Welcome New Volunteers
Below are some of our talented PMI Portland Chapter volunteers. We'd love to feature you on this page! If you are interested in joining this illustrious group, growing your skills and your network, see the Volunteer Opportunities web page.
Astrid (Leonie) Alesci, Director of Workshops
Contact Leonie at workshop@pmi-portland.org
Cullen Stapleton, Director of Association Outreach
Cullen joined the Portland chapter of PMI in the spring of ’17 after six years as a stay at home dad. In his current role for PMI he is Director of Association Outreach and is chartered to find areas of intersection in the project/program disciplines between other professional associations and Project Management Institute.
Cullen spent over a decade in the telecommunications/mobile device industry working for start up, mid, and Fortune 100 sized companies in the U.S. and internationally. His speciality is in the Professional Services domain with extensive experience in project management, business development, and account management.
Contact Cullen at association_outreach@pmi-portland.org
George Henry, Relationship Manager
George is a Relationship Manager within the Corporate Outreach Portfolio of the PMI Portland Chapter. As a newly certified Project Management Professional, George is interested in understanding trends in the evolution and application of PMI methodologies within local businesses. He has over 8 years of project management experience in a contract manufacturing setting, delivering custom metal components for automation, aerospace, energy, and tech industries. Working as General Manager, George has pioneered the adoption of project management practices and standards for an organization where there were previously none. The implementation of these standards has laid the foundation for PM process performance, directly contributing to increases in stakeholder satisfaction.
George is from Ontario, Canada. He is new to Portland but has already found a hockey league and has started exploring the beautiful Oregon back-country. He has a Master's degree in Business Administration from Queen’s University.
Shannon Heizenrader, Asst. Director of Registration
Contact Shannon at asst_dir_registration@pmi-portland.org
Katerina Ingraham, Asst. Director of Communications
Katerina is the Assistant Director of Communications with PMI Portland Chapter. Having been with PMI for less than a year, she is focused on growing the membership base and enhancing the membership experience by better leveraging technology with marketing. She has over 10 years of project management experienced coupled with technical skills, graphic design skills, and a marketing background. She is also in the forefront of identifying the importance of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) in contemporary marketing.
Katerina is from Saratov, Russia. She enjoys Portland's wet winters as a alternative to the long cold and snow-filled winters back home. She has a Master's degree in Applied Mathematics from Saratov State University.
Contact Katerina at asst_dir_comm@pmi-portland.org
Yvonne Khoo, PMP, Annual Conference Speaker Lead
Contact Yvonne at speaker_lead@pmi-portland.org
Oluwaseyi Ayodeji, PMP, Director of AV
Olu is a leader and encourager with a passion for public speaking. He regularly seeks out opportunities to mentor young people. As a PMP certified engineer, he specializes in managing complex tool installations, process development, optimization and sustenance. He has successful managed the installation of multiple thin-films dielectrics processing equipment worth over $20 million. As a process engineer, he sustains existing processes using tools such as JMP, SQL & Klarity. He drives change through thought leadership and challenging the status quo.Contact Oluwaseyi at dir_av@pmi-portland.org
Margaret Coursey, PMP, Annual Conference Volunteer Lead Assistant
Margaret accumulated extensive experience as an IT Project Manager through her employment at Bank of America prior to becoming certified as a Project Management Profession in January 2016. She lives in Washougal, and has a passion for her community which she displays through her extensive volunteer work. Margaret is on the Board of the Washougal Schools Foundation, is their Social Media Marketing Coordinator and volunteers at the annual Stride for Students event held in May each year. Margaret also assists with special projects at her community Church, helps the local no-kill animal shelter, and has been trained to deliver Financial Literacy curriculum to local schools and non-profits through the Financial Beginnings organization based in the Northwest. When not working or volunteering, Margaret loves to read and stays fit by working out and hiking some of the many trails in the Columbia River Gorge.
Daniel Roblero, PMP, Director of Military Liaison
Contact Daniel at military_liaison@pmi-portland.org
Robert Beck, PMP, Director of Quality
Robert is a project management professional with experience managing and supporting projects and programs in the manufacturing and education industries. His experience in quality includes inspection, quality audits, data analysis, and the development of quality programs. Robert’s passion to improve operational standards and exceed customer expectations drives him to deliver projects and programs with a strong quality focus. He is enthusiastic in his role of Assistant Director of Quality and looks forward to being a part of the PMI-Portland team.
