PhD, PMP, ITIL Foundation, Cert.APM

Dr. Hamid Faridani is a Senior Training and Consulting Associate with Procept Associates Ltd. His experience is in managing information technology projects, spending 23 years managing projects for IBM Canada. He led the development of IBM products at the IBM Toronto Lab. As part of IBM Global Services, Hamid delivered projects across insurance, banking, retail and government sectors. He specialized in consulting on troubled engagements, ensuring success of large, high risk projects, establishing trusted customer relationships and ensuring high client satisfaction. As Service Delivery Manager he was responsible for all aspects of software testing engagement including pricing and contract negotiations, project staffing, delivery management and engagement completion. Hamid provided project management leadership to the IBM PM community and was dedicated to helping develop the profession and mentoring other project managers in their career and professional goals.

As an IBM Risk Manager, he was responsible for ensuring that a large portfolio of IT engagements were following documented solution delivery process steps. Hamid ensured that any potential exposures to successful proposal and delivery were identified and addressed. He identified risk areas and recommended workable containment plans, reviewed project plans and recommended changes in plans and resourcing to cover any omissions. He ensured that the scope and responsibilities were well-defined and documented. Hamid mentored other project managers in managing complex, high risk engagements. He also performed PM reviews as part of consulting engagement for external customers.

Hamid holds a PhD in electrical engineering from the University of California. Prior to joining IBM, he spent over 10 years as an academic, teaching and conducting research at electrical engineering departments at universities in US, Iran and Canada. His last academic position was Associate Professor at University of Windsor.

Hamid is one of the founders of the first Systems Engineering departments in Iran. As department head, he led the establishment of the department, development of the curriculum and the hiring of faculty members.

Hamid started teaching project management (PM) courses as part of IBM Global Campus and later he joined PM certificate programs at University of Toronto and Ryerson University. After retiring from IBM, Hamid expanded his work at U of T and Ryerson, developing a number of new courses and conducting workshops for corporate customers. Hamid has been a frequent presenter at Project Management Institute chapter meetings. He has published over thirty papers in international journals and has refereed conferences on systems engineering, risk management, estimation and control theory.

PMP, CBAP, CMP

Amber Howard has over 15 years of experience in the technology and business fields. Her extensive consulting experience has allowed Amber to perform business analysis, project management and organizational change management for companies of various sizes in both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors. This experience includes engagements in the aviation, cooperative housing, finance, government, retail, risk management, and construction industries.

Amber teaches at the University of Toronto and continues to be a practicing Business Analyst and Project Manager who is currently developing a Resilience Training Program for teachers, and the redevelopment of Terminal 3 at Toronto Pearson International Airport as well as other large construction programs for the airport.

Amber is a passionate consultant, instructor, and performance coach who is in the business of designing and implementing solutions that minimize risk and take advantage of opportunities. She excels at training and developing people in order for them to excel both personally and professionally for what matters most to them. Over the past decade, Amber has contributed to both the IIBA and PMI and continues to volunteer her time as a coach in a leadership training program.

Amber holds a Certified Business Analyst Professional (CBAP®) designation from the International Institute of Business Analyst, a Change Management Practitioner™ (CMP) designation from APMG International, a Project Management Professional (PMP®) designation from the Project Management Institute (PMI), is a Certified Coach Practitioner™ through the Certified Coaches Federation, and is a Certified Personal Resilience Practitioner through Resilience Alliance. Amber holds an Honours BA in Bioethics and Political Science from the University of Toronto.

C.E.T, PMP, MBSc

Braden Johnson's experience comes from working as a Building Science Technical Consultant and Project Manager. In the capacity of an Employee or Consultant he has worked for a range of institutional clients which include York Region, Ryerson University, Brock University, Peel Region, York University, University of Toronto (Scarborough Campus), Toronto Transit Commission, as well as various Corporate Condominium and Commercial building owners throughout Canada, Caribbean and Asia.

Working as a Project Manager in a University Institution Braden has the unique experience of knowing the construction and financial constraints that Universities must work within. Within these constraints and challenges he has extensive experience solving the many problems involved with implementing large scale capital projects from concept to completion.

Typical tasks which Braden has been responsible for successfully delivering include: the planning of complex work scope; selecting qualified consultant teams through competitive RFSQ, RFP and / RFQ procurement; engaging construction teams in various CCDC construction contract types, facilitating the construction phases of work; completing commissioning; closing out building permits and managing operational readiness for the newly constructed space prior to occupancy.

