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Agenda – PM Symposium

May 20, 2024 May 21, 2024

Monday, May 20, 2024
7:15 am – 8:00 am	Registration & Breakfast: Davidson-JSOM Atrium
8:00 am – 8:15 am	Welcome University of Texas at Dallas Project Management Program, Davidson Auditorium
8:15 am – 9:30 am	1st Keynote – Ben Smithee, CEO, The Smithee Group Davidson Auditorium “Leader Shift – How to develop teams of leaders instead of leaders of teams”
9:30 am – 9:45 am	Coffee Break: Davidson-JSOM Atrium
9:45 am – 10:45 am	Finding the Tipping Point to Improved Project Management: A Spectrum of Case Studies Arden Dudek JSOM 1.102 Decoding Leadership Presence Valerie Pelan JSOM 1.107 Engaging Employees in Smart Factories within Industry 5.0 A.W. Schultz JSOM 1.110 The Four C’s of Project Management Dr. Natalie Stroble & Brian Rice JSOM 1.117 The Value of IT Service Management to IT Project Managers Carl Ivey & Dr. David Sweeney JSOM 1.212 AI and human aspects of project management Lawrence Reid JSOM 1.217
10:55 am – 11:55 am	How the Grinch Stole the Schedule Stephen Fierbaugh JSOM 1.102 Project Management Leadership Challenges in the 2020’s—the Project Manager/Leader Hybrid Darrel Hubbard JSOM 1.107 Does AI or HI (Human Intelligence) Make a Better PM? Greg Saunders JSOM 1.110 The Real McCoy – Controlling chaos in Projects Dwaraka Iyengar JSOM 1.117 Managing Project Successfully through Artificial Intelligence (AI) and ChatGPT Rizwan Sheikh, Rebecca Jarvis & Jeremiah Whitehall JSOM 1.212 Invest In Your Time! An International Mindset Tooran Khosh JSOM 1.217
11:55 am – 01:00 pm	Lunch
1:00 pm – 2:00 pm	PI Planning-If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail! Samant Kumar JSOM 1.102 Cracking the Code to Sustained Productivity and Professional Longevity Lee Lambert JSOM 1.107 Strategic Program Management, Case Study Mounir Ajam JSOM 1.110 Knowledge Ethics: Navigating the Moral Maze of the Shifting Project Economy Benjamin Anyacho JSOM 1.117 Revolutionizing Project Management: Mastering Efficiency with AI and CoPilot Mei Lin & Bernard Smith Jr. JSOM 1.212 Artificial Intelligence and Emotional Intelligence – Siblings in the future of Project Management – WHY? Gary Rechtfertig JSOM 1.217
2:10 pm – 3:10 pm	Through the looking glass of AI – Project Management in Wonderland Suchitra Veera JSOM 1.102 Adapting PMI Knowledge Areas “Critical to Quality” for Novice Project Managers to Minimize Risk Liz Olson JSOM 1.107 Pivoting With Purpose: How I Used Project Management to Strategically Navigate Career Transitions Anna Ladipo JSOM 1.110 Igniting the Next Chapter: Transforming Strategic Programs Joan Bradee JSOM 1.117 Technical Debt: Managing this Overrun Lurking in Your Project George Sammit JSOM 1.212 Project Management Leadership – Does AI Change My Role? Frank Murphy JSOM 1.217
3:10 pm – 3:25 pm	Coffee Break: JSOM Atrium
3:30 pm – 4:45 pm	2nd Keynote – Larry Solomon, Former Senior Vice President and Executive at Several Companies Davidson Auditorium “Mobilizing teams to execute change with excellence”
4:45 pm – 6:00 pm	Networking Reception JSOM Atrium

