Volunteer of the Month

May 2024: Parth Shah

This month, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to Parth Shah for his outstanding commitment and service. With a Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering, a graduate Certificate in Project Management and a Certified Project Management Associate (CAPM). Works as a Project Coordinator/Estimator and Presently holds the Director of Technology Volunteering position at PMINAC.

Parth Loves handling projects from Initiation to on-time delivery. Parth Believes in Self-Learning and Continous Improvement. He likes Travelling, Watching Movies, Spending time with friends and family and learning new cultures.

We celebrate & extend appreciation to Parth for his time and contribution to PMINAC! 

April 2024: Lingyi Hao

This month, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to Lingyi Hao for her outstanding commitment and service. With a background in Business English in International Trading and Economics, as well as an MBA, Lingyi brings a wealth of expertise to our community. Her diverse skill set spans consultative sales, corporate financial talent cultivation, financial auditing, event management, community building & coaching, and live streaming. 

Lingyi's approach, characterized by empathy and open communication, enables her to effectively collaborate with multicultural and multidisciplinary teams. She excels in navigating complex business environments, forging lasting partnerships, and delivering significant value to stakeholders and organizations. 

We celebrate & extend appreciation to Lingyi for her time and contribution to PMINAC!

October 2023: Alisa Svinarenko

Forward-thinking HR Project Management specialist confident in leading team members, managing recruiting and onboarding, and coordinating resources. Keeps projects on track with decisive supervision and quick problem-solving. Persuasive in communicating and negotiating with internal team members, vendors and other stakeholders. An empathetic and people-oriented leader able to inspire others and lead by example.

September 2023: Dorothy Nabuuma 

Dorothy has a bachelor's degree in Information Technology and PMP certification. She has 10 years of dedicated experience in spearheading and successfully delivering several Enterprise Resource Planning systems, and service projects spanning diverse industry sectors (Health, Education, and Government). She excels in relationship-building and eagerly pursues learning.

At the core of her professional ethos lies the guiding philosophy, "To master the art of growth and excellence, you need to fail forward." This profound belief has been the cornerstone of her journey toward continuous improvement and innovation. 

Dorothy’s commitment to professional excellence, dedication to community support, and professional growth is evident through her dedication in her volunteer roles as Director of Board Support and Event Coordinator for PMINAC since April 2023. She's very passionate about event planning and decor, enjoys reading, and loves travelling, and hiking.

Louis Omatsone is a seasoned project management and agile professional, boasting an impressive 9-year journey across diverse industries such as Aviation, IT, Construction, and Manufacturing. With an MBA in Oil & Gas Management under his belt, he has consistently demonstrated a keen understanding of complex business landscapes and a remarkable ability to drive success.

Currently holding the position of Project Planner at OEM Remanufacturing Finning Canada, Louis has successfully orchestrated a multitude of business operations. His profound expertise in stakeholder engagement and management has allowed him to craft impactful strategies and skillfully steer projects and cross-functional teams towards achieving overarching business and organizational objectives.

Louis's venture into the world of volunteering began in 2022 when he joined PMINAC as Director Member Relations. Eager to give back to the project management community, he dedicated his time and energy to fostering positive relationships, facilitating effective communication, and promptly addressing the needs of fellow members. His collaborative spirit and efficient approach have left an indelible mark on the organization.

Nancy Gaur is an experienced information technology Analyst, Strategist, and Project Manager with over 14 years of global work experience in developing and driving information technology initiatives. She has served in Fortune 200 organizations while working for various industry verticals like IT, infrastructure, public sector, telecom, consumer goods, distribution, professional services, and education.

She is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP), certified PMI's Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP), and holds a master’s and bachelor's degree in Computer Science.

She loves to give back to the PMI community and volunteers as a 'Director of Certification' with PMINAC. She is a huge champion of mental health and D&I initiatives. She is a certified Mental Health Aider with Mental Health First Aid Canada and is an active member of Women's Mentorship and Diversity & Inclusion initiatives within her professional organization.

November 2022: Vivian Anoliefo

Vivian Anoliefo has over 13 years’ experience in leading and delivering innovative projects/solutions in diverse business sectors like energy, construction, govzernment and security across Africa, Europe and North America. She is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and holds master’s degree in Integrated Petroleum Geosciences from University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom.

She is passionate about helping businesses/organizations improve processes to maximize productivity and leading multidisciplinary teams towards meeting dynamic business needs.

She currently serves as the Director of Community of Practice, Project Management Institute-Northern Alberta Chapter (PMINAC). Outside of work, Vivian enjoys travelling, movies, spending time with her family and volunteering for different groups/associations.

