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Celebrating 50 Years as a Chapter

Elevating Skills, Empowering Excellence

2025 Professional Development Day

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October 15, 2025  |  Ohio Union at The Ohio State University

About Professional Development Day

PMICOC's Professional Development Day (PDD) is the pinnacle event for project management professionals in Central Ohio. It offers a curated agenda of keynote presentations, breakout sessions, workshops, and networking opportunities, all designed to enhance skills and knowledge.

We welcome over 600 project professionals from a variety of industries like Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals, Technology & IT Services, Consulting & Professional Services, Government & Public Services, Engineering & Manufacturing, Education, Financial Services, and Banking. 

 

Whether you're a seasoned expert or new to the field, PDD promises a day of growth, inspiration, and valuable connections. Join us to expand knowledge, sharpen skills, and build lasting relationships while discovering how maximizing project success can elevate our world.

Opening Keynote

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Karla Eidem, PMP, PMI-PMOCP
PMI Regional Managing Director, North America

Karla Eidem, PMP®, PMI-PMOCP, is the Managing Director for PMI’s North America region. With a strategic mindset, leadership prowess, and dedication to the community, she leads the regional strategy design and execution, expanding PMI's impact on organizations, individuals, and communities to maximize project success and create a better world.

Prior to her role as Regional Managing Director, Karla served as PMI’s North America Regional Operations Manager. In this role, she was integral in developing and executing strategic initiatives to grow PMI’s reach and deepen its impact on the practitioner and chapter community across the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean. She also participated in countless speaking engagements, media interactions, and mentoring opportunities, sharing insights that resonated with individuals and organizations across the region, fostering a deeper sense of community and furthering a culture of continuous improvement.

Afternoon Keynote

Colonel Nicole Malachowski, USAF (RET)

Col. Nicole Malachowski, USAF (Ret.) defies stereotypes. Yes, she was a jet fighter pilot, but if you think you know her based on that,you’d be wrong. A leader, a combat veteran, the first woman pilot on the Thunderbirds Air Demonstration Squadron, a White House Fellow, and an inductee into both the National Women’s Hall of Fame and the Women in Aviation International Pioneer Hall of Fame – she even has a Star Trek Federation starship named after her, the USS Malachowski (NCC-1619).

 

Nicole’s distinguished 21-year Air Force career exceeded her wildest dreams. But the dream came to an end when a devastating tick-borne illness left her struggling greatly to speak or walk for almost nine months. An indomitable spirit, Nicole fought back against overwhelming odds and prevailed. Drawing on stories from her career and personal life, Nicole inspires audiences to rethink the challenges they face every day. She urges them to go beyond resilience and become resurgent. Nicole’s empowers people with three key beliefs: failure and risk is the price of entry for achieving something great; sometimes you need to yield to overcome; and her personal mantra – “Nobody wants to lead a scripted life.”

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Closing Keynote

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Lee Lambert, Founder of the PMP

Lee R. Lambert, has established the standard against which educators and practitioners in the field of Project Management are measured. As one of the founders of the original Project Management Institute’s (PMI)® Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification Program® (1981), he is an honored and distinguished member of the project management community. Recognized as a PMI Fellow (2009), Lee has trained over 50,000 students, in 23 countries, on the value-added use of the project management process and its associated tools and technique. His unique training style creates an optimal learning experience and a fun educational environment, and earned him PMI's Professional Development Provider of the Year (2007).

 

He is a Past President of the PMI Central Ohio Chapter and has authored two books and more than 30 professional article/whitepapers. He is also PMI SME for the EVMS Practice Guide and the Project Estimating Practice Guide . As the creator of the “CommonSense Approach to PM”, no other educator/speaker can contend with his uncanny technical knowledge, unique material content and refreshingly entertaining delivery. Lee takes the saying; “Been there, done that, got the T-shirt” to the next level as he continues to “make a difference” in the Project Management world.

