Welcome to the

PMI Southwest Virginia Chapter

Thank you for visiting PMI Southwest Virginia Chapter. We are dedicated to serving the business and educational community of Southwest Virginia through the advancement of Project Management. We provide a forum for professional Project Managers to promote the principles of the Project Management Institute through networking with other project managers, sharing project experiences, providing and receiving training, and supporting Project Management Professionals in their certification efforts. Please join us at one of our upcoming events or contact one of our board members for additional information.

 

Message From Our President

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September 2026


Dear PMI Southwest Virginia Chapter Members,

As we head into the final months of 2026, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on where we are as a chapter and share what's ahead. Momentum across Southwest Virginia is strong! Thanks to your active participation and the hard work of our growing Board of Directors, we've seen fantastic growth in both our overall membership numbers and event engagement.

Our focus this year has been on building on what works and delivering real value to you, and our quarterly programming approach has really brought that to life.

2026 Programming in Review: Focused & Flexible

Structuring our year around dedicated quarterly themes has given us a clear roadmap for our events:

● Q1: Project Management Tech, Tools, and Tips – We kicked off the year diving into modern platforms like M365, Miro, and Smartsheet, while exploring how AI is actively transforming project workflows.
● Q2: Building Your Network – We focused on regional leadership opportunities, LinkedIn best practices, and cross-industry connections to empower professional growth.
● Q3: Developing Your PMO – From PMO structures and value propositions to governance standards and stakeholder engagement, we unpacked the framework behind successful project offices.
● Q4: Project Management in Practice (Upcoming) – As we move into October, November, and December, we will shift focus to real-world application, execution, and practical techniques you can apply directly to your daily work.

Connecting Virtually and In-Person

To make professional development accessible to everyone across our geographically diverse region, most of our regular programming (including our early-morning Coffee Chats and evening Chapter Meetings) has remained virtual. This flexible setup has allowed more members than ever to drop in, earn PDUs, and share insights.

However, we know nothing replaces face-to-face connections. We’ve loved seeing so many of you out in the community at our rotating regional networking socials! Whether gathered at Trailhead in Lynchburg, giving back through First Fridays in Downtown Roanoke, or enjoying a summer evening together at a RidgeYaks baseball game in Salem, these casual meetups have sparked incredible community across our chapter.


Don't Miss Out: 2026 Fall Symposium!

All of this momentum brings us to our upcoming PMI Southwest Virginia 2026 Fall Symposium, an event you won't want to miss!

● Date & Time: Thursday, October 15, 2026 | 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM
● Location: Roanoke College (Colket Center) in Salem, VA
● PDUs: 8 Total PDUs (4 Power Skills, 2 Ways of Working, 2 Business Acumen)
● Pricing: Members $120.00 | Non-Members $140.00 | Students $50.00

Under this year's theme, "FULL STEAM AHEAD" we are bringing together project managers, educators, and industry leaders to explore how Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) intersect with leadership and project execution. It is a full-day event designed to equip you with real-world strategies, fresh perspectives, and invaluable connections across our region.

Seats are limited, so I encourage you to reserve your spot today: Symposium 
Registration Link


Looking Ahead

Thank you for bringing your energy, ideas, and engagement to PMI-SWVA this year. You make this community vibrant, supportive, and impactful. I look forward to connecting with many of you in person at Roanoke College on October 15th!

President, PMI Southwest Virginia Chapter
president@pmi-swva.org

 

Membership Statistics

This Year New Members

89

CAPM Members

28

PMI-CPMAI Members

1

PMI-RMP Members

1

PMI-PMOCP Members

2

Student

18

PMO-CP Members

1

PMP Members

294

CPBEP Members

1

Total Members

442

Members with No Certification

125

PMI-ACP Members

22

PfMP Members

1

PMI-SP Members

2

PgMP Members

1

Member Recognition

Milestone members (anniversaries)

New credential holders (monthly)

New credential holders (yearly)

New members (monthly)

All members

Name

Year

5th Anniversary (18 Members)

2021
Sharon Spradling12-30-2021
Jason Morris12-06-2021
Carrie Ratcliff10-31-2021
Henry Cantrell10-28-2021
Colt Taylor10-25-2021
Jason Artrip10-21-2021
Rena DeBerry09-13-2021
CHARLES HALL09-06-2021
Lisa Sommerfeldt08-30-2021
Mark Stiefbold07-22-2021
Lisa Brown07-07-2021
Jamie McCollum05-05-2021
John Williams04-29-2021
Laura Pollan04-07-2021
Samuel Orcutt03-11-2021
Anthony Aluise03-05-2021
Lydia Aluise02-21-2021
Megan Dickhans01-28-2021

