science model on forecasting time in transit for overseas vendors; the time it will take to get goods on the factory floor. Discuss some of the fundamentals of regressions, decision trees and neural networks. Show an application that can detect faces on a video and use reinforcement learning that can learn and play a game on its own. Discuss how to deploy some of these models in the cloud and be used as an API.  Participants will be able to self-report 1 technical PDU for attending.

Raj Mukherjee is the VP of Information Technology at Hit Promotional Products. He is a data science enthusiast with a master's degree in business analytics and electrical engineering. He has a passion for solving real world business problems. He volunteers as part of the Standards Committee for Promostandards and part of the Promotional Products Association International Tech Committee. Raj is an experienced integration director with a demonstrated history of working in the marketing and advertising industry. Skilled in machine learning, business intelligence, project management and ERP migrations. Come join the discussion to learn from some of the best in data science and click on the photo for a quick Vimeo preview of what’s to come!

Have you ever wondered what skills you should focus on for your professional development? How are you ensuring you are ready for the future of work or to move up in your career? This session with Seth Warren will explain what industries are on the rise, how to use your transferable skills to get into new industries and what project managers need to focus on when it comes to future growth. The virtual October Chapter Meeting is FREE for all PMI Portland Chapter members and $10 for non-members. Participants are encouraged to have their webcams on for the breakout sessions of the chapter meeting to participate fully. Participants will be able to self-report 1 strategic PDU for attending.

Seth Warren is Managing Director of the Regional Experis IT Practice and oversees sales, delivery and operations. Experis, powered by ManpowerGroup, is a global leader in professional resourcing and project-based technology solutions. They deliver the people, processes and technologies that organizations need to effectively align IT with business objectives. Outside of work, Seth is a father to 2 hilarious teenagers, passionate about exploring the outdoors in his native Oregon, playing all sports, music, reading physical books, traveling, improv and all things offline. Register today to see your professional future unfold!

Col. Garth Massey will speak on best practices regarding how to develop high performance project teams. As a temporary endeavor, project teams need to operate at a high level on day one. Many times project team members don’t know each other, come from different departments, companies, countries and diverse backgrounds. This makes it difficult for a team to reach their  “performance stage” in a short period of time. Col Massey is an expert in team development and will share his leadership tactics and best practices to help teams achieve high performance.

Colonel Garth Massey serves in the US Marine Reserves as an infantry officer. He has traveled the world with the military, and now professionally teaches leadership lessons that work in the corporate and civilian world. The Col’s programs are hands-on, imparting lessons that you can apply immediately. We learn through stories and when we try out ideas; get involved in your development and test your leadership. 
Col. Garth started working with companies that were looking to arm their sales and customer service teams to be better prepared in client meetings. But a strange thing started happening. As the workshops began, the company leadership that normally sits in the back and then quietly leaves, stayed. Managers and teams alike engaged in the workshop. They played the games, and they brought in their peers.
As his programs grew so did his audience. Working across industries from video games to space travel, and hospitals to construction, leadership is the common skill needed to shape and develop success. Leadership matters, never stop investing energy and resources in yourself, and your teams.

Join us for our March Virtual Chapter Meeting where Crystal Fugere will talk about the SIPOC model, a cornerstone of the Six Sigma DMAIC methodology, when DMAIC is in the "Define" and "Measure" stages. Crystal is an experienced records analyst and workflow specialist with a demonstrated history of working in the utilities industry. Skilled in event planning, Microsoft software, public speaking, process development, records management, training, and research, she has  worked with Pacific Gas and Electric, ActOne Government Solutions, Bonneville Power Administration and Mill Plain Electric.

The SIPOC model offers a clear picture of the complete process and the follow-up steps, allowing teams to figure out how S [Suppliers], I [Inputs], and P [Process] are impacting O [Outputs] and C [Customer] needs. By providing a comprehensive overview of the process, it ensures that all stakeholders are on the same page.

