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.

Written By Lasondria Hill

Participants in PMI Atlanta’s March Healthcare Forum were captivated by an informative and thought-provoking presentation by Andrew Gurbaxani, Vice President of Analytics and Networking at Benevis, an Atlanta-based dental services organization that supports the Kool Smiles brand, with 125 offices in 15 states plus Washington, D.C. Andrew, who holds both PMP certification and PMI-ACP credentials, is responsible for the telecom and digital infrastructure that supports more than two million patient visits per year and leads Benevis’s Data Warehouse and Business Intelligence function.

The presentation highlighted technology initiatives at Benevis that focused on implementing new IT infrastructure to reduce costs and decrease down time across the multiple Kool Smiles offices by addressing old infrastructure (Telecom Deserts), rising construction costs and down time, as well as areas that were difficult to maintain/service.

by Mike Ososki, PMP, Public Relations Committee

Collective strength. As metro Atlanta’s “innovation conduit to support the growth and development of our local communities,” the arc of the ARC spans across plenty. Its breadth includes a multitude of ATL regional topics, issues, programs, geographies and jurisdictions, sometimes up to the Federal level. Monday’s Dunwoody Dinner was graced to host and learn more from Mr. Doug Hooker, P.E., the ARC’s Executive Director since 2011.

ARC was the first multijurisdictional public planning agency in the Nation, founded in 1947 as the Metropolitan Planning Commission. Now with nearly 200 employees and a $70M budget, its vision is to identify values, develop policies, and execute plans that matter to residents and communities, to ensure competitive advantage and preserve long-term sustainability. Think of it as our regional “planning and intergovernmental coordination agency.” As Mr. Hooker states, “Not all agencies do all things well, and not all counties are equal,” so it makes good sense to work together and benefit from each other’s strengths. With our $339B economy (34th largest in the world), we surely do benefit to coordinate, a major thrust of ARC’s efforts.

Our team is proud to bring another networking event for our members and guests - please join us!  Registration is now open!

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