Braden is a Certified Engineering Technologist (C.E.T), Project Management Professional (PMP) and has a Masters in Building Science (MBSc). He has developed College Course programs in Building Science and Construction Project Control and continues to teach part time at George Brown College Continuing Education as a way to keep up to date and engaged with best practices in the construction industry. He is also an active member of the Canadian Armed Forces currently serving in the capacity of an Officer with 32 Brigade Combat Engineer Regiment.

BSc, MBA, PMP, PEng

Peter Monkhouse's career is built on over 40 years of project and leadership experience. Currently, Peter is focused on helping professionals who support organizations to listen to their customers, deliver value, and execute strategy. Throughout his career, he has actively led projects and project managers in the areas of education, consulting, engineering, information technology, health, and organizational change. In a recent role, he successfully coached, mentored and worked with project managers across six continents. In addition, Peter teaches project management courses at Ryerson University, the University of Toronto, and the University of Calgary, along with many of Procept's corporate and government clients.

In prior roles, Peter managed portfolios of continuing education certificates, co-founded a start-up, and led large teams and programs of over US$20 million per year implementing organizational change. In 2019 Peter co-authored the best-selling book, Gen P: New Generation of Product Owners Who Care about Customers.

Over the past 20 years, Peter has taught project management to over 6,000 students in a variety of ways, including classroom, online, and intensive formats. His vast industry experience allows him to use examples to bring project management to life.

Peter has been an active volunteer with PMI for over 20 years: serving on the PMI Board of Directors for six years (including as Chair of the 2012 PMI Board), serving on the PMI Educational Foundation Board of Directors for six years (including as Chair of the 2018 PMIEF Board), as past president of the PMI Toronto Chapter, and serving on several Member Advisory Groups (MAGs). Presently, Peter is on the Board of Directors of Project Managers Without Borders.

In the fall of 2007, Peter became Chair of the Canadian Mirror Committee for the ISO PC236, which led to the development of the standard ISO21500. He received his BSc (Engineering) from Queen’s University and his MBA from the University of Toronto. He obtained his Project Management Professional (PMP)® credential in 1999, and, in May 2008, he graduated from the PMI® Leadership Institute Master Class. In 2020, Peter became a PMI Authorized Training Partner Instructor.

BSc, CTDP, PMP, EBAS, ICP-BAF

Shawn Pariag is a project management trainer and consultant with Procept and a director and agile coach within the Technology and Operations group at a major Canadian bank. For the past 22 years, he has successfully merged his passions for technology, project management and adult learning into an intriguing career. As a senior member of the team, Shawn actively seeks out opportunities to transfer knowledge and help teams continuously reflect and improve, become more effective in their roles to increase their outcomes, collaboration, and build quality practices.

He actively gives back to the project management community, holding several senior positions in the PMI Lakeshore Chapter.

Shawn graduated with a BSc in Computer Science from the University of the West Indies and has also earned a number of industry certifications from professional associations such as Prosci, Institute for Performance and Learning, IC Agile and the Project Management Institute.

BA, BEd, MBA, PMP, Cert.APM, CMP

Janice Petley has over 20 years of project management experience. Her typical assignments are definitely project management, but are anything but "typical". Her experience spans a wide range of projects: from classical theatre at the Stratford Festival and symphony concerts in the United States, to stadium and arena opera productions in cities such as Tokyo, Munich, and Brussels. Whether it was a large sporting event at the Rogers Centre or an opera with a cast of 1000 in a bull ring in Madrid, Janice has worked on high risk, innovative, challenging projects. As many of her events were broadcast live-to-air both nationally and internationally, she fully understands the necessity of flawless project execution.

Janice’s ability to understand and appreciate both client and project requirements has enabled her to adapt to the needs of projects such as the SARS benefit concert in Toronto, World Youth Day (the Pope’s visit), and managing site requirements while touring Europe with the Rolling Stones. By drawing upon this experience, Janice is able to provide scenarios in her training which are interesting and accessible to a wide variety of people and organizations. She has a special skill for demonstrating project management lessons learned by recounting engaging, memorable stories that bridge the gap between theory and practice.

Janice has extensive experience with projects whose core deliverables focused on marketing, corporate communications, employee rewards, team building, and training and education. She has managed projects for many high profile corporate clients including CIBC, Chrysler Canada, Telus, and BMW. The not-for-profit client list includes the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Canada Games, and Special Olympics International.

She holds a BA from the University of Western Ontario, a BEd from Queen’s University, an MBA, and is designated as a Project Management Professional and a Certified Agile Project Manager.

Janice Petley is the Director of Atlantic Canada for Procept Associates and she regularly presents at Dalhousie University in Halifax and the University of New Brunswick as well as in-house to corporate customers. She keeps her PM skills current by working on social change projects that are close to her heart.