2026 Board Election Profiles

Jeff Kaufman has more than 20 years of successful experience as a Project Manager, along with many years as a Chief Financial Officer. As a Project Manager and PMP, Jeff has managed and successfully completed many different types of projects, utilizing a variety of methodologies. These projects include Internet credit card processing systems, accounting system implementations, IT software development, and as a product manager, Jeff managed the development of internet encryption hardware and software for Cisco Systems. As a Chief Financial Officer, Jeff has managed several corporations, ranging in annual revenues from $3 million to $25 million, utilizing a variety of accounting systems. He has created and managed budgets, cash flow strategies, and business operations, with a strong emphasis on making internal financial processes easy to use and well documented. Jeff has an MBA degree in Finance. Jeff is looking forward to serving the PSPMI community as VP of Finance, where he plans to use his skills and experience to make the financial operations of PSPMI user-friendly, accurate, and transparent.

Kenan Aden is a project management and operations professional with extensive experience leading complex initiatives, coordinating cross-functional teams, and building strong stakeholder relationships. Throughout his career, he has managed large-scale projects across multiple locations, overseeing planning, vendor coordination, budgeting, and team leadership to deliver successful outcomes.

Kenan brings a strong commitment to community engagement and professional development. He believes that a thriving professional organization depends on an active and empowered volunteer community. His leadership approach focuses on creating clear structure, supporting volunteers with the resources they need to succeed, and fostering an environment where individuals feel valued, connected, and motivated to contribute.

As a candidate for VP of Volunteer Engagement, Kenan hopes to strengthen the PMI Puget Sound chapter by expanding volunteer opportunities, improving onboarding and support for new volunteers, and recognizing the contributions of those who dedicate their time and expertise to the chapter. He is passionate about building meaningful connections among members and creating pathways for professionals at every stage of their careers to engage, lead, and grow within the PMI community.

Shalini Thumpudi is a strategic, results driven IT Program Manager and Support Analyst with more than a decade of experience leading enterprise scale initiatives across security, infrastructure, AI projects and application support. She has a proven record of driving global deployments, overseeing feature releases, and optimizing complex business processes to strengthen efficiency and ensure regulatory compliance. Known for her ability to guide high performing, cross functional teams, Shalini brings a solutions focused mindset and a commitment to delivering secure, scalable technologies in dynamic, fast paced environments.

Beyond her professional achievements, Shalini is deeply committed to community engagement and service. She has dedicated her time to supporting local schools, mentoring students, and contributing to professional organizations where she has led initiatives, organized events, and fostered member collaboration. Her volunteer work reflects her belief in building stronger communities, advancing educational opportunities, and supporting the growth of professional networks.

Shalini’s leadership is grounded in purpose, service, and continuous improvement—values that shape both her technical expertise and her contributions to the communities she serves.

Dr. Tricia Diamond is a portfolio and program management executive, organizational strategist, and adult education specialist based in Seattle, Washington. She holds a PhD in Aerospace Engineering and Masters Degrees in Mathematics and Educational Administration in addition to her PMP, PMI-ACP, and PMO-CP.

As the most recent VP of Professional Development and Programs for PMI Puget Sound beginning in July 2025, Dr. Diamond designed and launched Communities of Practice in AI in Project Management, Agile Practitioners, Speakers and Authors, and SPARK for Women PM Consultants; organized the annual Professional Development Days conference at The Westin Seattle featuring keynote speaker Rich Sheridan; earned a Seattle mayoral proclamation recognizing the chapter’s community impact; and introduced the chapter’s structured PDU programming calendar expanding credentialing access across disciplines.

Her professional development philosophy is grounded in two decades of adult learning practice across the United States and the Netherlands, where she spent 17 years as an aerospace engineer and educational program developer. She has directed a $386 million federal program PMO with 100 percent regulatory compliance and founded Diamond PMO Solutions, a portfolio governance consultancy.

Dr. Diamond brings a rare combination of demonstrated chapter leadership, deep Seattle community roots as a Seattle Parks and Recreation Commissioner and former Human Rights Commissioner, and the vision to build a professional development program which serves Seattle’s uniquely innovative and diverse project management community.

Ravi Kaushal Prasad is a seasoned technology leader with over 20 years of experience in delivering large-scale global software engineering and application support programs.

He currently serves on the GitHub Expert Services team as a Technical Program Manager, leading application security engagements that help customers adopt GitHub Advanced Security. His work focuses on static application security testing (SAST) with CodeQL, partnering with customers to strengthen their shift-left security strategy and assist them to identify, prioritize, and remediate vulnerabilities.

Prior to GitHub, Ravi spent more than 17 years at Microsoft in customer-facing leadership roles, driving complex multi-cloud initiatives and guiding cross-functional teams to successful outcomes. He is known for a people-first leadership style grounded in collaboration, clarity, and accountability—connecting technical execution to business value and stakeholder needs.

Ravi hopes to bring to the PMI Puget Sound Board a combination of strategic delivery experience, a strong growth mindset, and a commitment to enabling others. He is passionate about helping project management practitioners build modern capabilities in project management and delivery excellence, while fostering an inclusive community that supports professional development and meaningful impact across the PSPMI chapter. He is also committed to advancing new learning initiatives and expanding the PSPMI student club.

I am running for Vice President of Community Outreach for the PMI Puget Sound Chapter.

