PMI Northern Nevada Chapter

2020 Meetings & Presentations

2020

 

June 2021 President's Message

Message from the President – June 2021

There will be a virtual “lunch” meeting this month: Tuesday, June 21, 12:00-1:30 pm.  Scott Lesnick, last month’s speaker, will speak this time on “The New Normal: Benefits of Successfully Navigating Change in a Fast-Paced PM Workplace.”  More details and the event registration should be on the website soon.

Board elections will be held this month.  Nita Losopunkul is running for VP, Member Services, David Fein is running for VP, Marketing, and I am running for President (yet again).  Candidate’s statements are elsewhere in this newsletter.  Again, the voting procedure will be on the website soon.

With the easing of the CDC’s and Nevada’s mask and social distancing guidelines for those who are vaccinated (and I hope this includes every one of you), I think we will be able to resume in-person meetings sometime soon.  The next challenge will be to find a suitable location with food that everyone will enjoy.

I hope you all are continuing to thrive in this challenging environment.  Stay well.

David Richards, PMP, PMI-ACP

2020 Reno Interface

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IT Infrastructure is constantly changing, bringing more new challenges with it every day. From ransomware and the latest security threats, to needs for increased bandwidth and storage, it’s nearly impossible to keep up-to-date. Our conference is designed to help. We’ve assembled a combination of Best-in-Breed hardware and software solutions, along with local experts and organizations to help educate, advise and connect you to resources that can help you meet your goals.

Covering IT Infrastructure, BC/DR, IT Security, and Enterprise Communications, you’ll find presentations, panel discussions and exhibitors covering a variety of topics, as well as the latest innovations and best practices.

This conference is worth 6.5 CPUs. A certificate will be provided.

August 20, 2020
8:30 – 4:30 PM

Register at https://f2fevents.com/event/rno20/

 

March 24, 2020 Dinner Meeting - COVID-19 Update

To our Membership,

In light of the ongoing health and safety concerns as it relates to COVID-19 (Corona Virus), which this week was classified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a pandemic, and a federal emergency declared this Friday (3-13), we have made the decision to cancel our upcoming networking events which include the March Dinner Meeting (3-24) and Saturday Breakfast Meeting (4-4).  Anybody that had already registered for the dinner event will of course be reimbursed.  The health and safety of our membership must come first.

 

March 24, 2020 Dinner Meeting

Chadwick_Spencer.JPGCybersecurity Basics to Keep You, Your Project, and Your Data Safe

Are you prepared to deal with a data breach or natural threats to your data on your project or at home? Do you know your biggest threats and largest vulnerabilities? What precautions are you taking to ensure your project and your organization are not compromised? Cybersecurity is an increasing area of concern as most all data and information are in the digital space and attackers look for weaknesses to leverage in their favor. Cybercrimes, such as ransomware and phishing attacks, get most of the attention, but what other threats do you and your project face? Come learn about how to use simple tools and techniques to identify some of your most common threats and to protect you and your project.

Location: Napa Sonoma Plumgate - 550 W Plumb Ln, Reno, NV 89509

  pdf New Napa Sonoma Menu (58 KB)

We will continue to accept "Pay-at-the-door" for $5 extra, but can no longer accept walk-ins. If you are planning on attending please register early.

Early Bird Discount ends midnight Friday, 3/20

Registration will close midnight Sunday, 3/22

2020

 

Thoughts from the President – March 2020

I write this message as both the USA and world are in the midst of dealing with the COVID-19 (Corona Virus) outbreak.  It has particularly hit home for me as I have been working on several projects in Washington State for which project schedules have been impacted as a result of the ongoing health and safety concerns in the Seattle area (9 fatalities / 27 confirmed cases).  While delivering our projects on schedule is certainly a priority, the safety and wellbeing of our project team is paramount.  This issue has made me appreciate how easily our health can be compromised, and I only hope that the general membership (and their loved ones) remain unaffected by this health emergency.  Be safe!
 
On a more positive note I’d like to welcome 2 volunteers to the team…
  1. Alyx Colburn has agreed to help us as our Director of Professional Development.  The professional development of our membership is a vital priority, and a gap we have had recently.  We very much look forward to Alyx’s contributions in this key area.  Welcome Alyx!
  2. Nora Laitinen has agreed to help us as our new Finance Director.  Our current VP of Finance (Tracy Sharp) has been actively assisting the chapter for many years, and has decided to move on to the next adventure after her term ends in June.  While we will miss Tracy we also look forward to Nora growing into her new role as Director, and perhaps she will decide to run for VP in the upcoming spring election.  Welcome Nora!
I’d also like to acknowledge Victor Mancia, Events Coordinator, and Kevin Goss, Membership Director, for getting more actively involved in the leadership of the chapter.  We appreciate their ongoing assist! 
 
On the growth front we will be investing in sending several of our chapter leaders, including our VP’s of Membership and Marketing, to the Region 7 Leadership meeting in Rio Grande (New Mexico) later this month.  This will undoubtedly pay back in spades as we expect them to glean fresh insights from other PMI leaders that they can then bring back to help grow our chapter and the cause in Northern Nevada.   More to come!
 
Last but not least below are the upcoming chapter events this month, and we hope to see you at both!
  • March 17 – Monthly luncheon (3rd Tuesday of the month) to be held at Napa Sonoma South, with both networking and a collaborative discussion around a PM topic of relevance.  We hope you can make it!
  • March 24 – Monthly dinner (4th Tuesday of the month).  Chadwick Spencer, our very own VP of Marketing, will be presenting on cyber security.  He is quite the dynamic speaker as I can attest to first hand, and you won’t want to miss it.  Please watch out for additional details at our website (https://pmi-nnv.org).  We hope to see you there!
We appreciate you!
 