Contact Robert at quality@pmi-portland.org
Tosin Abiodun, Assistant Director of Annual Conference
Tosin Abiodun is an aspiring project management professional with experience in event management and marketing in the educational, non-profit, and government sectors. Tosin obtained her PhD in African Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. She is an avid reader, technology enthusiast and a power connector.
Contact Tosin at asst_annual_conf@pmi-portland.org
Sandra Koelle, PMP, Director of PMP Certification
Sandra Koelle has had her PMP certification since April 2013. Currently, she is a Senior Project Manager for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan of the Northwest, where she has led cross-functional projects related to products to market for health plan operations and strategy, provider directories and network adequacy, and other regulatory projects. Prior to April 2013 she was the Health System Transformation project manager for the Oregon Health Authority in Salem. During her 3 year tenure with the state of Oregon, she managed projects for the Oregon State Hospital Replacement Project, including the implementation of the electronic health record at the new facility in Salem, and a variety of other related projects for the Addictions and Mental Health division. Sandra holds a B.A from Penn State University and an M.B.A. from Marylhurst University. Transplanted from the East Coast in 2001, Sandra has reveled in all the Pacific Northwest has to offer, thriving on hiking trails in the Cascades, in tidal pools at the coast, and at community events rain or shine. She enjoys gardening, reading, and nurturing the many interests of her 13 year old son.
Contact Sandra at pmp_certification@pmi-portland.org
James Bennett, PMP, Web Admin 5
Contact James at web_admin5@pmi-portland.org
Matthew Hoffman, PMP, ITIL, Asst. Dir of Content Marketing
Matthew has a passion for life, which defines both his professional and personal endeavors.
His career, characterized by a hybrid focus on engineering and management, reflects a broad range of interests and an entrepreneurial spirit. Recently, this unique blend of skillsets has made him a key change-strategist at XPO Logistics, assisting the company in realizing a consolidated global network infrastructure. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Linfield College with a B.S. in Business Information Systems Management, and will complete his PMP certification in 2017. Matthew enjoys team building and collaboration with colleagues from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds. He is an avid reader of philosophy, neuroscience, psychology, and is interested in emerging management theories. Additionally, he enjoys composing music, story writing, and digital art.
Contact Matthew at asst_content_mkt@pmi-portland.org
Bryce Tucker, PMP, Asst. Dir of Technology Support
Bryce Tucker, PMP, was an officer in the United States Coast Guard until July of 2016. He is currently pursuing a MS in Computer Science and attending The Tech Academy software development bootcamp program. He is looking forward to contributing to the Portland PMI Chapter through his knowledge and experience with various technologies and hopes to have a positive impact.
Contact Bryce at tech_sup_2@pmi-portland.org
Lisa McCaffrey, MBA, VP at Large
Lisa is an Army brat and a happy transplant to the Pacific Northwest. She completed her MBA in Operations and Technology Management at the University of Portland where she enhanced her skills to work with both IT and Operations to break down functional silos. She has worked in manufacturing and with an athletic shoes, apparel and sports equipment company, combining her skills as a project manager and business analyst with her Lean training to create efficiencies within the IT and Supply Chain departments. Lisa also serves as Director of Student Chapters for APICS as she enjoys working with students as they are the future supply chain leaders.
Lisa loves her Pembroke Welsh Corgi, Maximus Happiness, Max for short. No pun intended. She enjoys hiking and exploring the beautiful state of Oregon.
Contact Lisa at vp_atlarge@pmi-portland.org
Kyle Townsend, Asst. VP Finance
Contact Kyle at asst_vp_finance@pmi-portland.org
Michael Goetzke, PMP, Asst. VP Member Services
Michael currently works for World Wide Technology and has over 10 years of Project Manager experience in the IT industry. Prior to moving to Portland, Michael served as a PMP prep course instructor and worked as a volunteered for the PMI Honolulu Chapter. As Assistant VP of Membership Services he looks forward to showing people the value of being a chapter member.
Contact Michael at asst_vp_member_serv@pmi-portland.org
Hakan Kutgun, PMP, VP Operations
Over a diverse engineering, academic and entrepreneur background, Hakan has more than 10 years of experience spanning across startup, construction and defense projects with extensive experience managing large scale technical projects. He volunteered for social fundraising projects, acted as career mentor for vocational school students and keynote speaker in various universities over the years. He is a certified PMP, occupational hazards expert and lifeguard as well as a photography artist. Being an ever passionate learner, he is now pursuing a graduate degree in Portland State University’s Engineering and Technology Management Department. As a creative developer and implementer of new ideas with an ever curious and critical mindset, he is looking forward to pushing PMI Portland to the future with a stronger and more efficient infrastructure as the new VP Operations.
