Welcome! Introduce yourself to PMI’s Online Community

Hi everyone! My name is Besa Muthuri, and I’m a VP: Development Projects. Growing up, I dreamed of becoming a teacher because I’ve always been passionate about empowering others. My favorite project management tools include Jira and Microsoft Project, and I’m excited to explore emerging technologies like AI-driven PM solutions. I was drawn to project management for its dynamic nature and the opportunity to drive impactful change, and I’ve stayed because of the fulfilment that comes from delivering transformative projects. One of my proudest accomplishments is leading a global team through a complex merger while achieving Top Employer Certification. Looking forward to connecting and learning from all of you!

Hi everyone, it's great to meet you! I'm Tara Leparulo.

Although I'm relatively new to the ProjectManagement.com Community, I've been with PMI for 12 years. I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself. Last year, I took on the role of leading the ProjectManagement.com Community Webinar Program. We've been working hard behind the scenes to enhance the webinar experience and align with PMI:Next by offering more webinars to support the lifelong learning of our members.

Throughout my 12 years at PMI, I've had the pleasure of meeting some incredible people. I am continually inspired by the passion everyone has for maximizing project success to make our world a better place. The people and the mission are why I stay at PMI. Like you, I feel like I'm contributing to something meaningful. I'm proud to support this mission by providing educational webinars.

I'm excited to get to know the Community better in the coming months.

Quick shameless plug! I am always on the lookout for Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) who want to give back to the PMI Community by sharing their expertise. If you're interested in proposing a webinar, please go to the Contribute Content page, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the the icon with the video camera.

Hi everyone, I'm Jagruti Dhande, and I'm currently a Technical Program Manager with experience leading large-scale programs, most recently in the electric vehicle industry at Rivian.

When I was growing up, I wanted to be an inventor and engineer! Having seeing my engineer parents performing those complex home projects, I was fascinated by how things worked and loved taking apart and rebuilding anything I could get my hands on. That curiosity and drive to create ultimately led me to engineering and then to project management. Beside my current role, I am also a Founder and CEO of GreenUrth, an ecommerce platform for eco-friendly and healthy products, based in Ontario, Canada.

I'm a big fan of tools that help teams collaborate effectively. I've used Jira, Microsoft Project, Asana, and Trello extensively for project tracking. For document management, I rely on tools like SharePoint, Google Suite, and Confluence. I'm also proficient in data analysis and visualization tools like Excel, Power BI, and Tableau. I'm always looking to learn more about the latest project management technologies, especially in areas like AI-powered project planning and risk management.

What drew me to project management was the challenge of bringing complex projects to life. I love the process of organizing teams, strategizing, and overcoming obstacles to achieve a common goal. What's kept me in it is the satisfaction of seeing a project through from conception to completion and knowing that I've made a tangible impact towards sustainability and decarbonizing transportation.

One of my proudest accomplishments was leading the launch of several vehicle programs at Rivian. By implementing program management best practices and streamlining processes, we were able to reduce rework significantly and deliver successful launches despite significant manufacturing and supply chain challenges. This not only improved customer satisfaction but also resulted in cost savings above industry standards. It was incredibly rewarding to see the hard work of the team pay off and to contribute to the success of such an innovative company.