Tuesday, May 21, 2024
7:15 am – 8:00 am	Continental Breakfast: JSOM Atrium
8:00 am – 9:00 am	3rd Keynote – Kandyce Ormes-Ripley – Associate Vice President Data Analysis & Strategy, Buckner International Davidson Auditorium “Project Management for the Greater Good: Lessons Learned from the Non-profit World”
9:00 am – 9:15 am	Coffee Break: JSOM Atrium
9:15 am – 10:15 am	Big Companies, Small Projects – Big Impact: The Adaptive Thinking Process Gauranga Deka JSOM 1.102 Cancer & Living – Using Project Management Skills to Manage Life Crisis Bryon Brewer JSOM 1.107 Exploring Emerging Trends in Your Project Management Qiang Gan JSOM 1.110 Navigating Market Challenges: 7 Key Project Management Skills for Today’s Dynamic Business Environment Rohit Sinha JSOM 1.117 Building an AI-Empowered Workforce with a Culture of Resiliency for Continuous Connection Karen Salomon JSOM 1.212
10:25 am – 11:25 am	Future of Project Management shaped by Generative AI (GenAI) Nikunj Nirmal JSOM 1.102 A Star is Born: Musically Skyrocket your Project to a Masterpiece Kimia Penton JSOM 1.107 Navigating Chaos: Strategic Project Management in Cybersecurity Incident Response Julio Ruiz JSOM 1.110 Future Org Design for Technology Teams Sagar Gollapudi JSOM 1.117 Proof of Concept Informed Strategic Alignment: A Pilot Study Supporting AI Portfolio Inclusion Derex Griffin JSOM 1.212
11:25 am – 12:45 pm	Lunch
12:45 pm – 1:45 pm	4th Keynote – Lucas Smith & Simon Roberts, Toyota Davidson Auditorium “Navigating the AI Revolution in Project Management”
1:45 pm – 2:00 pm	Coffee Break: JSOM Atrium
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm	Impact of AI in our everyday life Davidson Auditorium Panelists: Natalia Fisher Natalia Fisher is a Project Management Professional (PMP)® and has been working with marketing and IT projects and programs for over 10 years in a variety of industries, such as CPG, IT, telecommunication, transport and logistics, and healthcare. For more than five years, she has volunteered for the PMI Dallas Chapter and now she serves as a Chapter President. Natalia is very passionate about learning about AI and implementing her knowledge in her professional and personal lives. Jason Andrew A technical specialist at Microsoft and an enthusiastic advocate for Artificial Intelligence (AI), Delivering consumer-facing applications using Natural Language Understanding since the early 2000s. Jason’s professional journey is marked by a commitment to integrating Generative AI into everyday life. Educated at the University of North Texas, Jason has cultivated a rich background in AI that complements his dynamic career. Beyond the tech arena, he enjoys golf, poker, and yoga, showcasing a well-rounded personality that informs his holistic approach to AI and its applications. Silvia Davis With 20+ years of solid experience in technology (end-to-end application development and delivery lifecycle), business, and marketing, Silvia Davis has the skills and passion to bring digital products and solutions to market effectively and strategically by simplifying complex topics into stories that can be unique and make a difference for enterprises. In the last two years, She managed three critical products for Digital.ai -Intelligence AI-ML powered analytics and DevOps (Release & Deploy products). Mei Lin Mei Lin is a dynamic project management professional who excels in uniting teams to drive value in her role, which spans notable tenures at Microsoft and Texas Capital Bank. Her professional ethos is marked by a blend of efficiency and empathy, dedicating her days to connecting project teams and her heart to fostering positivity and kindness. This unique blend empowers her to inspire and uplift future leaders. She complements Mei’s expertise as a Gen AI Champion AZ AI 900 certification in 2022, and her practical experience with tools like Gen AI and Microsoft CoPilot, making her a valuable guide for project managers seeking to integrate cutting-edge AI technology into their workflows. As the author of “Mommy is a Project Manager,” she actively works towards breaking down gender biases and motivating change-makers from all walks of life.
3:00 pm – 4:00 pm	Panel: Strategies for Landing Your Next Project: Branding, Networking and Professional Presence Davidson Auditorium

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