The model enables process/project management teams to visualize, comprehend, and communicate effectively. With in-depth knowledge of the underlying causes of problems, organizations can develop practical strategies to improve processes. Opportunities for significant improvement are created by understanding the factors that are affecting customers.

The SIPOC model offers benefits in many ways, especially in dealing with challenges and solving problems within business processes. Enhanced problem-solving capabilities lead to more informed and improved process management.

In this on-demand panel presentation, three Agile Project Managers with more than 50 years combined experience will describe the high-level results of over six months of study, analysis, and discussion with the online Agile PM Roundtable regarding the content and impact of the seventh edition of the PMBOK. Join Jean Richardson, PMP, PMI-ACP, Brian Kronstad, MS, PMP, PMI-ACP, CSP, David Whitlock, PMI-ACP, CSM for this panel presentation. Project managers are now asked to focus on applying principles in addition to executing processes, in order to navigate volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity in our projects, our people, and our world. Join the panelists as they discuss the Intersection of Project Management and Agile thinking in light of the evolution of the PMBOK©

Jean Richardson, PMP, PMI-ACP has thousands of hours of coaching Agile methodology and project leadership at government, non-profit, and for-profit organizations to her credit; her experience and career path have spanned both traditional and Agile methods, frameworks, and cultural perspectives. She has formerly volunteered as the vice president of professional development for PMI Portland. Jean authored The Preservation of the Agile Heart: From Mindset to Consciousness and the designed The Pervasive Leadership model, the latter designed to help leaders set a collaborative context while still meeting their own stewardship responsibilities to the organization. Apart from these, she has published hundreds of articles, conference papers, and blog posts on the topics of Agile methodology, project management, the sociology of work, collaboration, the care of dogs, and hospice. Her master’s thesis (available at her website azuregate.net) focused on the organizational and cultural utility of Agile methods when viewed through the theoretical perspectives of leadership and systems theories. An accomplished poet, her work has appeared in several anthologies, and she is working with collaborators on the second edition of a poetry anthology of work by four Oregon women poets and on her own on a book on agile leadership.

Brian Kronstad, MS, PMP, PMI-ACP, CSP is a project management consultant specializing in Agile development projects and software quality assurance, with over 35 years of experience in the software industry. He has served as the co-chair of the Quality Assurance forum at the Technology Association of Oregon (TAO), as a panelist speaker at the PNSQC on Quality Assurance, as a speaker on Agile metrics at the TAO, and is an Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP) instructor for PMI Portland. Brian holds a Master of Science degree in computer science and has certification in project management (PMP, PMI-ACP) and change management (Prosci ADKAR). He is passionate about applying agile techniques to successfully deliver high-value products and services to clients and advancing agile disciplines within the project management community.

David Whitlock, PMI-ACP, CSM leads up the Agility Enablement Team for Tripwire, Inc. in Portland, OR. He helps people in different roles understand their work, understand how to deliver excellent results, and learn from their experiences. He has volunteered with the Portland PMI chapter for over five years, helping people prepare for the PMI-ACP certification and exploring how Project Managers can apply Agile principles and practices to their work. David is an adjunct lecturer with the Computer Science department at Portland State University where he has been teaching Advanced Programming with Java for many years.

1.0 Technical PDU

Trey Blalock will provide the audience with a wide range of knowledge and tools to help them become more effective at managing security processes on large projects. He will also share insights into the damage incurred when key security processes are ignored during project development. He will empower those working with large supply chains or advanced security organizations to understand legal, compliance, security and threat-specific risks that can impact their organization.

Trey is a highly respected security specialist who has worked extensively in almost every security domain and for some of the largest corporations and governments in the world, and is a frequent guest on television and podcasts. Trey currently serves on several forensic, red-teaming and penetration-testing advisory boards, has recently served as the CISO for Coinstar and is currently the CISO of Cognira.

Specializing in defending large-scale systems from advanced threat actors, Trey has trained thousands of people on advanced security topics, managed all aspects of security for one of the world's largest financial transaction hubs, performed hundreds of penetration tests for Fortune 500 companies, and has performed forensics for several high-profile cases such as "Donald Vance vs. Donald Rumsfeld."

