September 20 2016 at 11:42PM
Symposium 2018 - Speaker Bios
2018 Past, Present and Future Speaker Bios
Sardek Love, Opening Keynote
International Keynote Speaker. Author. Peak Performance Expert. Sardek Love crisscrosses the globe inspiring, developing, and educating leaders, trainers, and consultants in Fortune 100 companies, high tech organizations, local / state / federal government agencies, non-profits, and global brands on how to maximize performance in the workplace.
From working in west Siberia during the most frigid of winter temperatures to being lost in the Libyan desert in the scorching heat of summer to traveling to the incredibly lush and extremely remote jungles of Indonesia to revitalizing a workforce in war torn villages of West Africa, his real-world experiences in 32 countries serve as the foundation of his powerfully captivating stories from which he brings his sessions to life.
Sardek sums up his work this way. He says he is in the people business and his purpose in life is to teach leaders, managers, trainers, and consultants how to ask questions that transform lives one soul at a time
Matt Thornhill, Closing Keynote
Matt Thornhill is founder and managing partner of the research-based think tank, the Institute for Tomorrow, based in Richmond, Virginia. Matt is a futurist whose insights are rooted in understanding how generational dynamics are impacting trends in the marketplace and in work cultures today and tomorrow.
Matt doesn’t predict the future but equips organizations and leaders on how to win tomorrow.
Matt has spoken about generations and the future at over 300 conferences and company events in the United States, Canada, Spain, Brazil, Australia, and Panama. He has delivered insights to Walmart, Google, P&G, General Mills, Hershey Foods, and even the rocket scientists at NASA. He has been the keynote speaker at national events for the National Governors Association, National League of Cities, the Social Security Administration, and various transportation, builder, and packaging organizations.
Matt’s opinions and insights are sought by media around the world. He has appeared on NBC, CBS, CNBC, and in articles in BusinessWeek, TIME, The Washington Post, The New York Times and countless others.
He is also the co-author of the acclaimed business book, Boomer Consumer.
Chris Perkins, Track 1 Breakout Session A
Chris Perkins joined Roanoke City Public Schools in May of 2018 as Chief of Security. In his position, he provides strategic direction and leadership for the overall administration and coordination of the safety and security program for the District, which has approximately 14,000 students and 2,200 employees. Prior to joining the District, Chris was Chief Executive Officer for Harmony Senior Services, a fully integrated management services company that manages multiple senior living communities throughout the Southeast. He retired as Chief of the Roanoke Police Department on March 1, 2016, after serving the Roanoke Community for 24 years. He oversaw the largest police department in Southwest Virginia, leading a department of 248 sworn officers and 57 civilian employees.
Chris holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Tennessee, a Master of Arts degree from Hollins University, and a Graduate Certificate from the University of Virginia. He is an alumnus of the Virginia Institute of Forensic Science and Medicine, the Professional Executive Leadership School at the University of Richmond, the National Criminal Justice Command College, and the FBI National Academy. His professional affiliations included: Virginia Homicide Investigators Association; Professional Executive Leadership School Alumni Association; Blue Ridge Chiefs of Police, President 2015-2016; the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police (VACP), Second Vice President; International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) – member of the Police Investigative Operations Committee; the FBI National Academy Associates; and he was appointed to the Public Safety Work Group for the Governor McDonnell’s (VA) School and Campus Safety Task Force in 2013, and served on the Hunton and Williams Independent Review of the Charlottesville (VA) 2017 Protest Events.
Chris comes from a family of law enforcement officers. His dad worked for the Smyth County (VA) Sheriff’s Office, his sister is a Lieutenant for the Roanoke (VA) Sheriff’s Office, and his brother is a deputy at the Franklin County (VA) Sheriff’s Office. Chris is married to Lori and they have one daughter, Toni.
Chris Riha, Track 1 Breakout Session B
Chris Riha is a cross functional IT professional/Clinical Engineer/Project Manager with over 40 years of experience in medical device, IT, and clinical systems development, implementation, and support. Mr. Riha, (as primary author), has published 7 articles in peer review journals related to implementation of technology. Chris has previously served in PM roles for two health care organizations, the most recent at Carilion Clinic where he had the pleasure of building and managing the IT project management team. Chris has been working as an independent consultant since 2017 providing a number of clients expertise in program management and cybersecurity.
Sardek Love, Track 1 Breakout Session C
Women's Panel, Track 2 Breakout Session A
Heather Bass - Heather Bass has spent her career focused on delivering very complex and challenging initiatives with a high focus on technology, driving business analysis, process engineering and project management. Her diverse background across multiple types of business markets, such as retail and insurance, have allowed her to bring knowledge to others and continue closing the gaps between business and IT. She has a passion for Inclusion and Diversity leading the development of the first Team Member Network at Advance Auto Parts, Women In Motion.
Patrice Freeland - Patrice is a PMP certified IT Project Manager and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt for General Electric. Patrice has led a wide variety of projects that support GE's engineering, manufacturing and site security operations. She is a member of the GE Power PMO and owner of their proprietary Digital Project Management Methodology project tracking tool. Patrice is also the leader of GE Salem's Women's Network and HealthAhead program and is a Toastmasters Advanced Communicator. Prior to joining GE, Patrice has held various IT roles in the corporate construction, HR recruitment and healthcare industries. In addition to her professional experience, she is a mother of two older children that make her proud every day.