June 2022: Sandeep Sharma

Sandeep Sharma is a senior leader with a strategic and innovative mindset.  He’s been in the energy industry for over 20 years – mostly in renewables power generation.  

Responsible for various  spects of power plant engineering, construction, project management, and operations and maintenance, he has been integral in leading organizational growth, and mentoring developing teams of engineers and project managers while applying industry best practices and key project management principles.

Sandeep has supported PMINAC as the Elections Director in 2021 and 2022, and continues to look forward to future opportunities within the organization.

April 2022: Omolade Olajide

Omolade Olajide is an IT Project Manager with the Technology Project Management Office (PMO), City of Edmonton. She is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®) with the Project Management Institute (PMI) and also holds two master's degrees in Project Management (M.Sc.) and Business Administration(MBA). She is a seasoned professional with 15 years of experience working in both private (Financial, Telecommunications, and Health) and public sectors; and in cross-functional departments (Marketing, Sales, Customer Experience, Retail, Distribution, and Project Management). She loves working on complex projects and problems because it helps to build her confidence, competence, and capability. Learning is also very important to her because she believes that everyone she would meet has something to teach her. She is always ready to lend a hand of support to anyone who needs it.

March 2022: Olabode (Bode) Akindele

Olabode (Bode) Akindele is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) with the Project Management Institute and has been a member of PMI since 2010. He is acknowledged as a successful, dedicated, and knowledgeable Project/Construction Management Professional with a wide range of experience and a stunning record of success in working with other professionals & stakeholders across many fields, managing multiple projects simultaneously while achieving the Business Case as envisioned by the client organizations. Mr. Akindele is also an experienced instructor and trainer. He has lectured in Universities in Nigeria and South Africa. He is currently a Contract Instructor at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), Edmonton, as well as project manager/principal partner at Bokem Multiproject Consulting Inc. Alberta, Canada. An organized, detail-oriented, meticulous self-starter, an effective communicator, and a team player, with strong leadership skills. Bode is a speaker, prolific author, and a committed volunteer with PMINAC.

February 2022: Kirstie Purdy

Kirstie has been working in the construction industry for close to a decade. She has worked in project management for most of her career, with experience in both the consultant and owner side of construction management. Having recently left her long tenure at West Edmonton Mall as a Construction Manager, Kirstie currently works as a Capital Project Manager for QuadReal Property Group, leading the office division of the Prairies Region. Having achieved her PMP in 2020, Kirstie is a graduate of the PMI’s Study Group and continues to give back to the community by volunteering as a facilitator in her spare time.

December 2021: Angela Sanchez

Angela Sanchez is an Automation Engineer that moved to project management very early on her career.  From Banking, Electronics, Education through IT and more recently Oil and Gas where she calls Comco Pipe & Supply home. Angela was born with an energetic spirit and passion for teamwork.

Her bi-cultural background and focus on community collaboration has led her to become involved in and head up numerous volunteer opportunities and community leadership roles.

Always ready to give a hand and happy to help bringing ideas and projects to reality.

August 2021: Dayo Nariwo

Adedayo Nariwo (Dayo) is a versatile technology professional with extensive project management experience. He is passionate about increasing productivity in organizations by leveraging relevant technology, and he has spent the last 15 years of his career delivering significant solutions to different organizations.

He brings international experience, having worked both in private and public sectors in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. Until his recent move to Canada, he led an IT consulting start-up through five years of steady growth.  He enjoys the outdoors and as a lifelong learner, always has a new book on his Kindle device.

July 2021: Jinal Kothari

Jinal has been in the project management field for over 10 years and has worked in diverse sectors like energy, insurance, and consulting. She graduated from Western Michigan University with a Master of Science degree in Geology and currently, she works at Spieker Point Inc a software development organization based in Edmonton as a project manager.

As a young professional, she is constantly improving and evolving her project management skills and is always eager to learn by working on complex problems. She started to volunteer at PMINAC in 2018 as a Mentorship Coordinator and currently is the Director of Membership Promotion at PMINAC.

Outside of the professional world, she is a pet parent of two rescued dogs, loves weight training, hiking, and travelling

June 2021: Priscilla Eisner

Priscilla Eisner is a well-rounded Project Manager, experienced in a distinct range of projects ranging from LRT stations to office and industrial building where she developed acute management, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills that allowed her to adapt and thrive in any environment.

A strong believer in addressing both current and future challenges facing our society, she advocates for a culture of excellence. Priscilla sees an opportunity in WIPM to make a difference and empower women in project management.

