2022, 45th ANNIVERSARY AND CELEBRATION OF SERVICE
Click here to view the Chapter’s journey to-date, Proclamations from the Governor of Illinois and the Mayor of Chicago, plus strategic focus moving forward, 45th Anniversary and Celebration of Service Program Book .
HISTORY:
Founded in 1977 and originally chartered as the Midwest Chapter which included Milwaukee, Central Illinois, Calumet, and Benton Harbor.
In 2002, the Chapter was renamed to PMI Chicagoland Chapter to focus within the greater Chicago area and split off other chapters, redefining territory. Today, it is the 6th oldest of the 300+ chapters of the Project Management Institute (PMI) and one of the largest and most active in the world serving over 4,000 members.
For the past 45 years, PMI Chicagoland Chapter has been advancing the mission and objectives of the Project Management Institute (PMI) – the world’s leading not-for-profit professional membership organization for the project, program, and portfolio management profession. Founded in 1969, PMI delivers value for more than 2.9 million professionals working in nearly every country in the world through advocacy, collaboration, education, and research. PMI advances careers, improves organizational success, and further matures the profession of project management through its globally recognized standards, certifications, resources, tools, academic research, publications, professional development courses, and networking opportunities.
Over the years, the Chapter established membership across diverse industries, including aerospace, automotive, business management, engineering, construction, information technology, government, financial services, pharmaceutical, healthcare, and telecommunications.
PMI GLOBAL INVOLVEMENT:
The Chapter takes pride in the history of its leaders at the PMI Global level and assisting the global community. Chapter had representation with five (5) PMI Global Board members, Rodney Dawson, Hank Padgham, Ron Waller, Helen Cooke, and Steve Sawle.
The Chapter also has the distinction of having three (3) PMI Fellows, Ron Waller, Helen Cooke, and Prasad Kodukula. This is the highest and most prestigious individual award presented by PMI for service to the organization and profession.
The Chapter supports leadership development at the highest level through the PMI Leadership Institute Masters Class (LIMC). Currently have 10 LIMC graduates, Kay Fleischer, Tom Kroupa, Larry Witham, Joanne Guennewig, Jeff Stewart, Rajesh Nair, Sudhakar Mattu, Jonathan Lee, Ravi Avasarala, and Mandar Kulkarni.
ORGANIZATION:
PRESIDENTS FOR THE PAST 25 YEARS
The Chapter has been fortunate to have great volunteer leaders serving on the executive board and setting its strategic direction. This is a look at the Chapter Presidents for the last 25 years:
Chapter leadership – 10 Elected Board Members responsible for setting the strategic direction and oversight of the Chapter.
26 Directors appointed by the board (100% volunteers) to execute on the Chapter’s strategic objective and being the steppingstone for development and advancement to be nominated to the board.
150+ active Volunteers delivering on Chapter core and extended services to members and creating positive social impact to our external communities. We are very proud of their contributions and engagement with the chapter which is evident in the attendance at our annual volunteer appreciation event acknowledging a job well done.
Membership makeup: Diverse industries including aerospace, automotive, business management, engineering, construction, information technology, government, financial services, pharmaceutical, healthcare, and telecommunications.
Project Management Maturity: High percentage of members are PMI Credential Holders with the approximately 72% having PMP Certification. Top 6 Ranking Credential Holders: 1) PMP 2) PMI-ACP 3) CAPM 4) DASM 5) DASSM 6) PgMP
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
2005 – Launched PMI Chicagoland Chapter Executive Council to reach the executives, and senior leaders who are the influencers and decision makers to drive the value of project, program, and portfolio management as a core capability to support organizational success. This was coupled with the launch of our annual Spring Leadership Forum targeted to that audience. The Council holds quarterly thought leadership round tables and executive networking with peers as well as advocating PM Talent Growth.
2010 – Launched PMI Chicagoland Chapter Ambassador Program to expand our reach and influence on businesses and corporations by creating direct linkages that are mutually beneficial to companies and Chapter. Each year we onboard a cohort of ambassadors who come to the program with specific goals for their organization and on graduation acquire the skills and knowledge to help move their organization forward. They now become members of the expanding network acting as liaison to promote PMI, Chapter, and the profession.
We deliver annual signature events such as PM Symposium (PD Day), Agile Conference, Career Development Conference, Leadership Forum, Job Fair, and Mentoring Program. In addition, we have multiple member events each month like Program Meetings, Knowledge Sharing Meetings, New Member Orientation meetings, Volunteer Appreciation events, PMP/CAPM, PMI-ACP Study Groups, etc. During the pandemic, we pivot quickly to virtual, and all meetings were free. We did not miss a Chapter offering and now “hybrid” has become the norm where attendees have the option to be in-person or remote.
Find out about the 2022 PM Symposium
We deliver high impact Social Outreach programs to create positive value for the communities we serve. We are proud of our partnership with Ladies of Virtue (LOV), supporting their effort to provide project management, collaboration, and communication training to inner-city African American girls ages 9 – 18 years. This program makes significant impact on their journey to becoming confident, purpose-driven leaders. Graduating cohort presents at our monthly chapter meeting before entire membership. They will also be part of our celebration presenting at the September 14th meeting.
Established Military Outreach programs and partnered with Black Diamond Charities to deliver a unique, free project management fundamentals class to US military and veterans to help advance their civilian careers. This provides the 35 hours completion to take the PMP Exam. They also have project teams’ competition where the winner presents their project at our monthly chapter meeting before entire membership.
Under our Academic Outreach programs, have built sustainable partnerships with academic institutions across the Chicago area, e.g., Elmhurst University, DePaul University, Northwestern University, Loyola University, and supported Lewis University to gain PMI GAC Accreditation for their MS in Project Management Program.
Delivered a world class mentoring program and shared our best practices in numerous Leadership Institute meetings which helped many other Chapters around the world fine-tune their programs.