Emily Wayman - Emily has been a Project Manager at Modea for a little over four years. At Modea, Emily has fully embraced Lean-Agile principles and management tools and is adept at both project and product management. She is a Certified Scrum Product Owner who holds a Bachelor in Fine Arts in Graphic Design from Radford University, and a Master’s Degree in Brand Management from Virginia Commonwealth University. Outside of work, you will find her discovering new hiking trails with her husband or surfing with her family at Smith Mountain Lake.
Megan Adkins - Megan is a people-oriented Project Manager who quickly establishes effective working relationships with her team members and clients. She came to Modea with a background in agile software development and is adept at steering a team and clearing obstacles along the way. She holds her Lean Green Belt Certification, is a Certified Scrum Product Owner, and will be sitting for her PMP this month! A graduate of Virginia Tech, Megan earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Apparel, Housing and Resource Management and a Master’s Degree in Education with a focus on Instructional Technology. As a Senior Project Manager at Modea, Megan leads complex, consultative engagements, ensuring her clients thrive in the face of change. She currently supports the evolution of Modea’s PMO tools and delivery practices, as well as Modea’s ongoing work with Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Sheri Winesett, Track 2 Breakout Session B
Executive Director of the Botetourt County Chamber of Commerce and Adjunct Faculty for business, entrepreneurship and leadership programs for Virginia Western Community College. Sheri is an accomplished, result-driven business coach, entrepreneur, strategy expert and management consultant executive with 20+ years’ experience in leading executives and their teams in diverse industries. As a creative and multi-disciplinary executive, Sheri is renowned for identifying cryptic connections among players from various environments and using multi-and cross-disciplinary approaches to deliver innovative business solutions.
Some of her key achievements include:
Developed the programming for RAMP- the Roanoke Blacksburg Accelerator on behalf of Virginia Western Community College and facilitated Lean Start Up for first cohort.
Designed and developed a customized leadership module for managers and supervisors offered by Virginia Western Community College including workplace communication, setting expectations, SMART Goals -90 Day Planning, difficult conversations, your personal brand, leadership styles and motivation and success.
Received certification as an IceHouse facilitator for innovative problem solving with teams in corporations and government.
Co-designed programming for Gig Economy classes at RAMP on behalf of Virginia Western Community College and facilitated 8 week program for second cohort.
Jennifer Leake, CMC, Track 2 Breakout Session C
For over 20 years,
Jennifer Leake CMC®has helped organizations “unlock” people and create a stronger people system to improve both company and individual performance.
She is the principal consultant for Assessment Pros LLC and CEO of the local consulting firm, Perform For Profit, whose mission is to help others “Be Wildly Successful”.
As a Certified Emotional Intelligence Practitioner and employee assessment authority, Jennifer helps businesses select and utilize assessment technology to better hire, engage and lead key talent. The end result is employees who love what they do – enjoy who they work with - and respect who they work for.
Richard Cheng, Track 3 Breakout Session A & B
Richard Cheng is the Director of Training at Excella, provides consulting and training services to commercial and government clients in the Washington, DC area. Richard coaches, mentors, and trains clients in understanding and implementing Agile and Scrum.
A graduate of Virginia Tech, Richard has authored several publications on project management, presented at Agile and PMI sponsored industry events, is a member of Mensa, and holds certifications including:
Trainer (CST)
Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)
Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO)
Certified Scrum Professional (CSP)
Project Management Professional (PMP)
PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)
SAFe Program Consultant (SPC)
Certified Agile Leadership (CAL 1)
LeSS Certified Practitioner
Certified Enterprise
Richard is a founder and on the executive committee of the Agile Delivery for Agencies, Programs, and Teams (ADAPT), an Agile government task force.
Doug Martin, PMP, PMI-ACP, CSM, CSP, M.P.M., Track 3 Breakout Session C
Doug is a project manager for Carilion Clinic and has lead enterprise-level projects for over ten years that span between technical, administrative, and clinical systems implementations. Doug is a co-author of
Agile Almanac Book 2: Programs with Multi and Virtual-Team Environments.
Doug is a member of the PMI Southwest Virginia Chapter and currently serves as a Director at Large. He is certified by PMI as a Project Management Professional (PMP®) and an Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP®). He also holds Certified Scrum Master (CSM) and Certified Scrum Professional (CSP) designations from the Scrum Alliance. Mr. Martin graduated from American Graduate University with a Masters Degree in Project Management.
https://www.amazon.com/author/dougmartin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglaspmartin/
Paige Kanode, PMP, PMI-ACP, CSM, CSP, Track 3 Breakout Session C
Paige Kanode is an IT project manager for Carilion Clinic; leading both technical and clinical projects along with process improvement initiatives. She is also the President Elect for the Southwest Virginia chapter of PMI. She is honored to serve her fellow chapter members and help deliver quality programs.
Paige previously worked for Advance Auto Parts for 15 years. She started in web development, moved to a business analyst and then into the project manager tole. She led the Point of Sale and enterprise catalog projects using Scrum for several years. She has been practicing some form of Agile for almost 10 years. She is PMI- ACP certified, Scrum Master certified and a Certified Scrum Professional. She graduated from Liberty University with a degree in Business Administration Project Management.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/paigekanode/
