By: Katie Dietz

Kyra is a mover and shaker! I got the impression from my time with her that she doesn't stand idle and wait for good things to happen. She's much the opposite. She does her research and makes fact-based decisions which have lead her to success. And although she is just at the beginning of her project management career, I fully expect to see her propel into senior roles based on an intrinsic drive to learn and do more. Take a few minutes out of your day and read on to get to know Kyra! Her response to my final question is hands down the best answer I've received thus far and one which I'll be stealing. 😊

{Katie} What is your personal project management story?

{Kyra} I started my career in Event Management as I owned and operated a wedding planning company. Through that I gained a lot of soft skills. I had the ability to see the holistic picture, manage tasks, etc. While managing that business, I began my career at Agri-Access as the Administrative Assistant. Now I lead all the strategic projects at Agri-Access in my current Project Manager role.

{Katie} Tell us about project management in your current role.

{Kyra} At Agri-Access, the type of projects I lead are compliance, systems updates, customer experience updates and mainly process improvements.

{Katie} How have you been involved with our chapter over the years?

{Kyra} I'm coming up on my first full year as a member. I participated in the Mentorship Program and attend monthly meetings and networking activities. I also wrote a blog post earlier this year.

{Katie} What is one thing you're excited about in the field of project management?

{Kyra} Agile and the normalcy of it. My first formal project role was Product Owner. I enjoyed the methodology and it's becoming more of the norm now. The structure of it makes sense to me and I think the style responds better to change over waterfall.

{Katie} Tell us 3 random facts about you!

{Kyra}

1. First Prom Queen at my high school – first year it was started!

2. I have a three-year-old daughter (Anna) and a one-year-old son (Elijah)

3. I planned and traveled with a group of Executive clients to The Masters in 2016 (talk about a major event to plan!)

{Katie} What is your greatest project accomplishment to-date?

{Kyra} I was on a one year long agile project where we were replacing a lender portal. I became the main Product Owner. I gained a lot of knowledge about the business and our products. I also gained exposure into how to manage projects and work with resources. I realized I was successful because of the relationships built. We are still working through enhancements today!

{Katie} Tell me the first thoughts that come to mind when I say the following words:

{Katie} Artificial Intelligence

{Kyra} Robots

{Katie} Project Sponsor

{Kyra} Cheerleader

{Katie} Agility

{Kyra} Flexible

{Katie} Scope creep

{Kyra} Familiar

{Katie} DevOps

{Kyra} Ally – we rely on them!

{Katie} When you tell someone you are a Project Manager, how do you explain your role or duties?

{Kyra} Swiss Army Knife!