Baseline
Newsletter

250 Years of Legacy & Community

Thank you,

LeighAnne Martin

President, PMI Great Lakes Chapter

president@pmiglc.net

Supporting the RTX Invention Convention

PMI Great Lakes was proud to support the 2026 RTX Invention Convention U.S. Nationals at The Henry Ford this year, sponsored by PMIEF. Student inventors from across the country showed up with some seriously creative ideas, everything from environmental solutions to everyday tech gadgets.

Big thanks to our volunteers: Srini Pinnamaneni, Synthia Adams, LeighAnne Martin, Gia Todd, Pam Hartsell, and Ahmed Houmani. They spent the day at our booth chatting with young innovators and showing them how project management skills can turn a great idea into reality.

Golf Outing — Early Bird Ends July 15

Hope you're having a fantastic summer so far and finding time to enjoy the sunshine, longer days, and maybe even a few rounds of golf.

By now, you've probably seen the emails from our chapter about this year's outing, taking place on August 8th at the beautiful Farmington Hills Golf Course.

A big thank you to everyone who has already registered. Your support and enthusiasm help make this one of our most anticipated events of the year.

For those still thinking about it, here's a little extra incentive: Early Bird Pricing valid through July 15.

The Value of Vacation

For project and change management professionals

Taking time off for a vacation sometimes seems overwhelming. Arranging coverage, reorganizing calendars, and finding home and pet care can start to make you wonder whether it's worth it to disconnect and get away from the routines we have carefully crafted. But the moment the last task is handled, our freedom begins.

Recognizing the value of this mental freedom is essential for project and change management professionals who spend a great deal of time mentally living in the future state of project plans and change initiatives. Preparing to step away from work for more than a week or two is like planning a project. Before we can leave, we must make sure people know what needs to happen. We clarify who is handling what and think through what could come up while we are gone. We close loops, leave notes, and try to create stability so that our responsibilities will keep moving without us.

In some ways, preparing for vacation looks a lot like preparing for change. There is a current state, a transition state, and a vision of the future state. The current state is the normal rhythm of meetings, tasks, decisions, emails, family routines, and all the tasks that knit life together. The transition state is where the suitcase is half packed, the out-of-office message is on your mind, and a sense of impending chaos tempts us to stay put. The future state is the moment we finally let go and exhale, remembering why we wanted to go in the first place.

For project and change professionals, the hard part of stepping away is that we are used to scanning the horizon for risks to the transition. Whether we are anticipating stakeholder and sponsor communication issues or preparing to respond to questions or resistance, our planning and scanning habit can make it harder to fully rest.

That is why mental freedom matters. It is more than being away from work. It is the space that opens when we stop planning and thinking of every next step in our head.

Some of our best thinking happens when we aren't trying so hard to think. The lack of a to-do list, a quiet morning coffee, or an afternoon with no agenda can give our mind the relaxation and permission to let go and breathe.

This is especially important in project and change work, which requires judgment, empathy, creativity, patience, and the ability to see patterns across systems and people. This is hard to access when we are depleted. Even though we may produce work and attend meetings, our ability to listen deeply and guide people through transition and uncertainty can become diluted.

When we return, the work is still there. Projects need attention, sponsors will need support, and stakeholders will still have questions or concerns. Our time away won't make timelines, risks, or adoption challenges disappear. Yet we may come back with more capacity and see a problem differently or have more patience for someone frustrated with change. Taking time off may begin as one more transition to manage, but it can become a reminder that our minds need room to reset and recover. For those of us who help people and organizations move into what is next, that kind of freedom is not a luxury. It is part of staying ready.

April Callis Birchmeier, PMP, MCMP, CCMP™, is a Global Guru in Organizational Culture and an organizational change management expert. April works with PMOs to increase adoption and sustain change. She is the bestselling author of READY, Set, Change! Simplify and Accelerate Organizational Change. Learn more at springboard-consult.com or reach her at April@Springboard-Consult.com.

Discover PMI's Certification Pathways

Have you had a chance lately to revisit the full suite of certifications offered by the Project Management Institute? PMI currently offers 12 globally recognized credentials designed to support professionals across every stage of their careers: CAPM®, PMP®, PMI-ACP®, PMI-RMP®, PMI-SP®, PMI-PBA®, PgMP®, PfMP®, PMI-PMOCP™, PMI-CP™, PMI-CP™-I, and PMI-CP™-M. Whether you're just getting started or managing complex programs and portfolios, there's a certification designed to match your experience and aspirations.

A PMI certification represents more than a professional milestone. It demonstrates your commitment to continuous learning, validates your expertise, and enhances your credibility in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Many professionals also find that certification opens new doors, increases earning potential, and strengthens their confidence as leaders. Investing in your professional development is one of the best decisions you can make for your long-term career growth.

As your PMI Great Lakes Chapter Director of Certifications, I encourage you to explore these opportunities and consider which path aligns best with your goals. Our chapter continues to look for ways to better support our members, whether through study groups, mentorship, training resources, or answering your certification questions. If you're thinking about pursuing a certification, I'd be happy to connect and help you get started. Reach out to me at director.certifications@pmiglc.org.

Let's take that next step together.

Upcoming Chapter Events

New Members

• Amber Tinetti
• Andrea Guitron-Ortiz
• Balin Shrivastava
• Benjamin Kinczkowski
• Brent Masserant
• Brian Killian
• Britney Perkins
• Brittany Gracey
• Brittney Reno
• Colton Ramfos
• Cynthia Rzepka
• Diana Casetti
• Edward Kortes
• Evelyn Fernandez
• Gregory Barron
• Ishwarappa Ishwarappa
• Jamal Elhaj
• Jamie F. Loubert
• Jared Tschirgi
• Jaylin Steedman
• Jennifer Muir
• Jeremie Hamby
• Jerimia Turner
• Joseph Castellanos
• Kalen Nichols
• Karam Alraban
• Katrina Keyser
• Kelly Corla
• Kimberly Cobb
• Krati Sharma
• Lamonica Arrington Cabean
• Lauren Fresh
• Lois Mcentyre
• Marcy Coburn
• Natalie Messner
• Pedro Alviarez
• Regina Elamri
• Ryan Thero
• Shayla Turner
• Terrentha Hill
• Tirth Ginoya
• Vinoth Marimuthu
• William Goddard

Member Anniversaries