May 2021: Brenda Otto

Brenda has been proudly serving the Town of Stony Plain for the past 10 years. She began as the Economic Development Officer and in 2019 moved into the role of General Manager of Strategic Services.  Her role is to guide Government Relations, Corporate Planning and Strategic Planning.  Her team in the Office of Chief Administrative Officer department includes Culture & Tourism, Corporate Communications and Economic Development.

Prior to the Town of Stony Plain, Brenda was the Economic Development Officer for a municipality in Eastern Ontario for 8 years.  She began her public service career in Saskatchewan a program officer for the federal government. 

Brenda graduated from the University of Calgary with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.  She received her professional designation in Economic Development from the University of Waterloo in 2009. In 2018 she received her professional designation in Project Management. Brenda was raised on a grain and livestock farm outside of Lloydminster, in Saskatchewan.

March 2021: Moshood Olakunle Ashiru

Moshood Olakunle Ashiru is an Architect and Project Manager with over 20 years’ experience in the industry. He is a certified project Management Professional [PMP], Change Management Specialist [CMS] and Corporate Trainer Certified [CTC]. He is a member of the Project Management Institute [PMI] and also serves in a volunteer role as the Director; Board Support for the Project Management Institute Northern Alberta Chapter [PMINAC] in Edmonton, Alberta.

He is the principal of PMTC solutions, a global services firm focused on providing training & consultancy services to organizations with emphasis on project management & leadership at all levels and the principles and execution of change management. He is also an Instructor in Project management with the GPRC in Grand Prairie and is committed to empowering and nurturing a generation of global project leaders.

He has authored 2 books and is currently working on a third on effective project management.

February 2021: Cassio Imamura

Cassio Imamura is a certified project management professional (PMP) and a digital innovation specialist with more than 10 years of combined experience. Cassio combines technology and innovation expertise to deliver large-scale benefits and open new bridges to the fast-changing scenario. He also holds an MBA in Project Management and a bachelor's degree in Production Engineering.

Cassio has enabled digital transformation, as a project manager, in large companies across North America, South America and Europe, having worked with Google, Amazon Web Services (AWS), IBM and Microsoft. He is currently engaged in a leadership group for a multimillionaire technology project involving multiple utility companies across Canada.

November 2020: Katherine Deypalubos

Katherine is an Investment Advisor with RBC Dominion Securities. She has access to a comprehensive range of services to help families and individuals successfully build, protect, and eventually transfer their wealth. With over 13 years of experience in the Finance Industry, she delivers sound advice, expert execution and peace of mind for clients who require solutions for broad and complex wealth management needs.

She currently serves as the Director of Women in Project Management (WIPM) of PMINAC and is backed by a power house of highly talented and top-performing women who also dedicate their time to volunteer and run the WIPM initiative.

She obtained her Project Management Professional (PMP) certification in 2013 as she is passionate about leading projects in her volunteer work. This extra knowledge from a versatile discipline also allows her to distinguish herself in her industry in a way that she plans for the next stages in her client’s life.

Katherine is a huge supporter of diversity and inclusion for women and also sits as the Fundraising Chair on the Women’s Health Coalition of Alberta. A firm believer of effective communication, she also assists as an area director with Toastmasters International.

October 2020: Wilbur D’Mello

Wilbur D’Mello is currently part of Service Excellence Transformation (SET), PMO at the University of Alberta. He is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®) with Project Management Institute and has over 12 years of global IT experience.

He has worked in diverse industries like I.T, Educational Services, Retail Banking, and BFSI. He is passionate about helping businesses achieve their goals through strategic thinking and the application of Project management methodologies that best suit their business.

He looks forward to contributing to PMINAC and helping future PMP aspirants as the Study Group Director.

July 2020: Rhodora Funcion

Rhodora Funcion is a Provincial Project Manager for Improving Health Outcomes Together (IHOT) in the Quality Healthcare Improvement department for Alberta Health Services (AHS). She is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®) with the Project Management Institute. She is currently the volunteer Director of the Study Group Program for Project Management Institute Northern Alberta Chapter (PMINAC). She has been a member of the PMINAC since 2013, a PMP since 2019, and a PMINAC volunteer since 2019.

She has over 16 years’ experience working in the manufacturing and healthcare sectors. Her diverse work experiences from AHS include Workplace Health and Safety and Primary Care, Chronic Disease Management, and Public Health. Before moving to Alberta, Rhodora worked for Jamieson Laboratories Ltd., in Windsor, Ontario as an International Regulatory Affairs Coordinator for the Scientific & Technical Affairs department supporting international product registration. Rhodora graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a major concentration in Management & Labour Studies from the University of Windsor and St. Clair College with an Accounting Diploma. She is currently completing her Leadership Advanced Certificate with the University of Alberta. She plans to go on and pursue her Masters. Rhodora looks forward to creating more value for the Project Management Institute Northern Alberta Chapter (PMINAC).