1.0 Strategic PDU

LEAP Act II Virtual Annual Conference (Session 2) 50 Essential Skills We Need in Our PM Leadership Tool Kit by Connie Plowman

1.0 Power Skills PDU

LEAP Act II Virtual Annual Conference (Session 5) CHOOSING THE RIGHT PM TOOL SETS ACROSS THE MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LANDSCAPE by Tim Runcie

1.0 Ways of Working PDU

LEAP Act II Virtual Annual Conference (Session 4) HOW TO DEAL WITH DIFFICULT STAKEHOLDERS by Amber McMillan

1.0 Business Acumen PDU

LEAP Act II Virtual Annual Conference (Session 7) SUPPORTING YOURSELF THROUGH AN AGILE TRANSFORMATION by Jean Richardson

1.0 Ways of Working PDU

LEAP Act II Virtual Annual Conference (Session 3) THE FUTURE OF THE PMO IN AN AGILE WORLD by Amanda Inman

1.0 Ways of Working PDU

Join us at an exciting new venue for our panel event "Globally Dispersed Project Teams". Our experienced panel of project managers will answer questions about the challenges and best practices for managing globally dispersed project teams. The panel will touch on how to measure success, what the benefits are and what managing these teams looks like. They'll highlight some success stories and maybe share a horror story! Attendees are able to jump in with their own questions with ample Q&A opportunities.

Session Description:

Everyone has talents and strengths.  Everyone does projects.  What would happen if you integrated your talents and strengths with project management -- to become a strengths-based project team?  Find out by attending this interactive session.

To become a strengths-based project team, it first starts with YOU – by discovering, understanding, articulating, and intentionally applying your own talents and strengths.  For there, you can do the same with your project team members – to maximize the collective talents and strengths of everyone.

Together we will:

• Become familiar with StrengthsFinder and your top 5 strengths.
• Map your top 5 strengths to project management.
• Explore the characteristics of a strengths-based project team.
• Show the building blocks for developing a strengths-based project team.

This presentation is an introduction to strengths-based project teams and is based on StrengthsFinder 2.0 (also known as CliftonStrengths) by Gallup.  If you have already taken the StrengthsFinder assessment, great.  Bring your top 5 strengths to the session.  If not, don’t worry.  You will have time in the session to “select” your top 5!

You don’t want to miss this session!  It will be fun and informative!

Connie Plowman is well-known within PMI.

As a volunteer leader, Connie served on the Board of Director for PMI-Portland Chapter in various roles.  She was our Chapter President in 2005.  At that time, the Chapter had 750 members!  From there, she became our Region 1 Mentor, then continued volunteering for PMI Global.  After 20+ years, she “retired” her PMI volunteer hat.

As a corporate leader, Connie was the COO for Cadence Management Corporation, an international project management training & consulting firm.  She was with Cadence for 22 years.  While at Cadence, she became a frequent guest speaker for college students studying project management – which opened the door to
academia. 

As an education leader, Connie began her education career as the Interim Executive Director for the CLIMB Center at Portland Community College.  Today, Connie teaches project management classes at Clackamas Community College.

Connie has published two books with Business Expert Press – “Developing Strengths-Based Project Teams” and “Project Communications: A Critical Factor for Project Success.”   In 2016, she received the PMI Eric Jenett Project Management Excellence Award – a highlight in her career.

Connie seems to retire, un-retire, retire, un-retire.  Today, she is definitely un-retired!

Keynote: 1.0 Power Skills

Join this on-demand session for the PMI PDX Virtual Conference 2022 with PMI Portland Chapter President Rochelle Petty, PMP and with Ken Lowen, PMP the President-Elect of the PMI Portland Chapter. They will discuss the chapter's strategy in 2020 and 2021 and also give a look ahead to 2022. They will where the PMI Portland Membership survey results and will guide the strategies used for the chapter going forward. This session is a great opportunity to hear from the overall PMI PDX Leadership. 
1.0 Strategic PDU

Karin Hurt and David Dye started out on separate paths, only to be brought together by their shared passion via the internet. They married and merged their businesses, becoming an unstoppable power team. Their on-demand keynote presentation provides techniques to empower our own strengths, to face our FOSU (fear of speaking up), to have tough conversations, and to address performance challenges - even during difficult situations. Their talk will help your team find better solutions and ideas that will position them to be more likely to be heard. 

