We are thrilled to announce the first of our featured speakers:
Speaker: Sterling Shury, PMP
Sterling Shury, PMP is a seasoned operational leader with global experience in Business Operations, Strategic Consulting, Annual Planning Governance & Execution, and Enterprise Program/Portfolio Management. He has a proven track record of scaling strategic solutions for enterprise-wide initiatives, consistently delivering impactful results that drive organizational success. Currently, Sterling is the Senior Director of the Strategic Transformation Office at Smartsheet where he leads the team responsible for the development and delivery of Smartsheet's enterprise strategic portfolio and chairs the Portfolio Management Committee.
Prior to joining Smartsheet, Sterling held roles as Director of Business Operations & Enablement at Nike and Head of Global Strategy Programs & Implementation for Airbnb. Sterling has earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Virginia Tech and earned his Project Management Professional credential from the Project Management Institute.
In addition to his professional responsibilities, Sterling has spent several years serving in various non-profit leadership positions including on the Board of Directors for the Boys & Girls Club of Somerville, Massachusetts, Board of Freshman Advisors at Harvard University, Founding Advisory Board member of Soccer Without Borders - Seattle among others.
In his session, "Avoiding Burnout with a Change-Ready Culture," Sterling will share actionable strategies for fostering resilience and adaptability within organizations. Learn how to create a culture that not only navigates change effectively but thrives in it—all while safeguarding team well-being.
Speaker: Amber McMillan
With a career spanning over 30 years across both profit and non-profit sectors, Amber McMillan, widely known as 'The Feisty PM,' is a powerhouse in impact coaching, executive education, and project management thought leadership. Her work centers on empowering individuals to harness their unique strengths, driving transformative change and inclusivity across every organization she serves.
Amber is deeply committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion, championing the reality that diverse project teams consistently achieve greater success. Her expertise lies in the people-driven elements of project management—communication, relationship management, change, and conflict resolution—addressing the very human challenges that can become roadblocks to meaningful progress. With an empathic leadership style, Amber connects people to the broader vision of a project, illuminating paths they may not initially see and fostering a collaborative spirit that allows teams to thrive.
As a mentor, educator, and advocate for growth, Amber currently serves as Executive Director and Chief Visionary Officer of Rogers Society and as the PMI Region 1 Mentor for the Pacific Northwest of the Americas. She also shapes future leaders in her role as Executive Educator at York University's Schulich School of Business, the University of Victoria's Gustavson School of Business, Continuing Education and Biomedical Engineering, and UBC’s Biomedical Engineering program.
Speaker: Leslie Ann Kainoa
Leslie Ann Kainoa is the Cybersecurity State Coordinator for Region 10, Oregon. She started with CISA in July of this year she is focused on supporting the Critical Infrastructure private sector entities throughout the state of Oregon.
Leslie has spent over 19 years in cybersecurity. Originally from Hawaii, she began her cybersecurity career as a helpdesk technician supporting the US Army Reserves as both a Reservist and contractor. Her duties included applying security technical controls to hardware and software as well as education users on current computer best practices. These duties sparked an interest in information technology security which eventually led to a career in cybersecurity. During Leslie’s time in Hawaii, she worked as an Information Assurance analyst with the US Army Pacific, US Marine Corp Pacific, Special Operations Command Pacific, and INSCOM. A portion of her time working with the military included a deployment to Afghanistan providing cybersecurity support to the US Army.
2013 brough a year of change when Leslie moved to Oregon. She settled in the Portland metro area where she joined Portland General Electric as a cybersecurity analyst. There she provided cybersecurity services to the operation technology ensuring all substations, operations, and information supporting the generation and delivery of power was protected. Leslie joined TriMet, the public transportation provider for the Portland metro region, as a Senior Cybersecurity Engineer to help build a cybersecurity program while providing cybersecurity assessment, security architecture, and operational technology expertise. When the Cybersecurity State Coordinator position posted she jumped on the opportunity to help a greater number of people with cybersecurity support, education, and outreach.
Some of the extra-curricular activities Leslie enjoys is participating in student outreach programs to introduce cybersecurity and cybersecurity concepts to K-12 students and coaching soccer. Leslie earned a Master of Science in Information Systems from Hawaii Pacific University. The certifications Leslie holds are Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Certified Data Privacy Solutions Engineer (CDPSE), and Global Industrial Cyber Security Professional (GISCP).