10th Anniversary (10 Members)

2016
Susan Gill12-06-2016
Kent Morrett11-28-2016
Tammy Roach07-31-2016
Michael Smith07-10-2016
Joy Beddingfield06-29-2016
Scott Staley05-16-2016
Dillon Porter05-08-2016
Vincent Hatcher04-27-2016
Sandi Carr04-19-2016
Elena Arnold02-05-2016

15th Anniversary (7 Members)

2011
John Casler12-18-2011
Tammy Shewbridge11-29-2011
Dawn Joseph08-29-2011
Juliet Silver07-14-2011
Jacqueline Rauscher03-20-2011
Kathleen Osborne03-19-2011
Carmen Freeland03-17-2011

Name

Date

Certification

Name

Date

Certification

1 of 3

Name

Date

Cynthia Sledd10-31-2026
Jugal Kandarp Pandya10-31-2026
Ian Bennett10-31-2026
Blas Zapata10-31-2026
John Hattersley09-30-2026
Andrea Renshaw09-30-2026
David Speroni04-30-2026

Name

Date

Cynthia Sledd10-31-2026
Jugal Kandarp Pandya10-31-2026
Ian Bennett10-31-2026
Blas Zapata10-31-2026
John Hattersley09-30-2026
Andrea Renshaw09-30-2026
David Speroni04-30-2026
Austin Painter09-30-2026
Kelly Davis09-30-2026
Jeremy Bowlby09-30-2026
Craig Wehr09-07-2026
Alexander Medina09-30-2026
Jonathan Fredericks09-30-2026
Zyndal Harper08-31-2026
Candy Hetzler08-31-2026
Spencer Paxton08-31-2026
David Bond08-31-2026
Sabrina Bruce08-31-2026
Alycia Spivey08-31-2026
Bobby Strader08-31-2026
Courtney Gibson08-31-2026
Jenny Constantin08-31-2026
Dean Nichols08-31-2026
Mikhail Gordon08-31-2026
Adam Markwood07-31-2026

1 of 18

Grow Your Skills

It is particularly important for Project Managers to maintain and improve their project management knowledge and skills to stay competitive in the market. PMP certification is a critical component. As, during the recent years, project management discipline took a step toward more flexible and dynamic project management methodologies, in addition to the traditional waterfall approach, several new emerging methodologies became in high demand. Thus, training and credentialing in these methodologies became highly sought after among Project Management professionals. It is especially relevant in today's economic climate.

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Sponsorship Opportunities

The Project Management Institute, with members in 135 countries, is the world's foremost authority for the project management profession. PMI sets industry standards, conducts research, and provides education and certification opportunities designed to strengthen and further establish the profession. Our chapter proudly serves all the local and national professionals in the space of Project Management. We currently have thousands of members - over half of whom hold PMI’s esteemed PMP certification - and represent nearly 400 unique companies across the globe.

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Get Involved

Earn PDUs by Volunteering

Volunteering Project Management Professional PDUs can be earned from Talent Triangle. The PMI Talent Triangle highlights these skill sets, and provides a valuable framework to help you navigate your ongoing professional development.

Ways of Working
Whether it’s predictive, agile, design thinking, or new practices still to be developed, it's clear that there is more than one way that work gets done today. That’s why we encourage professionals to master as many ways of working as they can - so they can apply the right technique at the right time, delivering winning results.

Power Skills
These interpersonal skills include collaborative leadership, communication, an innovative mindset, for-purpose orientation, and empathy. Ensuring teams have these skills allows them to maintain influence with a variety of stakeholders - a critical component for making change.

Business Acumen
Professionals with business acumen understand the macro and micro influences in their organization and industry and have the function- or domain-specific knowledge - to make good decisions. Professionals at all levels need to be able to cultivate effective decision-making and understand how their projects align with the big picture of broader organizational strategy and global trends.

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Get Involved

Find a Volunteer Opportunity

Make your mark on our PMI Chapter and the profession. As a member, you can volunteer to work on and to lead activities that advance the profession and support the chapter business operations by joining our chapter volunteer community. All volunteer openings are managed by the PMI Volunteer Relationship Management System (VRMS). This system includes the ability to search for opportunities, view details about each role and apply online.

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Speakers for our Chapter's Events

Our PMI Chapter welcomes proposals from passionate speakers interested in sharing their experiences, knowledge and expertise on such topics as general business and strategy, leadership, project management, and technical or industry-specific specialties. Our Professional Development events provide professional development units (PDUs) of educational information necessary for those attendees maintaining certification designations. Speakers are also eligible to claim PDUs for their creation and delivery of the presentation material.

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