PMP Exam Prep Instructors

Our team of PMP certified instructors, comprising experienced PMP-certified project managers from multiple industries, are dedicated to your professional development and helping you pass the rigorous PMP or CAPM exams.PMI Portland’s deep instructor pool ensures program participants are exposed to a wide range of methodologies and real-world situations.

Caesar Bernardo, PMP, ACP

Caesar Bernardo is presently a Senior Technical Program Manager at IGNW where he leverages his project management “chops” to drive Cloud and DevOps solutions for companies such as Daimler to migrate workloads to Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud thorough automation and containerized platforms. With more than 20 years of experience leading technology projects from concept to execution, Caesar is keen on finding simple and elegant solutions to clients’ business challenges. Caesar is adept in Agile and Waterfall methodologies, and has led enterprise Agile transformations at Fortune 50 companies. He also served as PMO Head for a large multinational US bank. Outside of work, he loves competitive swimming and tennis; and enjoys spending time with his wife and two teenage daughters exploring the Great Pacific Northwest.

Ganesh Bhalerao, PMP, CSM

Ganesh Bhalerao currently works at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) as IT Project Manager. A certified Six Sigma Black Belt, Scrum Master, and PMP; his combined IT technical, managerial and certification instructor experience spans more than 25 years. Equipped with an immense passion for teaching and his adherence to Scrum values and Lean Six Sigma methodology; Ganesh revels in opportunities to train hopeful Six Sigma Green and Black Belts.

From 2013 to 2015, Ganesh joined the PMI Portland Chapter as an active participant in the organization’s volunteer recognition program. Two years later, he stepped into the Chapter’s Assistant Director of PMP Certification role for a limited duration. Ganesh calls on his extensive instructorial and professional experience; volunteer spirit; and commitment to iterative collaboration; to continuously drive tomorrow’s PMP certification aspirants.

Gloria Coleman, PMP, PHR, SHRM-SCP, PSM

Gloria Coleman is a proud Oregon native with more than 10 years’ experience

in healthcare, human resources, and IT project management. An accomplished Healthcare Lean Practitioner as well as a Six Sigma Yellow Belt, Gloria also is the Founder and Organizational Development Consultant for High Spades Consulting. Since launching in 2017, her management company has specialized in human resources consulting and implementing HR technology integration services to improve aspects of the employee life-cycle.

Gloria has successfully led and managed numerous teams to reach business and technical goals, initiating cost containment strategies and adopting Agile frameworks to enable effective cross-team planning. Her gregarious Gemini nature and innate abilities have garnered her with abundant organizational development & project management experience across a spectrum of industries. Previously, she served as a Director and Senior IT Project Manager for Nike, Providence Health and Services; Ardon Health, CDK Global, and OHSU. Gloria’s passion is in ensuring project success, helping teams and organizations grow while having fun in the process!

Sundar Gopalan, PMP

Sundar Gopalan started his career in the IT industry as a computer programmer working for a small start-up in India building software solutions for international banks. He later relocated to beautiful Portland, Oregon, to work at various bank locations in the US, UK, Canada and Bermuda supporting his company's solutions. He later worked in software automation and systems analysis before moving to project management. Sundar is presently a senior Technical Portfolio Manager at U.S. Bank. He holds a Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Electronic Engineering from UVCE, India. Sundar is married with two children. He and his family love to visit national parks during vacations and have so far visited 14 of them. Sundar loves to read and binge watch his favorite shows!

Sandra Koelle, MBA, PMP, CSSGB

Sandra Koelle earned her PMP in 2013 and presently is a NW Program Lead at Kaiser Permanente where she ecently led a major membership system deployment at the integrated health care company. Before joining the Kaiser Permanente team nearly seven years ago, she managed projects for the Oregon State Hospital Replacement Project (OSHRP), including implementation of electronic health records at the new facility in Salem.

Previously, Sandra has held numerous leadership roles within the PMI Portland Chapter, including Director of PMP Certification from 2017 to 2019, and Director of the 2019 Annual Conference. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from Penn State University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Marylhurst University. Transplanted from the East Coast in 2001, Sandra has savored all the Pacific Northwest has to offer: hiking trails in the Cascades with her dog, Sadie, splashing in tidal pools at the coast, and volunteering at community events - rain or shine! Outside of her worklife, Sandra enjoys gardening, reading, traveling and nurturing the many interests of her 16-year-old son.

Ken Loewen, PMP, CPA, CGMA, CMA, MBA, MCSA, MCT

Ken Loewen is Director of Client Solutions at Advisicon, Inc., a project and portfolio management consultancy recognized as a Gold PPM and Data Analytics partner of Microsoft. In his role, he develops and delivers training and serves as a subject matter expert in business intelligence and PPM technologies and methodology. Ken’s professional experience spans more than 20 years and includes advising clients on relevant, pragmatic, analytics-based approaches to boosting business and optimizing technology. All in all, empowering people to be efficient and productive is a passion that fuels him as a consultant.

Ken received his Master’s of Business Administration degree from Pepperdine University and earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Business from the University of Colorado. In addition to earning his PMP, he holds three professional credentials in public and managerial accounting.
When the Microsoft Certified Trainer and Solutions Associate in BI reporting isn’t working, he enjoys travel, scuba diving, and precious family time.