1.0 Technical PDU

This on-demand panel discussion is about the ways a project manager can get involved in the cybersecurity industry. Participants will learn the roles available for PMs in the industry, the ways to get into the industry, and some additional best practices that panelists have learned along the way. Panelists include Sheldon Philips, PMP, Matt Lee, CISSP, CSSP, CCSK, CFR, and Nathan Taylor.

Sheldon Philips, PMP Sheldon has over 40 years of experience as a technologist and project manager and volunteers as the PMI Portland’s Director of Mentoring. He has authored nine books on spreadsheet applications, has developed several applications that are used in the travel industry and in fleet management, is an expert at systems training (web-based or in-person), and is a professional management coach. Sheldon specializes in cybersecurity, compliance, pre-audit preparation, and IT infrastructure implementation, and is currently the Director of Cybersecurity & Compliance at Covenant Technology Solutions, Inc.

Matt Lee is a cybersecurity evangelist, white-hat hacker, and a noted speaker on cybersecurity issues. He sits on the board of several Fortune 1000 companies and hosts a series of weekly podcasts around cybersecurity topics. Matt has been a business owner and IT specialist for the past 17 years. Currently, he is the Senior Director of Security and Compliance at PAX8.

Nathan Taylor spends much of his time designing cloud architecture and security solutions for clients, leading engineering projects, and driving business outcomes leveraging technology. He is very active in enabling cyber defensibility and is often asked to speak on the emerging cloud security technologies, and on the best practices in the outsourced IT industry. Nathan has over 20 year’s experience in the IT industry and is currently serving as the CTO of machineLOGIC.

1.0 Leadership PDU

Leap into the PMI Portland Membership for this panel discussion with Corrinna Griffis, PMP, the PMI PDX Director of Volunteer Services, and a panel of volunteers as they discuss PMI certification and membership success stories. In addition, the panel will discuss how to leverage your PMI membership and understanding all the perks we might not be utilizing as PMI Portland Chapter members.

1.0 Strategic PDU

Session Description:

A recent Gallup study identified 2 of the 3 major reasons organizational projects fail (technical, individual and stakeholder) are related to people or change factors. Oftentimes, organizations rely solely on the change professional to address these factors. In this engaging hands-on session, we make the case for why project managers need to be personally invested in organizational change as part of their project efforts. Participants learn how to position change as absolutely essential to project success as well as how to engage project managers to help action critical change moments that matter that have a significant impact on project success.

Participants walk away with practical learning that can immediately be applied to enhance any project professional's toolkit:

Define the Project Manager’s role in change

Explore key change moments that matter for project managers and how they can best support change

Gain learning and tools to put into immediate practice

Attendees will be able to:

• Understand the change through the lens of the project lifecycle
• Access aides for post-session reinforcement

Michelle Yanahan, Principal and Owner of ChangeFit 360, is a passionate organizational change management facilitator, strategist, and thought leader with proven expertise in executing change programs that grow organizational change management as a strategic business competency. Michelle has 20 +years of progressive business experience in leadership roles in operations, change IT execution, and project management office (PMO) development. Michelle holds a Masters in Organizational Behavior as well as CCMP and Prosci ADKAR change management certifications. Michelle has been a featured presenter and contributor for numerous professional organizations including ACMP, ATD, Change Management Institute, Change Management Review, PMI, OD Network, and SHRM. ChangeFit 360 is recognized by both ACMP and SHRM as a qualified education provider in support of their professional certifications and is proud to hold a >90% customer satisfaction rate.

