After becoming a PMP, Anat Kendal (Senior Vice President and CFO for the Northeast for the American Heart Association) joined the PMINJ Community Outreach Group.  When asked to identify how the committee could work with the Association, one of the needs identified was to strengthen the project management skill set of the fundraising staff to help execute the many events in New Jersey.  The Community Outreach Group then partnered with the Corporate Outreach Group, and Anat and Claudia Campbell-Matland (PMINJ Evangelist & Corporate Outreach Speaker) began to develop a concept and tools.  After several conversations with other Association staff, on September 27, 2018, Claudia visited the Association’s Robbinsville office where she led an interactive discussion that included a group exercise with the 20 attendees whose role is to plan for American Heart Association events in the region.

The group conversation included timeline management, risk assessment, contingency planning, and applying lessons learned.   The tools developed were well received by the staff and will be piloted by them.  The group identified several new methods to help with contingency planning and to better communicate lessons learned.  Most importantly, they understood that they are project managers and that the more formal processes and thinking could help them be more successful!

This event is another great example of how PMINJ and its Corporate Outreach Initiative fulfill our mission to bring value-add educational programs to all types of organizations.