You Say Hello, I Say Goodbye

After one year as President-Elect and one year as PMI-Portland Chapter President, Stephen Wilks, ends his post and will pass the baton to President-Elect Titu Hariharan in July. Stephen brought a wealth of experience to this volunteer position and made significant inroads into building up the infrastructure of the Chapter.

His current day job is Enterprise Project Management Specialist at Clackamas Community College where his original assignment was to lead project and change management efforts at the school. “When I started, there were 32 ‘active’ projects they expected me to lead and I was the only project manager,” Stephen said. “When I asked other project managers how many projects they lead at any one time, they looked at me with confusion. One finally, said ‘I have three and that is too many!’”

Stephen trimmed his load after prioritizing those he saw as “real” projects and not just individual tasks. Since he’s eliminated some, he now focuses on portfolio and project management, and leads the college’s Change Review Board. Prior to CCC, he served in the Navy (where he met his wife of 39 years), and has held a variety of professional positions in the field. “I learned that my slogan – ‘Jack of All Trades, Master of None’ translated poorly into Mandarin when a Chinese-speaking friend told me it was equivalent to ‘A Thousand Knives, None of Them Sharp,’” he said. “That was when I realized that mastering in nothing was not a good thing; [I] took pride in keeping a sharp knife!”

As volunteer President of the Portland PMI chapter, Stephen gives credit to those around him for the improvements in all facets of the work. He says he loves having the chance to know more people volunteering on different portfolios. “They have become like brothers and sisters.”

Stephen said he wished he had been able to build an even stronger infrastructure, though he is pleased with the movement to longer commitments by board and director positions. “Before, just as people were getting comfortable with the jobs they had signed on to, their terms were done. The longer terms will add stability.”

He still plans to help with foundational work for the chapter behind the scenes. “I’m a process improvement guy all the way,” he said. “Anywhere I go, I try to make things better.”

A challenge he said he leaves behind is getting everyone on the same page in terms of how the volunteer portfolios work together, and continuing to build chapter visibility and membership.

Titu Hariharan is completing the first of her three-year commitment after acting as President-Elect this year. She has risen to President by serving in various volunteer roles prior to taking on her current challenge. In 2018, Titu directed, planned, and managed the PMI Region 1 Leadership Conference in Portland. The positive feedback and high attendance raised the bar for future Leadership meetings.

“I would like to thank my PMI Portland volunteer team for making this Leadership Conference a huge success,” Titu said.

After managing the Registration team as a Director and the Annual Conference as Registration PM a few years ago, Titu moved into the role of VP of Programs. In that position, she expanded opportunities for professional development that added to members’ depth of knowledge of the PM profession, and contributed to members gaining needed PDUs.

A certified PMP-Project Management Professional and CSM- Certified Scrum Master, she has tackled a range of professional projects in a variety of fields, including healthcare, government, and sales and marketing. Prior to that, Titu volunteered and worked for the Camas School District. While there, she was involved in several projects and activities that led her to where she is today.

“I realized that my skills lay in project management, organization and communications,” Titu said. “That led me to taking the PMP course with the Portland Chapter, and attaining my PMP certification.” Currently, she’s a project management consultant. “I love the freedom it gives me; I have work-life balance and it gives me time to volunteer and give back to the project management community.”

Titu said she loves being a servant leader through her work with the Chapter and having the opportunity to meet great volunteers and other members. “The more you show your passion and investment, the more you see from others. ‘If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.’”[African proverb]

Though she was encouraged to volunteer for leadership roles shortly after she joined PMI, she didn’t feel ready because they would take time away from family. But over the past five years, she took on increasingly more responsibility. Last year, with the flexibility of consulting, she decided to jump in as President-Elect.

In her role as President, Titu plans to find ways to keep members engaged and keep up with their expectations, hoping to grow the chapter’s reach. In addition, she wants to strategize on outreach to educational institutions and the corporate community to increase their involvement in chapter work. “Both the chapter and the partners will benefit if PMI-Portland provides services in partnership with them. It is a long-term objective,” she said.