PM PhilanthropistYour Gifts in Action | June 2016

YOUTH BELIEVES PROJECTMANAGEMENT SKILLSNEEDED FOR RAPIDLYCHANGING WORLD

Anisha Cheema, a recent secondary schoolgraduate from Canada, shares how learningproject management has prepared her for lifeand career in our rapidly advancing world.

Time to Renew Your PMIMembership?

DONOR SPOTLIGHT: RITAREAD, PMP

LOOKING TO ADVANCE YOURCAREER?

Renew your PMI® membership, and makea gift to the PMI Educational Foundation.

Board member Rita Read is proud to beaffiliated with PMIEF, and she believes youshould be too!

Apply today for PMIEF ProfessionalDevelopment Scholarships and PMIChapter Milestone Scholarships. Deadline is1 July.

The Project Management Institute®Educational Foundation logo, the slogan Project Management for Social Good®, PMI, and PMBOK Guide are registered marks of ProjectManagement Institute, Inc. For a comprehensive list of trademarks, contact the PMI Legal Department.

© Copyright 2016 - Project Management Institute Educational Foundation (PMIEF)

YOUTH BELIEVES PROJECT MANAGEMENT SKILLSNEEDED FOR RAPIDLY CHANGING WORLD“Project management is our future,” says 18-year-old Anisha Cheema, anintelligent, outgoing and enthusiastic young woman who recently graduatedfrom secondary school in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

“Our world is rapidly changing; we can handle those changes. But there areskills we need—in addition to science, math and reading—such as creativity,the ability to plan, time management, collaboration and how to bring multipleparts together to create a working and sustainable solution,” she says.

Anisha believes this because she has lived it, spending the past 13 yearslearning through projects in a program called Destination Imagination (DI). Thisfall, she will head to college, taking with her the skills to manage projects ofany size.

Together, PMI Educational Foundation (PMIEF) and DI are committed todeveloping PM Knowledgeable Youth, like Anisha. DI fosters creativity,courage and curiosity in youth through open-ended academic challenges in thefields of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), fine artsand service learning.

Thanks to a PMIEF grant, DI recently integrated project management tools intoits curricula. As a result, 200,000 more children around the world will haveaccess to project management knowledge each year. Anisha attributes muchof her personal and intellectual growth to her experience in DI. She has noticedgrowth in her creativity and persistence as well as her tolerance for failure (andnow understands there is often more learning in failure than success). Sheeven used the skills she gained to create a movement in her community calledHumans of Vancouver.

As part of an advanced journalism class two years ago, Anisha and her bestfriend decided to focus their year-end project on the social media phenomenonHumans of New York, which features photographs and short stories about NewYorkers. The girls discovered spin-offs of the endeavor all over the world, but Vancouver was lacking. So they took it upon themselves to launchHumans of Vancouver for their city.

This project was a good fit for what Anisha understands about her own learning style. “I’m a kinesthetic learner, so I need to build and create. I lovelearning through projects, experimentation and testing the waters. Being able to bring different mediums together and collaborating to create alarger solution is something that I particularly love,” she says.

Youth like Anisha are shining examples of the power of project management skills and the confidence that comes from learning a start-to-finishprocess for pursuing successful projects in life, academics and work.

On top of creating a social media movement, Anisha is an actor. She was selected to be an ambassador for the #LikeAGirl campaign, designed byProcter & Gamble’s Always brand to champion confidence in young girls. Anisha was recently featured in a video—flexing her biceps andadvocating for the creation of a female wrestler emoji—alongside a dozen teen and pre-teen girls talking about the need for emojis to reflect thevast interests and capabilities of real girls, instead of stereotypes.

Anisha believes that creativity in leadership will be necessary for the future. “I have learned that creativity is equally as important in our lives asskills such as writing or math. The world is ever-changing, and we need versatile solutions and creative project managers who can easily adapt to

those changes,” she says.

And she plans to be one of them. After she completes an acting conservatory at SchoolCreative Institute of the Arts in British Columbia, Anishaintends to pursue a double major in film and political science. “I want to use my skills to make a difference in people’s lives. My generation is oftenseen as apathetic toward political and social issues. It may be true for some but not for all. Many of us are eager to explore social issues, but welack the tools and education. I want to create films and act in films that are a spring board for positive and meaningful change,” she says. “And themedium of film is an excellent way to create awareness about the issues facing our society.”

That’s exactly what PMIEF’s partnership with DI intends to produce: a world full of capable, creative, accomplished project managers—like Anisha—who, due to the project management skills acquired in their youth, are confident to take on whatever may come their way.

The Project Management Institute® Educational Foundation logo, the slogan Project Management for Social Good®, PMI, and PMBOK Guide are registered marks of ProjectManagement Institute, Inc. For a comprehensive list of trademarks, contact the PMI Legal Department.

© Copyright 2016 - Project Management Institute Educational Foundation (PMIEF)

Time to Renew Your PMI Membership?The PMI Educational Foundation leverages project management for social good®. When it’s time to renew your membership in PMI, don’t forget to include a gift of any amount to support the good work of PMIEF.