I joined PMI in 2012 after earning my PMP and have remained active since, first in Puget Sound, then Portland, then Delaware Valley, and now back in Puget Sound. Across chapters and regions, PMI has consistently been a place where project professionals gather to learn, connect, and support one another.

Within our chapter, I have served as a general volunteer, as our first Director of Career Services within the Professional Development portfolio, and as the founder of Thirsty Third Thursdays, a monthly networking event created to bring members together in a consistent and informal setting. That event has been running for over a year and continues to draw professionals from across the region.

Throughout my career, I have been drawn to roles centered on connection, mentorship, and steady growth. Before working in Agile coaching, I helped individuals quit smoking, guiding change incrementally and reframing setbacks as learning. Today, as a servant leader and Agile coach, I focus on supporting the people who support the end user.

I value meaningful engagement within our membership and throughout the broader Puget Sound community. I believe our chapter plays an important role in representing the project management profession across businesses, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and public agencies, and in supporting efforts that strengthen the chapter’s visibility and reputation.

Thank you for your consideration.

With 18 years of active PMI membership—including 2+ years with the Puget Sound Chapter—Lin brings her passion, credibility, and commitment this role demands. As Director of Membership, she draws on firsthand experience building meaningful relationships within our chapter, understanding member needs, and growing our community from the inside out.

Her professional background spans project and program management, business and technology development, community organizing, outreach, strategic partnerships, and fundraising—across both Fortune 500 corporations and high-tech startup environments. She’s also actively engaged in the energy ecosystem and nonprofit communities. From strategy to operation through her years of professional and volunteering experiences, Lin has brought a track record of translating organizational vision into action and delivering win-win outcomes.

She is eager to leverage her expertise in community outreach and cross-team collaboration to strengthen the chapter’s existing ties with local communities—while forging new connections in the sustainable energy ecosystem (with a particular focus on nuclear energy), AI-driven local corporations, and Native American communities.

Her vision for our chapter’s horsepower in 2026 and beyond: Sustainable Energy + AI Transformation + Cross-Cultural Collaboration.

A firm believer in the power of community and driven by deep gratitude to PMI, Lin looks forward to partnering with our board and members to expand our chapter’s visibility and impact and ensure our chapter remain a thriving hub for project management professionals across the Puget Sound great region.

Over the past four years, my work within the PMI Puget Sound Chapter has been driven by a clear commitment to expanding access to project management education while meeting the evolving needs of our member community across the region.

I first joined the chapter as a mentor volunteer, supporting our members with various interests related to the project management profession. That experience led me to serve as Director of Youth & Social Impact, where I helped strengthen our youth mentorship initiatives and build partnerships that brought project management concepts to younger audiences.

The past two years, as Vice President of Community Outreach, I broadened that impact by attending to the four core sections of the portfolio: Youth Impact, Social Impact, Military Outreach, and Partnership. I have worked closely with volunteers, collaborators, and partners to shape programs that meet people where they are, recognizing that our membership and extended community come with diverse backgrounds and needs.

If reelected, I hope to continue this work with the same energy and commitment. My priority is to further refine our outreach strategy based on the distinct needs of the communities we serve, support my team of volunteers in delivering the projects already in motion for the coming year, and ensure that our chapter remains a welcoming resource for all who seek to grow through project management.

I would be honored to continue serving as your VP of Community Outreach.

Irina Olifer is a senior program, risk, and governance leader with extensive experience guiding complex, cross-functional initiatives in highly regulated and technology-enabled environments. Her work sits at the intersection of structured program leadership, stakeholder alignment, and systems-level thinking. Throughout her career with global U.S. companies, including KPMG and Coca-Cola, Irina has led transformation initiatives that required aligning diverse stakeholders, navigating ambiguity, and building clarity where complexity could otherwise create fragmentation. Among other professional licences, she holds the PgMP® credential and is committed to advancing disciplined, inclusive approaches to leadership. Irina works professionally in English, German and Russian, and has intermediate proficiency in Mandarin.

Irina is passionate about strengthening professional ecosystems by bridging experience, collaborative dialogue, and structured knowledge. She believes community outreach should extend beyond credential promotion to fostering shared language, meaningful engagement, and practical value for practitioners at all stages of their careers. If elected as VP of Community Outreach, Irina will focus on strengthening sustainable partnerships, expanding inclusive engagement across youth, military, and industry communities, and introducing new channels to deepen PMI’s presence within the Puget Sound technology and industrial ecosystem. She is committed to ensuring that PMI Puget Sound remains a trusted platform where professionals can grow, contribute, and lead with confidence in an increasingly complex environment.

Jill West, PMP, is a Gig Harbor-based project and program management consultant with more than a decade of experience delivering complex enterprise initiatives for leading technology companies. As founder of The Westy Group, she partners with clients to translate ambiguous priorities into clear, executable programs that drive organizational results.

Throughout her career, Jill has worked with organizations including Microsoft, SAP, SAP Concur, and LaunchDarkly, leading initiatives spanning go-to-market programs, procurement strategy, business operations, and organizational transformation. She brings a connecting thread of collaborative leadership and clear communication to every stakeholder group she engages.

Jill holds her Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from PMI and has pursued ongoing professional development in organizational transformation and AI applications for project management. She is a strong believer in the power of community to accelerate professional growth for herself and for the practitioners she works alongside.

As VP of Community Outreach, Jill aims to expand the chapter’s visibility across the Puget Sound region, deepen engagement among members at all career stages, and build meaningful pathways for practitioners to connect, grow, and give back through PMI Puget Sound.