Jena Marcum, PMP, CSM

Jena Marcum is a Consultant at Propeller in Portland, OR. She earned her Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and her Masters of Science in Technology degree from Purdue University. Jena also holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI), is a Certified Scrum Master (CSM), and a Six Sigma Green Belt Certification.

Jena's consulting experience includes a range from Utilities, Athletics, to Technology industries. Her career experience includes Technical Program Management at Rolls-Royce Corporation where she managed the scope, cost and schedule of multi-year global projects and led large, diverse teams to meet customer expectations. Her functional experience includes whole engine testing, component vibration testing, program management, process improvement, and systems engineering.

 Sushil Nema, PMP, ACP

Sushil is a Senior Project Manager with Ernst & Young.  Sushil has 20 years of project management experience in implementation of SAP and Indirect Tax Engines like Vertex and OneSource. Sushil has worked on many Global Implementations with the companies headquartered in China, Switzerland, UK, Canada, Singapore, Mexico, and India. Sushil has MS in Management in Science and Technology from Oregon Graduate Science and Technology. He is PMI PMP and ACP certified. Sushil loves to teach PMP certification classes.  

Tom Parker, PMP

Tom Parker has more than 20 years’ experience in consulting and project management, implementing enterprise applications and technology solutions for some of the largest companies in America. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and is a certified Project Management Professional.

 Kris Ressler, PMP

Kris Ressler holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University. He has spent his entire career in new product development helping him gain over 20 years of experience in the execution and management of new product development projects. Kris’s experience in project management spans engineering, legal, manufacturing, procurement, marketing, training, publications, service, and quality control has helped him gain ever-increasing roles of responsibility in engineering management. His experience includes managing global teams spread out across 4 continents. Kris has traveled and worked in 15 different countries over the course of his career providing him a wealth of experience managing project teams with diverse cultural backgrounds. Kris is currently the Director of Engineering, Global Controls and Electrical Systems at Hyster-Yale Group, Inc. in Fairview, OR. Kris earned his PMP certification in May of 2012 and is honored to be a part of the team that helped prepare him for PMP certification.

Saby Waraich, PMP

Saby is an energetic … engaging … lively … enthusiastic … inspiring … words that are often used to describe Saby. A speaker with the uncanny ability to look at the normal and see something quite different. Saby shares his life stories and have a fun way to look at life as well as live life. You are guaranteed to learn a thing or two on your journey from his unique perspective. He is a Technology Leader, Angel Investor, Professor, Mentor, Coach, Project & Program Management Expert, Change Leader and Volunteer Leader with a diverse experience of over 20 years in both public and private sector.

An international recognized speaker, trainer and coach, Saby have assisted multiple diverse clients in their business transformation through project successes, bolstering communications across various departments, and assisted customers in creating effective solutions to complex problems. Saby is currently working as Senior Technology Manager at City of Portland, and as an adjunct Professor at Portland Community of College. He speaks 4 languages, enjoys working with people and brings enthusiasm, inspiration & leadership qualities.

Stacey Wockenfuss, PMP, ITILv3

Stacey Wockenfuss is the western region IT Project Manager at Highmetric - a Column Group company, which is an Elite Global ServiceNow Gold Partner. She also specializes in the security and identity access management realm, helping enterprise level entities as well as federal and state municipalities with implementations of SailPoint and Remedy (BMC) products. Prior to moving over to the software development life-cycle space, Stacey worked as a consultant specializing in infrastructure projects such as data center transformation and telecommunications. Stacey has worked for and with many industry leaders over the past 15+ years including GE, AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, IBM, Nike, Providence Health and Services, HP/HPE, and the State of Oregon.

Stacey obtained her PMP by taking the PMI Portland Chapter prep class series in Fall 2017 and sitting for and passing the PMP exam that December. Her passion is helping others realize their full potential and she is excited to inspire and teach others the skills needed to master and pass the PMP.

Jacob Zych, PMP

Jacob Zych is a Senior Project Manager with Orange Logic, a digital asset management software provider serving entities such as Airbnb, BBC, Reuters, UNICEF, Greenpeace, Boeing and National Geographic. For the past seven years, he’s worked in software implementation project management. Prior to working at Orange Logic, Jacob implemented enterprise-level solutions across multi-facility healthcare organizations.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Construction Management from Georgia Southern University and a Master’s degree in Adult, Occupational and Continuing Education from Kansas State University. Jacob is a native of Atlanta and has lived in Chicago, Illinois and Gwangju, South Korea, before moving to the Northwest. In South Korea, he gained his teaching experience as a foreign language instructor teaching English for five years. Overall, Jacob enjoys being active and favorite activities include playing basketball, hiking, and mountain biking.

PMP/CAPM Course Information

Dates and Times Vary by Semester

Prepare for PMP or CAPM certification through the Portland Chapter of the Project Management Institute. Experienced project managers or project leaders ready to become certified Project Management Professionals (PMP), and those looking to establish credibility in the application of project management processes as a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), will benefit from this course which will help you prepare for–and pass–the Project Management Institute (PMI) examination.

Students will receive a copy of the PMI PMBOK (5th) edition, third-party sample questions, course study guide and access to online practice exam that simulates the exam environment.

Attendance in the course will satisfy the education requirement for both the PMP and CAPM application. To be eligible for the PMP certification, you must meet certain educational and professional experience requirements. All project management experience must have been accrued within the last eight consecutive years prior to your application submission. Please visit www.pmi.org/certification for complete exam eligibility requirements.