Your generous financial support can help bring transformational learning resources to nonprofits, non-governmental agencies (NGO), emerging practitioners, teachers and classrooms around the globe.

Renew your membership: http://www.pmi.org/membership/renew-your-membership.aspx

or

Make a gift: http://pmief.org/get-inspired/support-pmief

The Project Management Institute® Educational Foundation logo, the slogan Project Management for Social Good®, PMI, and PMBOK Guide are registered marks of ProjectManagement Institute, Inc. For a comprehensive list of trademarks, contact the PMI Legal Department.

© Copyright 2016 - Project Management Institute Educational Foundation (PMIEF)

DONOR SPOTLIGHT: RITA READ, PMP"I feel like PMIEF is my foundation. Any PMI member should be really proud that we have a foundation that's giving back

to schools, to nonprofits/non-governmental organizations (NGO) including those serving global citizens in time of critical

need through disaster management services. That's why I love to spread the word about the foundation," says Rita Read,

PMP, Vice President at State Street.

Rita first learned about the PMI Educational Foundation through conversations at a PMI Global Congress — North

America. The work of the foundation, especially related to preparing PM Knowledgeable Youth, drew her interest because

she was already focused on introducing young people to the tools of project management. Following the completion of her

term as president of the PMI Mass Bay Chapter, she had begun networking with local schools to build awareness about

PMI.

"I have always gravitated to the work of PMIEF because I really believe in it. Through the foundation, we're enabling children to learn project

management, which really is a life skill, and one that is so vital to the organization of their life and work," she says.

When Rita heard about the role of the PMIEF Liaison, she volunteered to serve in this capacity for her PMI chapter. In 2011, a PMIEF board

member called and asked her to chair the Foundation's Engagement Committee, which was working to build awareness about the foundation and

steward relationships with chapters that are donors to PMIEF. She agreed, and three years later she joined the foundation's board, where she

continues to serve today.

A foundation donor since 2011, Rita gives because of the children who benefit from learning project management skills as a result of foundation

endeavors. "Donating to the PMI Educational Foundation is really investing in the long-term future of children because you're giving them the skills

to be successful in life. A donation to PMIEF is different than giving someone one-time help. This gift helps children be more successful in the rest

of their lives," she says.

In fact, thanks to a matching gift from her employer, State Street, Rita's annual gift to PMIEF is doubled. "I decided to pursue a matching gift from

my company because I wanted to give as much as possible. Matching gifts are so important because they enable our gifts to double in size, while

offering employers the opportunity to give back to society," she says. Setting it up was as simple as using her company's online form.

Rita is an enthusiastic advocate of Project Management for Social Good®, and she believes more people—not just PMI members—need to know

about PMIEF. "I wish that everyone knew that there are so many wonderful free resources available. Teachers, students, really anybody in the

world can go to our website and download these free materials to use with their own children or with nonprofit organizations in their communities,"

she explains.

She has witnessed first-hand the impact of teaching project management to youth. "I've seen the work we are able to do with schools. The children

benefit from learning skills that improve their communication, collaboration and teamwork. Their projects are much more successful this way," she

says.

As a board member, Rita has a front seat to all the good PMIEF has accomplished for youth, educators, nonprofit/NGOs. "We've given grants to so

many organizations and schools, and we have heard the feedback on how valuable the students and teachers feel it is. It's such a life skill for the

students. That's why I give, and that's why I'm proud to be part of PMIEF."

The Project Management Institute® Educational Foundation logo, the slogan Project Management for Social Good®, PMI, and PMBOK Guide are registered marks of ProjectManagement Institute, Inc. For a comprehensive list of trademarks, contact the PMI Legal Department.

© Copyright 2016 - Project Management Institute Educational Foundation (PMIEF)

Looking to Advance Your Career?PMIEF has established professional development scholarships to provide project managers, non-profits, school administrators and teachers with training opportunities. An independent panel of judges will recommend scholarship recipients based upon an applicant’s work experience, volunteer activities and the applicant’s level of benefit based on his/her professional and/or volunteer roles.

Thanks to the generosity of the Project Management Institute, the PMI Chapter Milestone Professional Development Scholarships are available to members of chapters who have reached their 30-year, 35-year, and 40-year milestones. These scholarships provide funding to project managers interested in pursuing continuing education coursework that will advance their career.

Apply for a Professional Development Scholarship: http://pmief.org/scholarships-grants-and-awards/scholarships/professional-development-scholarship-information

Apply for a PMI Chapter Milestone Scholarship: http://pmief.org/scholarships-grants-and-awards/scholarships/pmi-chapter-milestone-application

The Project Management Institute® Educational Foundation logo, the slogan Project Management for Social Good®, PMI, and PMBOK Guide are registered marks of ProjectManagement Institute, Inc. For a comprehensive list of trademarks, contact the PMI Legal Department.

© Copyright 2016 - Project Management Institute Educational Foundation (PMIEF)