January 2020: Maple Rose

Maple is a LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) accredited architectural technologist and communications professional with an  international career in several industries, including architecture/construction, IT, publishing and arts/culture/education. After working in Japan and England for 8 years in marketing and public relations, she returned to Canada to pursue her passion for buildings.

Currently, Maple Rose is the Managing Director of an online platform designed to simplify the project management of residential renovation projects. Previously, she worked as a Project Manager, specializing in residential and commercial permitting with the City of Edmonton and neighboring municipalities.

She is currently the Board Chair for the Bredin Centre for Learning, and volunteers monthly for the Ronald McDonald House.

January 2020: Ken Harbeck

Ken Harbeck has been in the project management field for over 35 years.  With over 19,000 documented project management experience hours in such widely-diverse fields as commercial printing, computer networks, insurance, energy, software development, healthcare and now higher education; none of it necessarily makes him an ‘expert’, however it does mean he’s seen a few things!  Ken obtained his PMP in 2005 and joined PMINAC in 2009.  Ken has held several volunteer positions with the chapter and is currently the Director of Member Relations.  He currently is Special Projects Advisor for the CFO at MacEwan University where he leads high-exposure financial improvement initiatives. 

March 2019: Adedayo Nariwo

Adedayo Nariwo (Dayo) is a versatile technology professional with extensive project management experience. He is passionate about increasing productivity in organizations by leveraging relevant technology, and he has spent the last 15 years of his career delivering significant solutions to different organizations. 

He brings international experience, having worked both in private and public sectors in Nigeria and the United Kingdom. Until his recent move to Canada, he led an IT consulting start-up through five years of steady growth.  

He enjoys the outdoors and as a lifelong learner, always has a new book on his Kindle device. 

February 2019: Somayeh Kalantari

Somayeh is an Industrial Engineering Consultant. She is a member of PMI since 2015 and has joined PMINAC since 2018 as a Director Board Support.

She has worked as a project manager and consultant to help improve the productivity and increase the production capacity in lead recycling factories for more than 10 years. Currently she works with various industries and help them to improve their efficiency.  

January 2019: Bhavin Mehta

Bhavin is an outstanding Project/Program Manager. He applies the concepts in everything he does.

He has been a volunteer with PMI chapters since 2002 and with PMINAC since 2008 and has held other board positions in the past.

Since February 2018, Bhavin has been serving as the Dinner Director for our chapter.

December 2018: Anna Kaminska

Anna is currently working as an Organization and Productivity Project Manager for a global software development company in Edmonton.

As a young professional, she is constantly developing her project management skills. Since 2016, Anna has been involved in volunteering with PMI. She started as a regular volunteer at the beginning and was quickly promoted to the role of Volunteer Director in one of the Polish PMI Branch’s. After moving to Canada from Poland she continued volunteering and became the Director of Recruitment at PMINAC. She is very excited to be part of the PMI community and happy for the opportunity to share her knowledge and experience with others.

November 2018: Mahfuzur Rahman

Mahfuzur is a Global IT Leader, Process Champion, and Change Agent with a passion for inspiring teams, and professionals to stretch the boundaries of purpose, capability, opportunity, and performance to new levels. Working with onshore and offshore teams at an early age, Mahfuzur learned to ask a very simple question- “How can I help?”. Today, as a leader in delivering Enterprise-wide IT Service Management, Mahfuzur still ask the same question whenever joining conference calls, facilitating study groups or even attending a total stranger. Mahfuzur wins his battles by providing help and addressing issues.

 Mahfuzur enjoys the opportunity to connect with all the participants of the study and network with other project management professionals.

October 2018: Alan Jeans, B.Ed, M.Ed, PMP

Alan Jeans has been working with individuals with disabilities for over a decade, and currently manages the disability services unit at NorQuest College. He sill feels that he is relatively new to the project management world, and knows he still has a lot to learn from his colleagues within PMI.

With that being said, he is always willing to share his knowledge and experience of project management, which he is excited to be able to do as the PMI/PMIEF Liaison with the PMINAC. 

September 2018: Ernani Hoffman

Ernani Hoffman is a creative project manager with 12 years of experience in the Marketing and Advertising field, working in interactive and innovation projects for major companies in Brazil. Having focused in brand experience and themed entertainment.