Contact Hakan at vp_operations@pmi-portland.org
Lynnda Sorensen, PMP, Asst. Dir. of Mentoring
Contact Lynnda at asst_mentor@pmi-portland.org
Wesly Smith, PMP, Asst. VP Professional Development
Contact Wesly at asst_vp_prof_devel@pmi-portland.org
Ashish Gupta, PMP, ACP, VP Professional Development
Ashish is very passionate about developing a strong project management community in Portland area. He believes that project management office determines an organization strength and hence more active business community. As an Asst. VP of Professional Development, Ashish helped with developing ACP certification program.
Ashish has more than 17 years of experience in IT field and currently work for the City of Portland as a Technology Business Consultant. He is PMP, PMI-ACP, and SAFe certified. He earned his engineering degree from National Institute of Technology Allahabad, and his dual Masters in Engineering Management and Systems Engineering from Portland State University.
Contact Ashish at vp_prof_devel@pmi-portland.org
Sheldon (Shel) Philips, PMP, Dir. of Mentoring
Shel has been a project manager in IT implementation for over 30 years with PMP certification since 2009. He has authored 9 books on spreadsheets and developed a number of applications used in the travel industry and for fleet management. Shel is an expert at system training (web-based or in person) and professional management coaching. He currently specializes in Data Center Move planning and execution, IT infrastructure implementation, and IT Account Management. Shel has been a Mentoring Program participant since its restart in 2015 and is excited about bring his talents to the perpetuation of the program.
Contact Shel at mentoring@pmi-portland.org
Juan Valverde, Asst. Dir. of Volunteers for Chapter Hiring
Contact Juan at chapter_hiring@pmi-portland.org
Aditya Garimella, Asst. Dir. of Volunteer Communication
Contact Aditya at asst_dir_communication@pmi-portland.org
Jenessa Stieglitz, Asst. Dir. of Volunteer Management
Jenessa Stieglitz is a Business Systems Analyst at The Multnomah Athletic Club. She holds an MBA from George Fox University. In her spare time, she enjoys participating in several book clubs, traveling, and swimming for fitness.
Contact Jenessa at asst_dir_volunteer@pmi-portland.org
Carrie de Freitas, PMP, Director of Special Events
Carrie is a lifetime resident of the Pacific Northwest, moving to the Portland area from Seattle in 2012. For the past 9 years, Carrie worked in various marketing roles at MetLife – beginning as an Executive Assistant and later Marketing Director of a field office, before moving to the corporate-level as Regional Marketing Consultant and Manager of Project Design with MetLife’s Field Marketing team. With the recent acquisition of MetLife Premier Client Group (MetLife’s retail distribution arm) by MassMutual, Carrie worked with the project management team to complete the transition of all field and home office marketing resources, and has since moved into the role of Manager of Field Marketing and Programs for MassMutual.
Carrie is a graduate of University of Washington, with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a double concentration in Marketing and Finance. In 2015, she set out to pursue her passion for project management, earning her PMP certification. Carrie is thrilled to be able to blend her love of event planning with the project management discipline, and looks forward to planning a variety of fun, engaging events for Chapter members.
Contact Carrie at dir_special_events@pmi-portland.org
Jennifer West, PMP, Asst. Dir. of Speaker Acquisition
Jennifer is an experienced project manager and organizational change manager. She received her PMP in 2015 and PROSCI certification in 2014. Jennifer has spent more than 10 years working in the apparel/footwear industry here in Portland. Then in 2015, she decided to make a radical change and learn a completely different industry. She now works for GBW Railcar Services managing IT projects supporting environmental health, safety and quality. She is energized by the new challenge and feels like she is doing a small part to help make railcars safer and environmentally compliant.
Jennifer graduated from the University of Oregon with a Bachelor’s degree in journalism and French. She lived abroad for a year in Lyon, France. She loves playing with her twin daughters, writing, hiking and wine tasting.
Contact Jennifer at asst_dir_speaker@pmi-portland.org
Goke Owojori, PMP, Dir. of Volunteer Management
Goke has 15 years of Banking experience where he worked in various roles as HR officer, Retail operations manager and Branch manager. His ability to motivate and organize teams earned him a successful career in Retail Banking. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife Nigeria, MBA from Lagos State University Nigeria, Retail Banking Academy1&2 -UK, and PMP certified. He is a passionate advocate of excellent customer experience in the service industry he worked for since 2001. He has team building and networking skills as well as experience in talent sourcing. Goke is excited about the new role,ready to support and work with PMI-Portland chapter team. He enjoys playing Chess, Ping-Pong and swimming.
