Calendar of Events

Topic: Social Justice and The Roles of Businesses

Short Description:  In the last year/plus a lot has happened, both nationally and international to the business world and to our lives.  Everything as we know it, has changed. Businesses must navigate the new normal to meet their customers’ needs and expectations. Today much more is expected from businesses beyond the delivery of quality goods and services.  There is a growing call on businesses to be socially responsible and to make a pledge on social justice.

Execution/Delivery of programs and projects has a new nuance. Today’s consumers are more informed and engaged. They research, understand, and know the companies that make the products and services that they want to purchase.  This knowledge influences their purchase decision and ultimately where they spend their money. When programs and projects are managed, the focus is shifting to incorporate elements of social justice, rather than just the bottom line.

The focus on social justice, in the last year is significantly changing the business landscape and changing their customers’ perspectives of businesses. The focus is on the Role of Businesses to be socially responsible organizations.

This presentation focuses on having the conversation and understanding around social justice and on what potential impact it could have on the way we run programs and projects:

• What is Social Justice?
• History of Social Justice - linking projects to the value they leverage (benefits realization)
• Equity vs. Equality
• Social Justice action taken by best-in-class organizations
• The organizational value impacts of projects and programs gained by organizations with a social justice/socially responsible initiative
• Discussion and Questions

Speaker: Geraldine Marks, MBA, PMP, CSM, CSPO

Geraldine Marks, has a master’s degree in Business and PMP as well as Scrum certifications and Agile training (MBA, PMP, CSM, CSPO). She has been a member of PMI-MN Chapter since 2015. In 2020 she finished serving her second term as the Director of Governance/Board Secretary for PMI-MN Chapter. She started out as a volunteer with the IT committee then went on to take the role of IT Chair then onto the board. She also served as the Board Liaison for the Volunteer Committee. As the Director of Governance, Geraldine invested a lot of time and effort updating PMI-MN Chapter policies to meet the changing needs of the chapter and to gain back the members’ trust.

Professionally, Geraldine had been working as a program/project manager in the Twin Cities for various companies: CPG, Ag, Health, and Insurance companies. She is currently a principal/program manager at Optum supporting the Architecture team’s strategic efforts, bringing deep experience in delivering projects and programs at scale. Outside of work, she enjoys mentoring young professionals and volunteering within her community. Geraldine lives in Minnesota with her husband and 4-year-old son.

Geraldine’s approach to leadership is to empower her team by:

1. Building a culture of transparency and trust
2. Ensuring their voices are heard and they know that they matter
3. Providing opportunity to grow, building relationships and truly being there for the team

Virtual Event Logon Instructions:  See page 2 of the PDF - May_27_2021-York-Program-Flyer.pdf. The flyer is made available in many ways:

1. Linked In the automated registration acknowledgement, under the special information section, that is provided in the registration tool - immediately upon registration
2. Linked In the initial communication emailed to all chapter members to announce the event - scheduled for distribution at 3pm on Monday 5/10
3. Linked in the 2 reminder communications emailed to all chapter members-  scheduled for distribution at noon on Mondays'  5/17 and 5/24
4. Linked In a final communication reminder to those who registered - scheduled for distribution at noon on the day of the event - Thursday May 27th 

Questions: Please contact Debra Hanzlik at York-manager@pmi-keystone.org or call 860-384-5479.