Cedrick has been a PMI member for the past nine months; after obtaining his PMP, he decided it was time to give back and, in March of this year, started volunteering with the Phoenix Chapter.   

I had the pleasure of conversing with Cedrick Woodard and quickly learned that he is challenging to read from a first impression and guards his words carefully but embraces lifelong learning. Associates regard him as always reliable and a natural leader. If you establish a rapport with him, you quickly realize he is deeply passionate about providing socioeconomically disadvantaged communities and folks opportunities to obtain sustainable wealth and education (in perpetuity). 

Cedrick’s words of wisdom, “ you need to learn, learn to be humble, how to network to get the resources to make a solution happen. Network to be better and share your strengths and talents with others. If you are not ready to learn, you are not ready to live. Share the story, and the process will make you better.” 

He established and volunteered for over seven years with Paideia Kids Program, designed to strengthen the community stewardship ethic and deepen learning through volunteerism and civic involvement. Cedrick’s focus was on the program that serves youths from K-12 and adults 18 and older. Services were offered to all ethnicities, with the understanding that certain minority groups are predisposed to certain health conditions due to lack of physical activity, poor dietary habits, and lack of health education. The program targets community members of all ethnicities and age groups underperforming in those categories and others. The program emphasized lifelong health disease conditions caused by poor eating, an adverse impact on families and society, and a lack of access to affordable, healthful foods. In strengthening our communities, we help address and reiterate advocacy, community impact, community need, community partnerships, diversity, sustainability, student achievement, youth voice, and reflection. 

Cedrick Woodard’s advice to others who are thinking about volunteering with the chapter is, “embrace the opportunity to sacrifice and use the opportunity to network. Use your resources and strengths to make a difference in human life.” Do not be selfish; treat people how you want to be treated. Cedrick has a healthy respect for fearless people and for doing what they say they will do. 

If your paths cross, take a moment to get to know Cedrick. You might leave the conversation with a changed outlook on what you can give to the world if you only share yourself in solving a problem for your community. 

The VP of Programs, Christopher Gentry, the VP of Membership, John Choate and the VP of External Relations, Deniese Reinhardt were the interactive panelists addressing student questions.

The session offered glimpses into PMI membership both internationally and locally in our community. Resources for educational certification, professional development units and youth education programs through PMIEF. Links to seminars, and  the chapter webinar library.

PMI Global membership consists of more than 700k members internationally. The Phoenix Chapter serves the state of Arizona outside of Tucson which is served by the Tucson Chapter so members can make a difference in their community.

If you would like to listen to the audio presentation recording, members can send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Tackling societal issues on a large scale also requires a radical reimagining of customer and stakeholder relationships, including exactly who it is that organizations are trying to reach. Only then can businesses ensure they’re solving the right problems for the right people with the right projects.

Consider Coca-Cola HBC’s Mission 2025 Team, which conducts an annual materiality survey of roughly 1,000 internal and external stakeholders to identify social and environmental topics that impact the company’s value drivers. “This is not just a one-off exercise,” Dickstein said. “It is the starting point for engagement activities that occur throughout the year.”

The survey results helped Coca-Cola HBC define its 2025 sustainability commitments, which, in turn, align to the UN SDGs. With that, the company is ready to take action on a wide range of issues, ranging from reducing water use by 20 percent in water-risk areas to increasing its management ranks to 50 percent female.

“We are engaging with our stakeholders to determine climate action in the new normal and what the whole global pandemic means for us as a business,” he said of the company’s 2020 stakeholder forum. “Listening to and learning from them is a fantastic best-practice platform and necessary to move the agenda forward.”

A customer-centric mindset, meanwhile, can yield more innovative ways of thinking that continue to deliver value to customers even in times of crisis. Take urban development: in London—as in other cities—there’s a “big conversation” about “equality in public infrastructure, and how access to healthcare, parks, and neighborhood centers disproportionately benefits some communities more than others,” Arup’s de Cani said. As leaders around the world contemplate a post-pandemic future, such discussions may spark more equitable project investments. And de Cani said more of Arup’s clients want to play an active role in developing those solutions. They want to understand the impact of projects in much broader terms and expect guidance on how to improve them to benefit more people through access to cities, data, and economic opportunities. “At a meta level, these measures now affect whether a project is approved or not,” he said.

It’s also important, as the UN SDG Fund stresses, for businesses not only to implement reactive measures but also to enable the right conditions for social inclusion to flourish. This includes engaging in a true dialogue with customers.

“We’ve seen in several projects that the cultural connection, the language, whatever it might be, is a real value,” said Gabrielle Bullock, principal and director of global diversity at architecture and design firm Perkins and Will, Los Angeles, California, United States. “Our clients’ values are not only focused on fee, schedule, and budget. It really is about the human connection, the cultural connection, and shared values.”²¹

In one instance, Bullock said Perkins and Will almost lost an opportunity because its commitment to the LGBTQ+ community wasn’t clearly demonstrated. “We hadn’t really promoted it like we should,” she said. Once the firm showed its team’s understanding and commitment to the community, it won the project.

Sources

21. Pulse of the Profession^®In-Depth Report: A Case for Diversity, PMI, June 2020.

Marissa Akins works as a project manager for ASU and has led the peer network. What has kept her inspired is her many influencers and she feels strongly that "variety is the spice of life and you can draw your inspiration from a multiple of sources. Keep trying it and do something differently so you dont get stuck. Avoid the delimina of not exploring everything, analysis paralis, so just pick something and try it knowing it might not work out. You will have something you can use and keep adjusting until you get closer to the ideal in your vision."

What prompted her to volunteer? Marissa attended study group three times. Once in-person, once at the start of the pandemic before the life of teaching children at home with virtual learning and then a final time since she postponed her test which she passed in September 2020. Marissa enjoyed this the facilitation role because connecting with people who are interested in the same path I decided on is exciting. There is SO much to share and prepare for and there’s likely someone in the same situation that you are in that may really benefit from connecting with you. Marissa Akins words of advice, "just do it! You’ll never regret helping to support someone achieve their goals."

In getting to know Marissa, you will find that she is passionate about fitness and hiking, both allow her to free her mind of concerns, enjoy nature and to grab some me time. She is also passionate about spending time with her family and enjoys their social time. arissa's personal motto is say what you mean, mean what you say, and do what you said you are going to do.

Marissa is currently reading, Courageous Cultures. It’s a great read, but be ready to make waves in your organization if you take this one on; otherwise, you may just end up discouraged. She looks up to people who do the hard things for inspiration and as her heros. Why? We’re all at different places in this journey so find yours and build a network.

Her colleges would share that Marissa is committed to their well-being. She always has the project objectives in mind, but if you take care of your team, they’ll take care of the project. Marissa's business advice, "just try it! A lot of times we spend so much time deliberating over something or delay by discussion and we can really take that time and energy and put it towards a small-scale prototype of what we’d like to accomplish and learn from that experience."