Welcome! Introduce yourself to PMI’s Online Community

Hello Everyone! My name is Brian Basu. My career has spanned leadership roles in Project Management, Program Management and Business Analysis. I have had the good fortune to work for esteemed organizations like Charles Schwab, AIG, AXA, Maximus, Dollar Thrifty, 3M, Whole Foods, Texas Mutual, and Google. I have been a PMO Steering Committee member within several Enterprise Project Management Offices and successfully led strategic Organizational Change Management initiatives.

I would like to continue contributing towards the upliftment of the global project management community.

I have extensive experience and exposure to traditional project management tools such as HP PPM, Workfront, Planview, MS Project Server and agile project enablers such as TFS, JIra, Trello, Asana etc. I think every tool has its strengths but I have loved using HP PPM for the out of box PM workflows and Trello for the ease of managing product backlogs.

I am of that school of thought that believes that project management is and will continue to be one of the enablers of organizational success regardless of rapid changes to the underlying technology, tools and services.

I consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to have worked for some of the finest organizations and teams. I can’t single out one single successful initiative but here are a few noteworthy ones that I am proud of. At Dollar Thrifty and 3M, I collaborated with business technology teams to build Project Management and Business Analysis Center of Excellences and Delivery Services. At Whole Foods, I partnered with the Cloud Engineering team to build a Cloud Infrastructure Intake process which was used as a starting point to build a Cloud Infrastructure Scaled Agile Framework following Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods. At Texas Mutual, I was part of the Enterprise PMO program management leadership team that successfully delivered several key initiatives within Technology Strengthening Framework. Most recently at Google, I partnered with the Technical Program Management team and Senior Leadership to deliver the Top Program Review Playbook for Google Enterprise Network.

I am looking forward to connecting with this community, learning and contributing to everyone’s growth and success!

- Hi, I'm Kasey and I'm a Senior Program Manager at Two Chairs!
- As a kid, I wanted to be an interior designer with my own HGTV show.
- I am Lean Six Sigma certified through Johns Hopkins and am interested in learning more able Agile!
- I kind of fell into the project management industry! I started off as a Care Coordinator in my career until a Program Management function was developed and I was added as one of the first in seat and have been in it ever since!
- Launching net new service lines at my prior companies - pediatrics, psychiatry, etc.

Greetings. My name is Jared Byrne and I run the Center for Entrepreneurship and New Business Design at Arizona State Universities W. P. Carey School of Business. Born in Zimbabwe, raised in Canada and Singapore, aside from starting businesses I enjoy working for an academic institution that, somewhat paradoxically, seeks to "transform the world" while maintaining the belief that "business is personal".
I landed in Project Management organically. While completing my PhD (studying entrepreneurship as a tool of economic equality), and as I worked with students, faculty and staff, as well as alumni to launch businesses, the most ideal methodologies quickly became fixed-length bootcamps that broke launching a new venture into manageable, incremental, "steps". After reviewing a Google Training on Project Management a few years ago, I realized that I was utilizing Agile Methodologies, like Scrum, in the sprints that I was relying heavily on. I've now devoted more time to find the alignments between entrepreneurialism and agile management approaches, with a desire to adds value and coordination to entrepreneurs, while simultaneously teaching the entrepreneurs and innovators a skill that can benefit their personal journey regardless of the outcome of their new business.
I'm excited to learn, meet, and collaborate with amazing people as a part of this community.

I'm Laura Jones and recently I became the VP of Education & Events for Virginia REALTORS®.

Growing up, I originally wanted to be a rock star, but quickly realized I couldn't sing or dance, so I shifted gears into the worlds of journalism and education. Eventually, I became a teacher and then was drawn back into the world of journalism via a design magazine. Now, I get to combine all of my past history into one fantastic role.

I like tools that allow my team to work together wherever we may be. We tend to like programs that allow us to collaborate and easily access archived materials.

Project management fits well with my personality. I like organizing anything and am goal oriented.

My proudest accomplishment, other than my family of course, is not being afraid to try new things with my career. I've been open to opportunities as they came to me. Moving a lot forced me to rethink what I was doing and what I could be doing. I've have missed out on a lot if I hadn't tried.

Hi everyone, my name is Tamirys, but most people call me Tami. I am originally from Brazil and currently living in Minnesota, where I am also juggling a second master’s degree while working full-time and feeling cold most of the time!

I manage projects on my own at a company that works with networks, industrial automation, and RFID solutions. A big part of my role is helping companies identify and fix connection issues that impact how they manage their inventory. I used to dream of working in marketing because I liked how fast-paced it was, but over time I realized I wanted something more detailed and structured, which led me to IT and project management. I enjoy tools that support collaboration and process improvement, and I am excited to be part of this community to learn from others and share what I can from my own journey.

-Your name and your current role:
Brantlee Underhill, Chief Community Officer of PMI
(If you're wondering, what is the CCO? I’m responsible for nurturing and growing the engagement within our community of project professionals and aspiring project professionals.)

-What did you want to be when you were growing up?
An international spy. Anyone remember Sydney Bristow?

-What are your favorite project management tools and technologies? Or ones that you’d like to learn more about?
I love a good charter that includes the benefits expected. I value the structure and simplicity of what needs to get done and why.
I also love the agile mindset, which is also a growth mindset. With the head in the right space, anything is possible. (Can you tell I’m an optimist?)

-What drew you to the project management profession? What's kept you in it?
I was drawn to PMI when I found this job in the newspaper (yes, an old-fashioned newspaper!! In the last century, by the way!!) and it was an opportunity to work with international communities by helping to set up and grow PMI’s chapters. It was a good fit for me coming out of college considering my studies in language and political science. And I landed at PMI at quite a time; the organization had about 40 employees and 30,000 members in 1998. And now, we have 750 employees and nearly 700,000 members. I grew my career here at PMI, learning so much about the profession by working with our volunteers, and I’ve made many friends along the way. I’m truly grateful for the challenges and continuous growth and learning, and that I get to serve this community every day. I love what I do!

-What's your proudest accomplishment (personal or professional)?
I’m most proud of my family and raising our son. Being a mom is the best. And becoming PMI’s first Chief Community Officer is pretty cool; I feel most aligned to my purpose when I’m visiting our community members by sharing a meal and conversation or walking through the streets in the places where they live and work. These moments create stronger connection and belonging, and those are powerful qualities that come from being part of PMI.