Keynote: 1.0 Business Acumen

Session Description:

LinkedIn is your own personal virtual billboard and it is increasingly becoming the center of the job search and networking universe. Why is it then that 9 out of 10 profiles on LinkedIn are leaving so much to be desired? It’s because a) people don’t realize the importance of effectively marketing themselves on that platform and b) people don’t know what to do to actually win on LinkedIn. In this workshop, ‘Maximize Your Profile to Win on LinkedIn,” career coach, author, and U of O marketing instructor, Merryn Roberts-Huntley, will teach you how to take your profile to the next level. You’ll learn easy-to-execute tips to make yourself stand out on LinkedIn.

Together we will:

Maximize Your Profile to Win on LinkedIn

• Learn easy-to-execute tips to make yourself stand out on LinkedIn.

Merryn Roberts-Huntley has 20 years of experience marketing global brands and helping people market themselves. She works as a career coach, teaches graduate-level marketing at the University of Oregon, and is the author of the book, “Made To Hire: How to Get the Job You Really Want”. Her clients and students call her their secret weapon. Learn more about Merryn at madetohire.com or connect with her on LinkedIn

Keynote: 1.0 Ways of Working

Join Karin Hurt and David Dye for a deeper dive and learn more about communication techniques. In addition, participants will learn the tools to keep teams focused on what matters most, about practical ways to build more confidence and competence in your project team, and more techniques to empower better decisions and to solve problems on their own. 

1.0 Leadership PDU

LEAP Act II Virtual Annual Conference (Session 6) HOW TO FACILITATE PARTICIPATION AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY by Jeff Oltmann

1.0 Business Acumen PDU

The PMBOK 7th edition radical changes can be clearly exhibited by the fact that the guide is only 250 pages in comparison to the 6th edition’s 700 pages.

Moving on to the 7th edition structure, PMI revealed that the PMBOK new version is still involve the Standard for Project Management along with the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge. However, there will be some difference where the Standard for Project Management will be leading, consisting of an introduction and covering the Value Delivery System as well as 12 Project Management Principles: Stewardship, Team, Stakeholders, Value, Holistic Thinking, Leadership, Tailoring, Quality, Complexity, Opportunities & Threats, Adaptability & Resilience, and Change Management.

The Value Delivery System is emphasizing valuable outcomes over deliverables. The Value Delivery System and principles serve as a guide for project managers, team members, and stakeholders to deliver value to the organization and all involved parties.

The Standard is followed by the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge, which no longer tackles knowledge areas and process groups. Instead, it covers  8 Project performance domains: Team, Stakeholders, Life Cycle, Planning, Navigation and Ambiguity, Delivery, Performance, and Project Work, along with Tailoring, Models, Methods, and Artifacts. 

Dedicating an entire section to tailoring different development approaches and processes, this PMBOK edition addresses the selection of the suitable development approach, tailoring it for the organization and the project, continuously improving it, as well as tailoring performance domains.

According to PMI , the guide offers  an expanded list of tools including models, methods, and artifacts. Situational leadership, communication, motivation, change, complexity, and team development are some of the models incorporated in the 7th edition of the PMBOK. Changes also imply introducing data gathering and analysis, estimating, meetings and events, etc. as methods along with artifacts like logs and registers, plans, hierarchy charts, baselines, reports, agreements and contracts, and much more.

Both the standard and the guide now reflect a wide range of development approaches(predictive, adaptive, hybrid, etc.) to address practitioners’ needs and to lead them to be more flexible, proactive, and effective when embodying their projects’ requirements.

Learning Objectives:

1. Learn that the familiar project management tools and processes are directly applicable to cybersecurity projects;

2. Discover how complex project-related standards critical for project success, can be combined to improve the probability of project success;

See how project management maturity skills are transferable to cybersecurity optimization.

