Meet 2022 Candidates

Tanisha has over 15 years of experience working in program and project management in both the government and private sectors.  She has managed a variety of projects and programs ranging from large scale IT project implementations to business process improvement projects.  Tanisha served in the United States Air Force and in 2000, she was honorably discharged.  She holds bachelor’s degrees in Project Management and Information Systems.  In 2007, she earned a Master of Business Administration.  She is certified in Agile methodology, in Prosci ADKAR Change Management and she is also a certified Scrum Master.  Since 2018,  she has worked for Micron Technology in various program and project management leadership roles.  Currently she is the Senior Manager for Diversity, Equality and Inclusion supporting executive leaders to plan, develop projects and execute on Micron’s DEI commitments.

Tanisha enjoys giving back to the community.  She has held board positions serving as a member of the Board of Directors for the Idaho Black History Museum; and as a governor appointed commission member on Serve Idaho – Governor’s Commission on Service and Volunteerism.  She has served on the PMIWIC Board as the VP or Programs for the past two years.

In her free time, Tanisha enjoys writing and spending time with her family.   She is excited for an opportunity to couple her experience in project management with her love for community service and volunteerism.  

ELECTED

Karen Hardesty earned her PMP credentials in 2009.  She has served on the PMIWIC Board of Directors as VP of Marketing and VP of Membership.

After almost 30 years, Karen retired from HP Inc in 2019, where she was a Senior Project Manager.  She managed projects in a variety of functions, including Accounting/Finance, R&D/Manufacturing, Call Center Operations, eCommerce, and Managed Services Sales & Service Delivery.

While her son was active in youth soccer, Karen volunteered as both Team Manager and Team Treasurer, where she was responsible for reporting all income and expenditures for the team and providing final year accounting to the soccer club.

Karen is also an entrepreneur, working with a team of women to set and achieve goals, while building their own businesses.

Karen received her BSBA from the University of Arizona, with concentrations in Accounting and Management Information Systems. She is married with two children, two granddaughters (twins!), and a dog.

If elected, Karen is looking forward to continuing to serve the PMIWIC community as VP of Finance.

ELECTED

I was born and raised in Boise, and have since been residing in Twin Falls for the past 7 years. Recently I became the CFO for a biotech startup, after completing my MBA in Project Management from Idaho State University. I would love to be the VP of Membership and encourage members to jump into the awesome resources we provide, as well as help coordinate volunteer activities in some of the smaller areas of the chapter (Twin Falls, specifically).

Ben Williams has been a member of PMIWIC since March 2019.  He began serving as PMIWIC’s Volunteer Coordinator in December of 2020. He has remained in this role directing many Idaho Food Bank volunteering events, co-leading the 2020 Rake-up Boise, and participating in many of the virtual events held by PMI since the beginning of the pandemic.  He is PMP certified and received his MBA from Boise State University.  HIs work experience includes healthcare project management, patient care, and economic development.  Ben currently works as a project manager for Case Works, LLC, which streamlines legal processing for mass-tort litigation. He brings with him a passion for community, increased participation, and service.  He enjoys spending time with his wife, Michelle, and 4 year old son Oliver, who keeps him busy and is also a frequent guest for the virtual events.  Thank you for your consideration of his candidacy.  

ELECTED

I have been a PMI member since 2003, involved with both PMIWIC and the Portland Chapter.  Moving back to Boise in 2019, I served on the Technical Committee for PMIWIC for 2 years.  And I have been the VP Technology pro tem since the creation of that board position.  I look forward to continuing to serve PMIWIC in that capacity.

My background includes 35 years in management of technology-focused R&D projects, mostly with HP in both the US and Europe, and including 8 years with Xerox in international program management.   I have managed project teams and program managers spanning a wide variety of technologies and markets, many of which involved developing or using software applications that were configured for effectiveness and ease of use.  That experience carries over very well to the technology needs of PMIWIC, where we have continuing needs for enhancing communications with members and in helping the board be even more effective in their roles.  Currently, I am the CTO for a local company specializing in digital controls for commercial lighting.  I am also Director of Technology for a non-profit organization providing educational opportunities to promising students in rural Kenya.  And in my spare time, I enjoy being a referee for youth competitive and high school soccer in southwest Idaho and eastern Oregon.  While as a chapter we look forward to getting together again, project managers will need to effectively address remote or hybrid project teams.  And the appropriate use of remote technologies is becoming more important in a large number of industries.  PMIWIC needs to be a resource for those facing management challenges in the ever-evolving project environments. 

Some additional pending initiatives I will champion include:

·      Continue to track improvements in developing and maintaining the chapter website and other communication tools.  There are opportunities to tune our current locally-maintained website while we wait for a larger PMI-wide integration project (that now looks to be several years away).   

·      Restart face-to-face learning and networking opportunities with chapter members (hurray!).  But also look to leverage the learnings we have on remote communication tools in order to provide the best experience for the most members. 

·      Share technology best practices with other chapters, especially those with similar membership numbers. 

PMIWIC is a great organization.  I look forward to staying involved and continuing to serve. 

ELECTED

My name is Brian Howerton. I currently serve as a Senior Project Analyst with ViaPath.  My previous project management experience includes display signage production and installation, and electrical lighting conversion. In addition, I worked with HP for over 7 years as an operations business analyst. I earned my PMP in 2019, prior to that I held the CAPM.  I have been a member of both PMI and PMIWIC for over 5 years.  My previous board work included time as President of my local HOA, and a board member of my local church. 

I am a born and raised Idahoan, who moved to Seattle after college.  I started my career in the male-dominated, engineering/manufacturing sector – teaching “the boys” Computer-Aided Drafting (CAD). It was that first professional engagement where I received my PMI certificate.

I’ve largely been in contract work since, performing as a Business Analyst, or a Project Manager, or both.  I enjoy the discipline of project management.  

I am thrilled to have been invited to the Western Idaho PMI Chapter!  I look forward to meeting you!