Contact Goke at volunteer@pmi-portland.org
Joseph Marietta, PMP, Asst. Dir. of Quality
Contact Joseph at asst_dir_quality@pmi-portland.org
Niral Shahpatel, Asst. VP of Member Services
Contact Niral at asst_vp_member_serv@pmi-portland.org
Ralph Pero, PMP, Asst. VP of Membership
Ralph has enjoyed a collaborative position with The Gunter Group management consulting firm for over 3 years, working with interesting, dynamic and progressive teams helping business move forward. He has a long-term career working in project environments ranging from hypothesis based work to scope governed delivery. Most recently, a PMP certification added awareness to the opportunities available within the PMI-Portland Chapter. After nearly a year volunteering with the Volunteer Recognition Team, the offer to engage in a leadership support position was welcomed. Ralph embraces his new role and hopes to continue adding collaborative value to the PMI-Portland Chapter, supporting the initiatives driven by the Membership Portfolio. Thank you to the entire leadership team for the opportunity.
Contact Ralph at asst_vp_membership@pmi-portland.org
Kate Miller, Asst. Dir. of Mentoring
Contact Kate at asst_mentor@pmi-portland.org
Scott White, PMP, Web Admin 4, Operations Team
Scott is a project management professional with 12 years experience in IT management and Business Analysis. Previously he was an IT consultant and Software Developer. He holds a Masters of Science, Engineering Management (MSEM) from Santa Clara University and Bachelors of Science in Computer Science from Graceland University. He is looking forward to working with the chapter's web team.
Contact Scott at web_admin4@pmi-portland.org
Elizabeth Ray, PMP, Web Admin 3, Operations Team
Elizabeth Ray, PMP, is a project management professional with work experience in the financial services, energy, IT, and semiconductor industries. Her experience includes managing projects in fast-paced, innovative environments. Her PMI published articles include “Zero to EVM in 3 Days” for the College of Performance Management and “Put Yourself in Their Shoes” for the IT & Telecom Special Interest Group.
Contact Elizabeth at web_admin3@pmi-portland.org
Suzane Van Amburgh, Asst. Dir. of Marketing Strategy
Contact Suzane at asst_strategy@pmi-portland.org
Nina Chamlou, Asst. Dir. of Technical Support
Contact Nina at tech_sup@pmi-portland.org
Peter Heaver, Dir. of ACP Certification
Peter Heaver, PMP, PMI-ACP, is a consultant offering a background of 15+ years, with emphasis in project management, leading teams as Scrum Master, Agile coaching and software engineering.Peter has a keen focus on task automation, system optimization, and tool standardization; offers a deep knowledge of Agile/Scrum and Lean methodologies; excels in fast-paced environments, working across engineering/product teams and leveraging business analyst experience to understand, prioritize, and deliver on requirements.
Contact Peter at acp_certification@pmi-portland.org
Regina Koli, Dir. of Academic Outreach
Regina is an industry professional in Finance, Insurance and Mortgage. She holds professional licenses in the finance industry as series 6 and 63 securities licensed and also held a health and Life licensed as an insurance professional. Her mortgage and banking industry background stems from a teller to senior banker to home equity and 1st mortgage underwriting; including bridge loans to new construction. Regina recently earned her CAPM credential as well as certifications in Business Analysis, and Agile methodologies. She hs a BS in Operations Management from OIT as well. Technology. She look forward to service and bringing the knowledge of project management and PMI into our local colleges, universities and high schools.
Contact Regina at acad_outreach@pmi-portland.org
Pat Mullany, Dir. of Registration
Contact Pat at registration@pmi-portland.org
Valerie D'Sa-Mayer, Asst. VP of Professional Development for Events & Mentoring
Valerie D'Sa-Mayer is a customer-focused professional with a unique depth and breadth of experience in Insurance, Healthcare and Government Administration. She brings international work experience to the field of project management in these areas. She holds several certifications including an LPN (Licensed Practical Nurse) from Dubai, UAE, an MFLMI (Master/Fellow of the Life Management Institute) from Atlanta, Georgia, and a Bachelor's Degree from Arizona State University.
Valerie is a recent transplant from Phoenix, Arizona, where she lived for 25 years. She moved to the Portland area two years ago. Since then she has been fortunate to hike and backpack amidst the spectacular mountains, woods, and rivers of the Northwest. She also enjoys singing, traveling, and corresponding with friends across the country and the world.
Contact Val at asst_vp_prof_devel_events@pmi-portland.org
