PMI Westchester Chapter is excited to announce our Winter Professional Development Day on Saturday, 10 Dec 2022!
Join us on this informative day of learning where we will hear from accomplished women as they guide us in building leadership and resiliency skills - skills that will take us to the next level in our careers.
Highlights
- Megha Joshi is the founder of The Resilient Human, an international speaker, podcast host, and former corporate executive. She will share her experience and knowledge on how leaders can thrive in complex, high-pressure situations.
- Dr. Wanda Curlee will share tips on how to use Artificial Intelligence to our benefit in the workplace. Dr. Curlee is the Department Chair for Business Administration at American Public University, and has over 30 years of work experience at Fortune 500 companies.
- Learn strategies for delivering bad news from Deborah Ketai and increase your confidence in handling difficult situations in the workplace. Deborah leverages her expertise as a project manager, trainer, and communicator in addressing the challenges of change and growth.
- Conflicts are inevitable on all projects, and Allison Smith Terrey will walk us through the keys to successfully manage, rather than avoid, conflicts.
- Join a distinguished panel of leaders to learn the concept of “defensive driving”, and its application to strategic leadership that influences and motivates.
Join us from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and earn up to 5 PDU's!
Meet the Presenters
Megha Joshi: Founder of The Resilient Human, international speaker, podcast host and former corporate executive. As founder and CEO of The Resilient Human, Megha injects resilience into the corporate ecosystem by developing leaders with strength of mind, body and inner self. Former management consultant at Deloitte Consulting and telecommunications executive at Altice and Charter Communications, Megha deeply relates to the mounting pressure on business leaders. Her work focuses on instituting small but mighty changes that drive lasting transformation within the leader and unlocks the ability to thrive in complex, high-pressure situations with ease. Megha lives in New York. She possesses a Bachelors in Technology (Jamia Millia Islamia University), MBA in Strategy (The Ohio State University), Executive education (Betsy Magness Leadership Institute) and Health Coach Certification (Institute of Integrative Nutrition). Megha practices yoga and meditation, hikes in nature, reads, and travels the world. Megha’s podcast (Boardroom Zen) shines light on how best-in-class executives thrive in the boardroom and beyond. Megha is a seasoned presenter and has influenced thousands with her high energy, authentic and easy to relate style. She blends over two decades of rich experience with a compelling stage presence to help business leaders thrive.
Dr. Wanda Curlee is the Department Chair for Business Administration at American Public University. She earned a master’s in technology management, a Master in Spanish, and a Doctor of Management in Organizational Leadership. Dr. Curlee has over 30 years of work experience for Fortune 500 companies. She has been teaching online for more than twenty years. She currently researches Artificial Intelligence topics. She has earned four Project Management Institute credentials: PfMP, PgMP, PMP, and PMI-RMP. She has published three books on project, program and portfolio management. She has several chapters in various project books. She writes blogs and hosts a podcast on Artificial Intelligence and other disruptive technologies. She is proud to be the mother of three children who have served or are serving in the US Military. She met her husband, Steve, while both were serving in the US Navy.
Deborah Ketai is a Program Manager for artificial intelligence and machine learning at Optum Technology, part of UnitedHealth Group. Deborah leverages her expertise as a project manager, trainer, and communicator in addressing the challenges of change and growth. She specializes in driving strategic, enterprise-level programs that rely on collaboration between business and IT. A diplomatic straight shooter, Deborah builds open, mutually respectful forums in which diverse - and even antagonistic - stakeholders find common ground and develop workable solutions.
Allison Smith Terrey has led global departments and global technology implementations for a full spectrum of companies from small software companies to Fortune 500 corporations. Her ability to adapt to the situation at hand while providing planning, structure and guidance for teams to meet strategic goals has provided the foundation upon which she has built a successful career.
Allison now works at a FinTech startup, Gilded, where she has held several roles, presently serving as Business Analyst. Allison has a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from The University of Pennsylvania and both Master of Engineering, Operations Research and Statistics and MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Allison has held her PMP from PMI since 2018.
Meet the Panel
Dr. Novadean Watson-Williams has over 22 years as an experienced leader and educator with a passion to improve and maintain academic excellence for the institution and the students she serves. Dr. Novadean Watson-Williams is currently the Department Chair for the graduate and undergraduate information technology programs at American Public University Systems where she serves as a forward-thinking department leader. In this leadership and management position, she works closely with the School’s Dean to effectively manage program activities across functions in the school and the University (especially Admissions, Academic Services, Student Services, and IT) to create, implement, and manage systems to support effective online teaching and learning. Dr. Novadean Watson-Williams received an Associate’s degree in Computer Studies and a Bachelor’s degree in Information Systems Management from the University of Maryland University College. She earned a second Bachelor’s degree in Social-Science Education from the University of South Florida and a Master’s degree in Counseling from Louisiana Tech University. She was awarded her DBA in Information Systems in 2003; her dissertation focused on Information Security Awareness and Use.
Additionally, Dr. Watson-Williams was the Assistant Director of the Information Technology section at the Academic Instructor School and was the founder and general manager of Computer Care LLC., where she managed corporate requirements for three contractors, clients, and the daily operation of the business. She organized and distributed computer-related workload amongst three contractors within the Montgomery and Elmore County Areas; and she managed and tracked incoming computer concerns such as computer upgrades, networking, Web development, and training.
Tracey Lanham’s professional background includes the roles of instructor, program chair, and associate dean within a university technology school. She has over 13 years of experience in the higher education instructional space teaching a wide variety of technology topics. Prior to her role as an educator, she worked in various industries utilizing her technology skills as a web developer, database administrator, e-commerce platform manager, social media marketer, and systems administrator.
Tracey is currently working on her dissertation for her Ph.D. in Information Technology at Capella University. She holds an Associate's, Bachelor’s, and Master’s degree in Computer Information Technology (CIT) from Hodges University. She is also MOS certified, an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner, and an AWS Accredited Educator.
She is fully engaged in the community to further the initiative to get more girls and women involved in technology fields of study in support of their pursuit of meaningful participation in technology careers. She has won the Systers Pass it on Award (2013), was named one of the top 100 Inspiring Women in STEM by Insight into Diversity Magazine (2015), won the SWFRTP Women in Technology Award (2016), was honored as one of the outstanding women of Southwest Florida at the 2nd Annual Celebrating Women of Character, Courage, Clarity and Commitment event (2018), and was recognized as a Community Champion for her work with empowering women by Zonta Club of Naples (2020).
PMIW members: $30
Non-Members: $45
PMIW Volunteers: $15
Students: Contact Laxmi Vallury, VP Career & Professional Development, at VP.Career_Prof_Dev@pmiwestchester.org.
Virtual (Zoom)