Ernani uses his knowledge to integrate multidisciplinary teams, using different approaches to boost skills and creativity, in projects with tight deadlines. In his own company, Plankton, his job comprises the ideation, team assembling and project management. Ernani got the PMP certification in 2017. Living the first year in Canada, Ernani is aiming the Attractions and Marketing field.

As Director of Social Media, his goal is to increase the PMINAC awareness, contributing to the project management community.

June 2018:  Ian Burns

Ian is a Program Manager with over thirty years’ experience, primarily in the oil & gas and financial sectors across Canada and the U.S.  Having developed a strong understanding of operational risk through managing numerous projects focused on operational risk in the financial sector, he now applies that perspective to work on technology projects and actively shares it with the new generation of Project Managers having the potential to be the leaders of tomorrow.

As Director of the 2018 PMINAC Annual Conference, he was fortunate in gathering a strong team who together delivered one of the best received educational conferences in years.  He enjoys opportunities to give back to the community and has worked with students of the NAIT Business Administration Program to increase their understanding of Project Management and its application in business.

Ian has been PMP-certified since 2005 and lives and works in Edmonton.

April 2018:  Bailey Sousa

Bailey is the Director of the International Institute for Qualitative Methodology (IIQM), an interdisciplinary institute based at the University of Alberta, which serves qualitative researchers around the world.  Bailey is also an entrepreneur and workplace effectiveness advocate who recently co-authored the book: "How to be a Happy Academic” (2018, SAGE Publications, London).

Bailey is one of the PMINAC Conference Committee volunteers, leading the development of the conference program.  She is excited to be a part of this important event and is very passionate about her volunteer work.

March 2018:  Ilana Knisely

 While working at CAE Aviation, Ilana became involved in Project Management, introducing PMI's methodology to the management of technical publications for military aircraft. After joining the Government of Alberta in 1997, Ilana has led a variety of projects and programs involving multiple stakeholder organizations and vendors. She holds the PMP designation since 1999. 

She is now retired and focuses her attention on occasional translation and business contracts, travel, family and volunteering adventures, such as the PMINAC Project of the Year, CKUA Radio Network, the Edmonton Folk Fest and the Yardbird Suite.  

February 2018:  John Kenneth Harbeck

December 2017:  Chinyelu Onuorah

November 2017: Sam Saleh

September 2017: Carla Herbers

Carla is an International Student attending the University of Liverpool Masters In Science in Project Management Programme, specializing in Construction and Infrastructure. She has been volunteering for PMINAC as Marketing Director since October 2014, and successful completed the Chapter Study Program to obtain a CAPM certification.

August 2017: Chris Clifford

Chris is enjoying his new role as a project manager at Canem Systems Ltd. Canem is one of the largest western Canadian electrical contractors, specializing in large commercial projects like hospitals, data centres and sports arenas. Canem also works on national projects through their strategic partnership plan.

June 2017: Annette Gerdes

Annette Gerdes has over 25 years’ experience as an administrative professional and in project management at a municipal government level. Annette has been the project manager of corporate restructures, a multi-million dollar six-phase space allocation project and a national conference.

Annette has served on a number of local boards and has a strong background in Board development. She has been a long-time board member of the Association of Administrative Assistants, Edmonton Chapter and has worked with the Project Management Institute – Northern Alberta Chapter Board of Directors for almost ten years. This is Annette’s fourth year volunteering for the Project of the Year Award committee.

May 2017: Brian Aucoin

Brian has been the Director of the Community of Practice since 2013. He enjoys the dialogue and learning opportunities the CoP provides. With a good mix of new and well-seasoned project managers, there is always something to learn!

April 2017: Biswajeet Ganguli

Congratulations to Biswajeet (Victor) Ganguli, our PMINAC April volunteer of the month. Biswajeet has volunteered with the PMINAC Chapter since 2010 and, presently he holds a role of Director of Membership. He looks after our Membership’s benefits and programs also assist with our membership recognition programs and awards.

March 2017: Bernice Gordon

Congratulations to Bernice Gordon, our PMINAC March volunteer of the month. Bernice is our director of policy, and has been working on updating our chapter bylaws and ensuring that we are compliant with legislative and regulatory requirements - just one of the ways Bernice makes a difference in our project management community. Thanks Bernice, for everything you do, every day!

February 2017: Gayan Subasinghe

Gayan is the director of Certification volunteer for the PMI NAC and has selected as a winner for Volunteer of the Month in February 2017.  He's helping out to recognize new certified PMI members.  Keep up a good work, Gayan.

January 2017: Salena Wong

Salena is Web Ops volunteer for the PMI NAC and has selected as a winner for Volunteer of the Month in January 2017.  She's helping out with the website for the chapter.