Opening Event

**Click on dates below for Event Details

The Kick-off Event is a new and exciting addition to the PMI-SD Annual Conference.  The event will be held on Wednesday evening at the San Diego Air and Space Museum, and features a reception, two dynamic keynote speakers, and the Project of the Year awards.

  • 5:00-6:00 pm – Exclusive VIP Reception
  • 6:00-7:00 pm – General Reception – networking, socializing, cocktails
  • 7:00-7:30 pm – Project of the Year Award
  • 7:30 -8:00 pm – Deborah Alderson – Opening Keynote Address
  • 8:00-9:00 pm – Gene Kranz – Special Presentation

Opening Keynote, Wednesday Evening, May 12, 2010

Deborah H. Alderson, President, SAIC’s Defense Solutions Group

Comprised of a team of more than 12,500 professionals, SAIC’s Defense Solutions Group is focused on command, control and communications, and systems engineering and integration in support of various federal agencies.

Prior to joining SAIC in 2005, Alderson was the president of the Systems Engineering Group at Anteon Corporation.  Under her leadership, the group supported the U.S. Navy, Missile Defense Agency, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Marine Corps and the Department of Homeland Security.  Alderson’s belief in and support of her people has resulted in her group becoming one of the highest level technical achievement organizations – not only at SAIC but in the entire country.  Alderson’s commitment to mentoring has been a key driver behind the growth of SAIC’s Women’s Network from roughly 800 members to more than 2,000 in just one year.  Alderson is also the executive sponsor of the SAIC Multi-Cultural Network, SAIC New Voices Network, and chairman of the SAIC University Relations Council which focuses on teaming with academia to find customer solutions and introduce young people to careers in technological fields.

Featured Speaker, Wednesday Evening, May 12, 2010

Gene Kranz, NASA Flight Control Director and Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient

Gene Kranz

Failure is not an Option, the motto that carried Gene Kranz through the Apollo 13 crisis, is a major theme of his motivational speeches today.  Kranz speaks with passion and pride about the NASA employees who formed his mission teams – teams that worked hard and made history in the 1960s and ‘70s.  He explains that his flight directors were young engineers and scientists, most of them in their twenties, having come to NASA fresh out of school with little work experience, but with abundant energy, and the will to succeed at one of humankind’s most challenging endeavors: space exploration.

The Apollo 13 crisis pushed Kranz and his team to the brink of fear and doubt, but they refused to give in to these emotions or to succumb to panic.  Instead, under his leadership, they worked together to save the imperiled spacecraft, and brought the ship and crew safely home.  Kranz speaks with a raw brilliance about the challenges and problems that they successfully faced and overcame, giving his audiences the inspiration that they need to face down challenges and adversity in their own lives and careers.