Join us for PMI Westchester Chapter's 16th Annual Symposium -
in person at the Sonesta White Plains Downtown, or remotely via Zoom!

This year's Symposium features

• Vidya Raman - Keynote session
  Unleashing Influence: Amplify Your Impact With Curiosity, Courage, and Confidence
• Richard Weller and Pradip Naik -
  Empowering Your PMO with Cutting-Edge Technology
• Kerry Wills -
  Playing the Business Role-Playing Game: Going on an Epic Quest
• Scott Binger -
  Data-Driven Project Management: Harnessing Dashbud for Smarter Decisions
• Rachel Keyser
• Vidya Raman -
  Reimagine Work: Strategies to A.M.P. Up Your Game
• David Mantica
• Breakfast (7:30 - 8:30) and Lunch will be included for those attending at the Sonesta

 

Presentation Details

Our opening keynote presentation will be "Unleashing Influence: Amplify Your Impact With Curiosity, Courage, and Confidence" by Vidya Raman, Leader Builder at Vidya Raman Leadership Programs. Discover how to elevate your professional influence by embracing the 3 C’s: curiosity, courage, and confidence. This empowering session will guide you to transform routine interactions into impactful opportunities, identify key mindset shifts to boost your confidence and competence, and implement small daily habits that amplify your workplace presence. Unlock your potential to lead with greater influence and impact!

Vidya Raman leverages 25+ years of Fortune 500 leadership to help teams turn communication challenges into influence-building opportunities. Creator of the Leader Builder program, she equips professionals with tools to connect, communicate, and lead with impact. As an Influence Architect, she designs strategies to expand influence. Her book, Lucky You, explores how curiosity, courage, and confidence drive career success, making her a sought-after voice in workplace influence.

Richard Weller and Pradip Naik will present Empowering Your PMO with Cutting-Edge Technology. This session will provide an overview of how advanced technologies can enhance your Project Management Office's processes and decision-making capabilities. We will explore Traditional Project Management and dive into the fundamentals of Project Controls. We will also spend time demystifying AI and how it can be leveraged to increase the chance of delivering your projects on time and within budget while meeting expectations.

Rich Weller is a Project, Program and Portfolio Management Solution Specialist. He has roughly 30 years’ experience in planning and delivering successful project, program and portfolio management initiatives. He has been a college instructor over 20 years, teaching multiple courses in Business as well as Project Management. He is also a frequent speaker at PMI, MPUG and Scaled Agile, as well as other industry events. His current passion is AI (Artificial Intelligence) in Project Management. Rich has a Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA) and holds many certifications ranging from Six Sigma, Project Management Professional (PMP), Scrum Master (SSM), Release Train Engineer (RTE), SAFe Practice Consultant (SPC) and is a PMI Authorized Training Instructor. Rich holds all four of PMI’s current credentials related to Artificial Intelligence (AI). He also holds the APMG Change Management Practitioner certification as well as the APMG Project Planning & Controls Practitioner.

Pradip Naik is a results-oriented Digital PMO Leader with over 24 years of expertise in driving digital transformation, enterprise portfolio management, and organizational change initiatives. Renowned for his ability to align IT strategies with business goals, Pradip specializes in delivering sustainable growth through data-driven decision-making, Agile transformations, and Lean Portfolio Management, managing IT portfolios exceeding $500M annually. An accomplished presenter and a VP of Programs and Board Member for PMI's Michigan Huron Valley Chapter, Pradip shares his rich experience across diverse industries to inspire and educate industry professionals. With academic credentials including an MBA in Project Management, certifications such as PMP, Citizen Developer Business Architect, and SAFe Scrum Master, and advanced certifications in Data Strategy (UC Berkeley) and Digital Transformation Leadership (MIT xPro), Pradip combines strategic acumen with technical expertise to deliver impactful and insightful presentations.

