Join us for PMI Westchester Chapter's 15th Annual Symposium -
in person at the Westchester Marriott, or remotely via Zoom!


Register here!

This year's Symposium features

• an opening keynote session by Paul Nichols on Project Leadership Skills
• a workshop by Dr. Paul Clapis on unlocking the power of generative AI to help you gain a competitive edge in managing projects
• Cynthia Snyder Dionisio will explore new technical capabilities and skills that we need to adopt to remain relevant in the coming years

The Symposium will take place on Saturday, 04 May 2024 at the Westchester Marriott at 670 White Plains Road, Tarrytown, from 08:00 through 4:00 p.m.

Our opening keynote session will be Strong Leadership Skills by Paul Nichols. If you want to advance your career as a project professional, you need to pay at least as much attention to your relationships as you do to your performance. The wide variety of skills and abilities that today’s project managers need to cultivate include:

• creating and executing on a vision;
• motivating others;
• influencing without authority;
• networking;
• communicating up, down and laterally;
• managing stakeholder relationships; and
• dealing with conflict.

This presentation by Paul Nichols touches briefly on each of the skills mentioned above, exploring them in relation to the project environment. Paul Nichols is a training consultant with extensive experience in designing and facilitating a wide variety of programs including those focused on leadership development, communications, performance improvement, presentation skills and change management. He has worked with leaders to improve their individual and group effectiveness through his executive coaching efforts. Paul is skilled at providing valuable feedback to individuals and is familiar with many forms of self-assessment and 360-degree tools.

Next, Dr. Paul J. Clapis will lead us in a workshop to unlock the power of Generative AI for real-world project success. This workshop, "Supercharge Your Projects with Generative AI & ChatGPT: A Hands-On Workshop for Project Managers", dives into the practical applications of ChatGPT and other leading tools, empowering you to streamline workflows, improve efficiency, and gain a competitive edge. In this workshop we will gain experience with:

• OpenAI ChatGPT, Microsoft Bing, and Google Gemini: Master popular platforms to create, edit, summarize, and organize project documentation with ease.
• Crafting powerful prompts: Learn best practices for concise, accurate prompts that unlock ChatGPT's full potential.
• Human-in-the-loop approach: Discover strategies to minimize errors and enhance quality through human oversight.
• Ethical considerations: Navigate the responsible use of AI in project management.

Supercharge your skills with concrete skills to apply ChatGPT across your projects, practical methods for boosting adaptability and efficiency, and strategies for achieving superior results in a digital world.
Advance your career and gain a competitive advantage!

Finally, Cynthia Snyder Dionisio will lead us in a session on the Project Manager of Tomorrow. The project management skills we have utilized to manage projects successfully are no longer sufficient. The business landscape is changing rapidly and as project managers, we have to respond accordingly. The future calls for new ways of approaching our work along with enhanced interpersonal skills for supporting our teams.

The Project Manager of Tomorrow session will explore new technical capabilities and skills that project managers need to adopt to remain relevant in the coming years. Because the ways of working are shifting and the speed of change is accelerating, you will learn ways to empower your team and adapt to the ongoing environment of rapid change.

After this one-hour session, you will be able to:

• Summarize artificial intelligence capabilities that project managers can use to improve productivity
• Describe different ways to introduce hybrid practices into their projects
• Employ methods to empower virtual teams
• Adopt techniques to increase resilience

Cynthia Snyder Dionisio is a Professional project management consultant, instructor and author with over 20 years leading international teams of project management experts. She has received several awards, including being named a PMI Fellow in 2018 and PMI’s Distinguished Contribution Award in 2009. Cynthia is passionate about turning chaos in order, engaging with awesome teams, solving problems and facilitating achievement.