Greg Skulmoski,PhD, MBA, BEd, CITP, FBCS is an award-winning project manager having led critical infrastructure projects in Australia, Middle East, and Canada. Greg’s innovative use of project management tools and processes won the CISO 2017 Middle East Security Award (for risk management in projects). Later, Greg was one of the project managers for the Smartphone-Connected Pacemaker Devices program listed in Cleveland Clinic’s Top 10 Medical Innovations for 2021.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the challenges and experiences of an executive struggling with mental illness.
• Learn about strategies and approaches for supporting employees with mental health issues.
• Discover how the services offered by Simple Mental Health Leadership Consulting  help organizations create mentally healthy cultures.
• Explore the role of leadership in promoting mental wellbeing and reducing stigma surrounding mental illness in the workplace.

Adam Nemer will share his experiences as an executive struggling with mental illness and his journey to recovery. He will discuss the importance of mental health in the workplace and strategies for supporting employees with mental health challenges. Adam will speak of his work with the consulting company he created called  Simple Mental Health Leadership Consulting. They help leaders and organizations create mentally healthy work environments by addressing the root cause of mental health issues and reducing stigma surrounding mental illness. He will discuss their mission to facilitate the creation of mental health literate and psychologically safe organizations. The presentation will conclude with Adam's vision to "transform organizational culture into stigma-free mental wellbeing environments."

This topic is particularly important for project managers because they play a key role in creating psychological safety within their teams and organizations. A focus on mental health can improve employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention, ultimately leading to project success. Project managers who understand the importance of mental health and have strategies for promoting it can create a positive and supportive work environment that benefits both individuals and the organization.

Adam Nemer spent 19 years as a CFO and Sr Operations executive at Kaiser Permanente, the largest integrated healthcare organization in the US. He struggled with severe yet undiagnosed depression, anxiety and panic, but was eventually helped by a colleague who recognized his struggles and encouraged him to seek help. As part of his recovery, Adam spoke for years across the Kaiser organization and MBA programs about life as an executive struggling with mental health and what leaders can do to support their employees struggling with mental health challenges. Subsequently, Adam led his teams in a way that brought cultural change to the organization. He now runs Simple Mental Health Leadership Consulting, www.simplementalhealth.com which helps leaders and organizations improve employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention by creating mentally healthy work environments. Their mission is simple: facilitate the creation of mental health literate and psychologically safe organizations. Adam's vision for the company is to "transform organizational culture into stigma-free mental wellbeing environments.

Keynote: 1.0 Power Skills

Speaker: Tim Runcie

Description: As technology is rapidly evolving, the need for delivering projects results has never been more important.  Understanding how to include flexibility and best practices across any type of project is a key function of delivering on-time and exactly as promised.  Come learn about how to apply an agile mindset or process in a waterfall world, or waterfall management while being agile.

PDU(s): 1 (self-reporting code at end of video)

Speaker: Natalia Kay O'Brien

Where to Find Natalia
Affinity Projects
https://www.affinityprojects.net/

Description:

Successful project management relies on more than just good planning. There are invisible inter personal dynamics and larger social forces at play creating barriers for some and biases that favor  others. Set your team up for success by understanding each teammate comes with identities that  inform specific experiences that shape their perspective and how they participate.  

This presentation will provide attendees with an overview of some basic tenets of diversity, equity, and  inclusion (DEI) work while you learn ten concrete things you can do to make your project management  more inclusive and accessible. People do their best work when they feel their best, and that means  being seen, heard, respected, and feeling safe, while being resourced and supported appropriately.  Learn why DEI matters and and how to walk the talk through key strategies, skills and tools essential  for creating a space where your team excels. 

We will identify biases and discrimination that are built into our work culture, discuss the difference  between safety and comfort, and review best practices that, when implemented and/or operationalized,  create safer and more inclusive spaces. You will also become familiar with the principles and practices  of trauma-infromed care and how they can help improve communication, increase sense of safety, and  ultimately build trust with your team.

PDU(s): 1 (self-reporting code at end of video)

Speaker: Adam Nemer

Where to Find Adam
https://simplementalhealth.com/

Description:

Twenty percent of Americans annually experience a clinically diagnosable mental illness that hurts the person, and impacts project delivery, as much as any physical illness. But less than half seek care.