2025 PDD Full Agenda

Photo
Name
Session
Time
Location
PDUs
Amanda Palmer, PMP
Welcome & Opening Remarks
8:00 AM
Archie M Griffin Grand Ballroom
0.25
Jenna Livingston, PMP, CCMP, LSSGB
President's Message
8:15 AM
Archie M Griffin Grand Ballroom
0.25
Karla Eidem, PMP, PMI-PMOCP
From Projects to Purpose: Leading with Value in a Complex World
8:30 AM
Archie M Griffin Grand Ballroom
1.0
Break
9:30 AM
1.0
Dominika Staniewicz, M.S.
Rewire your Brain for peak performance
9:45 AM
Great Hall - Room 1 & 2
1.0
Alyssa Sharp, PMP
Be Your Future Self Now: Becoming the Leader of Your Future
9:45 AM
Great Hall - Room 3
1.0
Kevin Mireles
What I Learned from Burning Through $20M
9:45 AM
U.S. Bank Conference Theatre
1.0
Break
10:45 AM
Katie O'Malley, M.Ed., BCC
Cultivating Meaningful Connections: A New Approach to Networking
11:00 AM
Great Hall - Room 1 & 2
1.0
Dave Davis, PMP, PgMP, PBA, ACP, DASSM, HAPP CDAI, CSM, PMIGAI, PMI-ATP
Evolving the Customer Journey Throughout the Project Life Cycle
11:00 AM
Great Hall - Room 3
1.0
Dr. Neil Littell, PMP
Project Management Life Hacks: Skills, Techniques, and References to Extend Your Impact
11:00 AM
U.S. Bank Conference Theatre
1.0
Lunch
12:00 PM
Archie M Griffin Grand Ballroom
Col. Nicole Malachowski, USAF (RET.)
Pushing the Envelope
1:00 PM
Archie M Griffin Grand Ballroom
1.0
Break
2:00 PM
Roger Grannis
The Yellow Cake Principle: A Prize-Winning Recipe for Influencing Others
2:15 PM
Great Hall - Room 1 & 2
1.0
Tim Mills, PMP, Prosci Certified, LSSBB & Sue Dolloff, CCMP, PMP, Prosci Certified
Partnering for Success: Project Management and Change Management
2:15 PM
Great Hall - Room 3
1.0
Kellye Franklin-Nelson, MBA
Beyond the Gantt Chart: Developing Business Acumen
2:15 PM
U.S. Bank Conference Theatre
1.0
Break
3:15 PM
Kathy Donavan, PMP, LSSBB, FLMI/M, DTM, Change Guides
Success Requires Success
3:30 PM
Great Hall - Room 1 & 2
1.0
Joyce Lok, PMP
Transforming R&D: Accelerating Innovation in a Complex Landscape
3:30 PM
Great Hall - Room 3
1.0
Paige Suttles, PMP, CPHIMS
Beyond Contracts: Building Powerful Vendor Partnerships for Project Success
3:30 PM
U.S. Bank Conference Theatre
1.0
Jenna Livingston, PMP, CCMP, LSSGB
Annual Membership Meeting
4:30 PM
Archie M Griffin Grand Ballroom
0.5
Celebration - Cocktails & Appetizers
5:00 PM
Archie M Griffin Grand Ballroom
Lee Lambert, Founder of the PMP
Closing Keynote
5:30 PM
Archie M Griffin Grand Ballroom
1.0
Event Concludes
6:30 PM

Evening Celebration

We are excited to celebrate our 50th Anniversary with all of you on the evening of Professional Development Day. We have lots of surprises in store.

 

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The Venue

2025 Professional Development Day will be held in the Ohio Union at The Ohio State University. Parking will be located in the Ohio Union South Garage connected to the Ohio Union. 

Garage Information:

1759 North High Street

Columbus, OH 43210

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We seek to foster excellence in project management by creating a dynamic community dedicated to promoting PMI principles 

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