Project Management as a Backbone for Collaborative Governance: Lessons from California’s Central Valley

This session explores how project managers can apply the PMI Talent Triangle—Ways of Working, Power Skills, and Business Acumen—to deliver infrastructure projects that are resilient, equitable, and aligned with regional priorities.
Using the Central Valley as a case study, Kristyne Van Skike shares how to:
Apply adaptive and collaborative planning methods to lead cross-jurisdictional efforts
Use stakeholder mapping, facilitation, and trust-building to maintain alignment throughout the project lifecycle
Leverage strategic insight and system awareness to connect projects with broader social, environmental, and policy outcomes
Participants will walk away with practical tools to:
Choose the right way of working—from predictive planning to iterative, consensus-driven decision-making—for each project phase
Strengthen interpersonal leadership and communication skills essential for managing competing interests and public expectations
Build business acumen by understanding how infrastructure planning fits into long-term regional resilience and climate adaptation strategies
This is a real-world look at how project management can serve not only as a technical framework but also as a backbone for collaborative governance in high-stakes, high-complexity environments.