In her presentation Leveraging AI - Now And For the Future: Transforming Project Management With AI,

Rachel Keyser will identify practical AI applications that can immediately enhance project management effectiveness and efficiency, help us develop strategies for integrating AI tools into existing project workflows while maintaining essential human leadership elements, and show us how to create a personal roadmap for developing the complementary skills and mindset needed to thrive in an AI-enhanced project management environment.

Rachel Keyser is a Program/Project Manager, Sr. Healthcare Consultant, and an AI Coach/Trainer to the Project Management and Business Community at large. She is a Healthcare Project Management Coach-Consultant, helping professionals transition into careers in Healthcare IT/Tech, who also gives back as a Student Mentor. She is a Mom and wife; she loves Nature, traveling, and exploring new Life Adventures. She believes the Universe is her canvas. She is a Speaker that talks about Leveraging and Integrating AI into Business and Workflows towards stress less, Healthcare & Health AI, Project Management, Business Solutions, and Health & Wellness.

Data-Driven Project Management: Harnessing Dashbud for Smarter Decisions will be the topic presented by Scott Binger. Effective project management relies on data-driven decision-making to improve efficiency, mitigate risks, and ensure successful outcomes. This topic explores how data can be leveraged in project management through AI-powered tools like Dashbud. By integrating real-time data analysis, visualization, and automation, project managers can gain deeper insights, enhance collaboration, and optimize resource allocation. The discussion will cover practical applications of Dashbud in tracking project performance, identifying bottlenecks, and making proactive decisions based on data trends. Attendees will gain an understanding of how AI-assisted data tools can transform traditional project management approaches, leading to smarter, more informed decision-making.

Scott Binger is the founder of Evolytix and the creator of Dashbud, an AI-powered data reporting platform. With expertise in data analytics and business intelligence, he helps organizations turn complex data into actionable insights. A participant in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program, Scott specializes in leveraging AI to optimize project management, improve collaboration, and drive smarter decision-making.

Vidya Raman will join us again to lead a workshop, Reimagine Work: Strategies to A.M.P. Up Your Game. In today’s fast-paced world of project management, technical expertise alone won’t set you apart. True leadership comes from the ability to inspire, influence, and drive results - even when you don’t have direct authority. But how do you project confidence, gain buy-in, and elevate your presence in a way that makes people take notice? In this transformational 90-minute workshop, you’ll discover how to A.M.P. Up your game - leveraging Awareness, Motivation, and Personal Power to lead with confidence and impact. Through real-world scenarios, you’ll learn how to:

• Increase your intentionality—so your actions command attention and respect.
• Sharpen your awareness—to read the room and navigate power dynamics with ease.
• Strengthen your personal power—so people listen, trust, and follow your lead.

Whether you're leading cross-functional teams, managing stakeholders, or influencing decisions at every level, this session will equip you with the tools to step into your authority—without waiting for a title to give it to you. Are you ready to AMP Up your leadership and transform how you show up at work? Join us and take your influence to the next level!

Kerry Wills will discuss Playing the Business Role-Playing Game: Going on an Epic Quest. Kerry's son is in college, planning to study business and then enter the corporate world. Kerry was thinking about a way to share his knowledge from 30 years in business and consulting that would resonate with his son. Like every teenage boy, he is heavily into video games and so Kerry organized this wisdom into the context of playing a video game, the Business Role-Playing Game. This presentation will provide insights into how to play the game of business and help you “level up” in your own games. It is geared towards new players in the game as well as experienced players who are looking to advance to higher levels in the game or complete their quests.

A proven, reliable, and published technology professional and thought leader with an extensive background in technology strategy, consulting, portfolio management and program delivery, Kerry Wills has been sought out to deliver the most important transformational initiatives and to solve the most critical problems within the companies where he works. Kerry has consistently demonstrated the ability to plan and implement complex programs including managing over $2.4B in technology, M&A and strategic initiatives. Kerry is viewed in the industry as a thought leader as a result of publishing seven books, speaking engagements at over twenty conferences and corporations around the world and being awarded eleven patents on technology innovations.