PMI Atlanta is pleased to announce April’s Volunteer of the Month – congratulations, Linda Payntor!
For the past 4 years Linda has served as a distinguished scholarly volunteer for the PMI Atlanta Chapter. She serves as the Communications Lead on the Education Committee. Since joining the Education Committee Linda has been what would be characterized as a “Summa Cum Laude” volunteer due to her fervent passion for project management, rapid responsiveness to her team and unyielding commitment to serving others.......incredibly outstanding.
Moving forward, she's excited about PMI Atlanta's initiative to get more into the high schools. Due to Linda and the entire Education Team’s diligence, they have contacted many of the area high schools and look forward to participating in their Career Days, which several high schools have already scheduled, so big kudos are in order to Linda and the Education Team. During her volunteer tenure, Linda looks to help as many others as she can, use and understand all parts of project management, how important PM skills are and how they can be utilized in both our personal and professional lives.
Prior to moving to Georgia to enjoy the “Scenic Smokey Mountains” with her husband, Linda was the Enterprise Competency Manager of the Global PMO for Goodyear in Akron, Ohio, as well as an Adjunct Professor who taught graduate PM classes for the University of Akron. In these roles she traveled the world, leading, training, and teaching individuals, project teams, students and others all things “project management”. What an abundant life of project management knowledge transfer, service and commitment to excellence, all the qualities and then some that comprise this month’s “Meritorious" VOM".
Read and learn more about Linda below and what she enjoys about volunteering for PMI Atlanta.
1. What has been your favorite or most rewarding volunteer experience with PMI Atlanta?
I love facilitating planning workshops for Student Leadership Johns Creek (SLJC). The students are outstanding high school students that are selected for SLJC. They provide a community-based project for Johns Creek. I run a planning workshop to help the students properly plan their projects. The workshops start with some PM fundamentals. Then the teams set out to create their project charter and the newly appointed project manager presents the charters. Next, the PMs lead their teams in a stakeholder analysis with emphasis on how to manage their “blockers and critics”. The teams move into identifying their deliverables and then breaking those deliverables down into work packages through their Work Breakdown Structure. They proceed to take the work packages and break them down into activities, placing the activities on a timeline with milestones and a responsible resource. Next, the teams put together a Communication Plan for each of their stakeholders. Then they move on to the Risk Analysis and Risk Response Plan. They brainstorm all possible risks, classify each of them and create contingency plans for each outcome. These kids are so eager, engaged and accepting of the methodology. They ask a lot of questions, are eager to learn all they can and ready to put what they’ve learned into practice. SLJC has had me back every year for the past 3 years.
2. What would you like to accomplish during your volunteer tenure?
All I want to accomplish is to help anyone use and understand any part of project management as an important skill to have in their lives and their work.
3. How did you become interested in the project management profession?
Early in my career, I was an IT professional at Goodyear until I found my passion for Project Management in 1995. My very first unofficial project was a 10-month computer conversion project, which was on time and on budget. This immediately set me apart from others running projects at Goodyear and I realized how much I loved it. I continued in project management, obtained my PMP (Project Management Professional) certification and later returned to school to get my Master’s degree in project management.
4. What PMI Atlanta initiatives are you most excited about?
I am excited about the possibility to get into more of the high schools. The Education Team is contacting as many high schools as we can and are hoping to participate in their Career Days. Several high schools have already scheduled with us.
5. Is there anything else you would like to share about volunteering, PMI Atlanta or your professional experience?
During my 15+ years as a project manager, besides running projects, I also started two Project Management Offices, performed Project Management Maturity assessments and was an active teacher, coach and mentor to other project managers. My last job at Goodyear was as the Enterprise Competency Manager of the Global PMO where I traveled the world, training individuals, project teams and sponsors in everything from project management fundamentals to Project Planning to PMP preparation classes. As an Adjunct Professor, I have also taught project management to Master’s students at the University of Akron.