Post-pandemic, it’s so dire, the US Surgeon General identified "Workplace Wellness" as a top 5 population health risk for America.

Unfortunately, from CEO’s to project managers, leaders don't know what to do. Their training was informed by the myths and stigmas of mental illness. (eg: "Leave emotions at the door.”) Traditional leadership culture is suffocating widely adopted workplace wellness strategies.

The Simple Mental Health model presented here awakens within you an inspired perspective on the prevalence and impact of the myths and stigma surrounding mental illness, a deeper understanding of how mental illness affects project delivery, and empowers you with simple steps to immediately make a difference that will change the lives of everyone around you.

PDU(s): 1 (self-reporting code at end of video)

Speaker: Sam MorganWhere to Find Sam
https://www.illuminatecoach.com/

Description:

You are tired of putting in all the long hours on that project, feeling energized by the work you are doing.  Knowing you are making a real impact on people in your organization. Excited for the possibilities ahead in your career.  Hoping for so much more…and then nothing.

You don’t feel seen.  You don’t feel heard.  And you certainly don’t feel valued.

So what do you do when you are drained and ready to quit on your dreams?  Quietly walk away…

There is another way…you don’t have to throw in the towel just yet.

The way isn't quick or easy.  It will take bravery, intention, time and commitment to the process.   But you are up for it.

Sure you can keep spinning….stuck in a rut and never making real progress on your dreams.  Living in the land “if only”...”shoulda, woulda, coulda” is your refrain.  Rather than confidently taking steps every day toward opportunity….where the mantra is “so what…i’ll handle it!”

During this session I’m going to share the 4 steps of this simple pattern, my story of how practicing this pattern not only helped me launch my own coaching business …and most importantly how you can apply this pattern in your life to change the way you think and move forward in your career today and beyond.

PDU(s): 1 (self-reporting code at end of video)

Speaker: Steven Granese - Apex

Scaling Agile Roundup - A Comparison of the Most Popular Frameworks

Adopting an agile approach can be a true challenge for a software team. Frameworks like Scrum help teams begin their Agile journey. A more significant challenge is coordinating multiple Agile teams to build a unified enterprise product. Luckily, there are frameworks to help solve this problem too! "Scaled Agile" frameworks provide guidance when three or more teams need to work in a unified Agile way.

While there are many Scaled Agile frameworks on the market, massive confusion remains about which framework is appropriate for individual organizations or specific situations. Common questions from leaders are "What is the best way to scale?" and "When is the right time to scale?". Since there are no simple answers to these questions, the confusion about scaling persists.

This session addresses the most common questions that leaders have with scaling Agile. First, we review the most popular scaling frameworks like Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe), Large Scale Scrum (LeSS), and Nexus to provide a high-level overview of the market. Second, we compare these frameworks to help understand which ones solve similar problems and which ones may be appropriate for your situation. Finally, we discuss how to get started with any scaling approach to maximize your chances for success.

After this session, you should feel confident to discuss how a scaled framework could help your organization. Also, you should be able to identify which frameworks might solve your specific problems.

Where to Find More Info
https://www.apexsystems.com/

PDU(s): 1 (self-reporting code at end of video)

Speaker: Lisa DiTullio - Apex

Mind Over Matter: Tips for Driving Focus and Productivity

Excessive stress. An avalanche of emails. Too many meetings. Competing deadlines. Conflicting personalities. Managing projects in an increasingly complicated and ambiguous world is highly complex and extremely stressful.

This session will help you work smarter, be more focused and productive, stay cool under pressure, alleviate stress and anxiety and perhaps help you live longer.

Bridging the latest advances in neuroscience with the study of high performance, participants are introduced to practical approaches to help them work and lead more mindfully and deliver projects more successfully. Participants will learn how to increase resilience and improve productivity by adopting simple techniques that will improve:

1. Focus and concentration
2. Stress tolerance & impulse control
3. Managing competing priorities

Where to Find More Info
https://www.apexsystems.com/

PDU(s): 1 (self-reporting code at end of video)