Lorenz Ledesma, PMP
Chapter President, PMI-NNV 
 

May 28, 2020 Virtual Meeting

jbrien_photo.jpgScrum: the weird parts

Scrum is a lightweight framework designed around the pillars of transparency, inspection, and adaptation. As players in the age of digital disruption, it’s our duty to move past the anti-patterns plaguing our organization by adopting an agile mindset and there is no better starting place than scrum.

This talk will dive deeper into some of the “weird parts” in scrum and how they relate to the three pillars of transparency, inspection, and adaptation.

Jeremy will distill some of the scrum concepts that tend to be a source of misunderstanding for beginners and advanced practitioners alike. Additionally, Jeremy will show us how to put these concepts into practice without throwing you too far into the deep end of the pool.

  • the philosopher’s guide story points
  • an idiots guide to forecasting your next release
  • high performing teams: common signals
  • a !false story about improving quality
  • anti-patterns: common smells

Location: This will be a virtual meeting - Meeting information will be emailed May 27th; 1 day prior to the meeting.

Registration will close midnight Tuesday, May 26th

Members: Free, MUST register to get call in information
Non-members:  $5, must register by May26th to get meeting call in information May 27th. 

 

Thoughts from the President – January 2020

Happy 2020! As I write this message I am wrapping up my own Year End vacation, and hope that all of you had a safe and memorable holiday season (and may we all have a prosperous / successful new year, on both professional and personal levels)!

We hope to get a chance to both see and work with all of you this year. Below are the upcoming chapter events, and we would encourage you to join us if possible. Please visit our website (https://pmi-nnv.org) for additional details / logistics. We hope to see you soon!
• Jan 21 – Monthly luncheon (3rd Tuesday of the month), with both networking and a collaborative discussion around a PM topic of relevance.
• Jan 28 – Monthly dinner (4th Tuesday of the month). Kevin Ciccotti, President of Human Factor Formula, Inc., will be speaking to our chapter on “The 3 Values of Great Leaders.” Kevin has spent the last decade speaking at conferences around the world, with his work focused on bringing out the leader within every Project Manager, and is a highly motivational speaker. Kevin will be exploring three stories that illustrate key values every leader must cultivate in order to succeed in creating an extraordinary legacy. You won’t want to miss out!
• Feb 1 – Monthly breakfast (1st Saturday of the month). The format is relaxed and roundtable, with lots of discussion about real-life experiences in PM.
• Feb 18 – Monthly luncheon (3rd Tuesday of the month), with both networking and a collaborative discussion around a PM topic of relevance.
• Feb 25 – Monthly dinner (4th Tuesday of the month). Rishi Malhotra, eta consulting, specializes in Strategy and Operational Excellence consulting. Rishi will be speaking to us on “Practical Problem Solving,” and will touch on a higher-level approach needed to be a real and practical problem solver. He comes to us with over 20 years of strategic and tactical Lean, Six Sigma, and manufacturing leadership experience. Among other achievements Rishi holds a Master of Business Administration in Finance, a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering, a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering, and is an ASQ Certified Six Sigma Black Belt.

Last, but not least, we are always in need of volunteers (and fresh perspectives) to be successful as a chapter. Volunteer needs may be found on our website (https://pmi-nnv.org/get-involved/volunteeropportunities). Please don’t hesitate to reach out and help in any way you can.

We appreciate you, and here’s to a successful New Year!

Lorenz Ledesma, PMP
Chapter President, PMI-NNV

February 25, 2020 Dinner Meeting

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Please join us on Tuesday, February 25, to hear Rishi Malhotra share his experience in Practical Problem Solving.

 

 

 

Location: Napa Sonoma Plumgate - 550 W Plumb Ln, Reno, NV 89509

We will continue to accept "Pay-at-the-door" for $5 extra, but can no longer accept walk-ins. If you are planning on attending please register early.

Early Bird Discount ends midnight Friday, 2/21

Registration will close midnight Sunday, 2/23

 

January 28, 2020 Dinner Meeting

Kevin1.jpgThe 3 Values of Great Leaders

Leadership is a values-based endeavor. As leaders, our values need to be front and center in all we do, or we risk the very real possibility of working toward something that fails to inspire our teams to greater performance, and brings us no fulfillment, meaning, or purpose. What experiences have shaped your values in life and work? And how do you bring those things to the table as you lead your team or organization?

In this inspiring message, Kevin Ciccotti will explore three stories that illustrate key values that every leader must cultivate in order to succeed in creating an extraordinary legacy – one that creates an exceptional level of commitment and leads to more purpose, meaning, and fulfillment for you and your people.

The experiences that shape our beliefs, values, and lives are many and varied, but without them we lose sight of who we are and what we’re meant to do. This presentation will bring a new level of awareness to leadership and allow participants to tap into stories that will help them to become the best version of themselves.

Location: Napa Sonoma Plumgate - 550 W Plumb Ln, Reno, NV 89509

We will continue to accept "Pay-at-the-door" for $5 extra, but can no longer accept walk-ins. If you are planning on attending please register early.

Early Bird Discount ends midnight Friday, 1/24

Registration will close midnight Sunday, 1/26