Get to know the new members of the Board of Directors!

Tuesday 14th May saw the Annual General Meeting and election of the Board of Directors for the PMI Tasmania Chapter. It was great to see an excellent attendance result as our new Chapter grows. More details about the outcomes of the AGM will be sent out in the June Newsletter so keep an eye out for that in your in boxes.

Let’s get to know the new members of the Board. But, before we do that, we would like to recongise and sincerely thank our retiring Directors – Cath Watson (Secretary) and Alex Ferguson (Events).  Thanks so much, ladies, for your dedication, commitment and teamwork over the last year as we set about establishing a PMI Chapter in Tasmania. 

The new Board represents a great mix of backgrounds and experiences and spans a broad range of industries. We are excited and pleased to introduce you to …

President - Rebecca Greenwood "Bec" (2023-2025) - president@pmitas.org

Rebecca, known as "Bec" comes from the Consulting industry. She was instrumental in the formation of the chapter and chaired the PMI Tasmania Chapter Formation Committee. She has previously served on the Boards of Tasmanian Leaders Inc. and Big Monkey Theatre Inc. She has completed AICD training and is a project management consultant specialising in business establishment, improvement projects, project assurance and project systems. Originally from the UK, Rebecca lived in PNG for many years before settling in Tasmania.

Vice President – Johan Jordaan (2023-2025) - vicepresident@pmitas.org

Johan is an experienced project manager leading government road construction projects; previously mining. Johan was born in South Africa and has worked as a project manager in the mining industry, primarily focused on minerals processing and mining infrastructure development in the iron ore and manganese mining businesses. He moved to Australia in 2021 and is now working as a Project Manager for the Department of State Growth Tasmania in road construction. Additionally, he is certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP) by the Project Management Institute.

Secretary – Quecha Horning (2024-2026) - secretary@pmitas.org

Quecha is a Program and Change Leader, with over 20 years of experience in executive leadership and change strategy.  She has a proven track record of delivering successful outcomes for organisations across various sectors and industries.  Her approach is deeply rooted in fostering a culture where change is embraced throughout projects as an opportunity for growth, not just a hurdle to overcome. Quecha is passionate about partnering with organisations that share a vision for achieving extraordinary success through meaningful and lasting change.

Treasurer - Melanie Strachan "Mel" (2023 to 2025) - treasurer@pmitas.org

Originally a member of PMI Queensland Chapter, Melanie (known as "Mel") is a project manager specialising in Government ICT projects. She moved to Tasmania in 2020 (during COVID).  She is owner and Managing Director of a Tasmania-based, SME consulting firm, Phase 2 Consulting with 30 years experience in Program, Project Management and PMO roles and she has a passion for benefits realisation. In her spare time, Melanie has held Board positions for charities and not-for-profit organisations.

Director of Membership - Chris le Grange (2023-2025) - membership@pmitas.org

Chris is from the Construction industry. He is a passionate project management professional with 25 years' experience in engineering and construction. He started his career in the gold mining industry and has since held various project leadership roles in large capital construction projects in South Africa, the United Kingdom and Australia. He is passionate about creating value for the members of PMI Tasmania Chapter. Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, masters in business administration and is PMP certified. In his free time, he can be found training for triathlons and learning to play the harmonica.

Director of Education - Nerissa Haines (2024-2026) - education@pmitas.org

Nerissa hails from Tasmania and is an experienced PMO, Portfolio, and Project specialist consultant with over two decades of experience in the IT, finance, and infrastructure sectors in Australia and Canada. In 2023, Nerissa was nominated for the TasICT Women in IT award for a business-critical ERP implementation during COVID-19. Recognised as a PMO specialist and her contributions in high-risk project delivery, she has held senior roles with major organisations such as Microsoft Canada and both of Canada's largest banks. Locally, Nerissa has worked with Marinus, Health ICT, University of Tasmania, as well as local and federal government projects. Recently, Nerissa was selected to represent Australia as a judge of the 2024 PMI PMO Global Awards. 

Director of Events – Ben Cashman (2024-2026) – events@pmitas.org

An entrepreneur at heart, Ben is always looking for ways to better our collective experiences, whether in the boardroom or through the products and services we consume every day. Ben founded The Project Lab back in 2013 to help Tasmanian organisations and the people within them to do their best work.  Ben has a wealth of experience guiding businesses in their transformation and growth initiatives including HR growth, business systems interface design and integration projects, and more. Having spent decades working with processes and technology in the business world and founding The Project Lab, Ben loves finding new ways to solve problems to help Tasmanian organisations succeed.

These individuals have volunteered their time and dedicate themselves to furthering the advancement of PMI and the project management profession in Tasmania and we would very much like to thank and congratulate them.

 Regional Director (North West) - Ahmed Gamil (2024-2026) – DirectorNW@pmitas.org

Ahmed has a background in the Mining industry. He is a Mechanical Engineer and has been working in project management, project planning, project controls and risk management for the past 12 years in various engineering industries ranging from construction to oil and gas. Since January 2022, Ahmed has been working in the capacity of a reliability engineer (Mechanical) at MMG Rosebery mine on the west coast of Tasmania.

Regional Director (South) - Theresa Kharal (2024-2025) – DirectorSouth@pmitas.org

With a solid background in Finance and Accounting, Theresa discovered her passion for the people side of Project and Change Management during her career shift to government sector amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Known for leading with influence and advocating for collective growth, she brings passion for volunteer team building and a collaborative spirit to the PMI Tasmania Chapter. Outside of her professional life, Theresa is an avid reader, hiker, and plant enthusiast.