Michelle Bergquist has been a dedicated PMI member and volunteer project manager with the Marketing Team since May 2024. Michelle was drawn to volunteer work by her desire to contribute her time and develop professionally. Since her day job involves interpersonal management, the opportunity to engage in marketing content management as a PMI volunteer allowed her to explore her creative side by writing social media posts on LinkedIn, creating the weekly newsletter, and participating in marketing strategy and planning. Michelle has enjoyed tremendous networking and professional development opportunities by working closely with other volunteers and board members, finding the community to be welcoming and inclusive. Michelle encourages new members or those considering volunteer work to give it a try, even if they are not experts in their area of interest. She believes that volunteering is what you make of it—you get what you put in. By taking on opportunities to participate, people can showcase their abilities, which can lead to more opportunities.
Michelle relayed her proudest career achievement was refusing to allow a career setback define her, when in 2019 she was let go, while pregnant, from a new job in a foreign country: Within three months she se-cured a fantastic new job and ended up obtaining her CAPM certification just two days welcoming her daughter. This experience taught her the power of resilience and the importance of perseverance in the face of adversity. Five years later, her 5-year-old confirms her hidden talent is that she has also learned to make the best waffles! This “can do” attitude has led to Michelle to learn how to ski in her late 30’s and to climb the summit of Mt. Washington, NH in the middle of winter – even though her favorite destination is London. Passionate about family and friends, Michelle values having a local tribe, especially after moving around a lot. Her business philosophy is to be nice and work with nice people, as the work will come and go, but the kindness of people will be remembered.
