Project Management Staff & Faculty
Charles L. Arnao, PMP®, CQA, CCP – Mr. Arnao has been an international lecturer for over 20 years. He has developed and delivered workshops in project management techniques, applications development, and information technology quality assurance for over 2000 professionals representing over 100 different client organizations. He has implemented and conducted training on competency-based programs stressing the behavioral aspects of project management. He has also conducted numerous executive overviews to client senior management as well as professional organizations on current topics and issues in project management and applications development. He has a BA in Economics from Bucknell University and an MBA in Finance from The University of Scranton.
Wayne R. Brantley, MS Ed, PMP® – Mr. Brantley is the Managing Director of Villanova University Professional Education Online. He has taught and consulted project management around the world to Fortune 500 companies. He has over 24 years experience from the Air Force as a project manager for AF technology training and curriculum development programs. Mr. Brantley has developed numerous AF and corporate training programs, classroom, multimedia and Internet-based programs. A dynamic presenter and trainer, Mr. Brantley has spoken at numerous conferences such as; the Project Management Institute (PMI®) and the American Society of Training and Development (ASTD) annual conferences. He is a doctoral candidate with Nova Southeastern University, specializing in Computer Information Technology. Mr. Brantley has been or is currently an adjunct faculty member at Villanova University, George Washington University and the University of Alaska.
Jeffrey P. Brown, MS, MBA – Mr. Brown is the principal of Bent Creek Associates, a technology consulting firm with a focus on strategic planning, business process redesign, and program and project management strategy. He has over 20 years of experience managing life science projects, both IT-and product-related. He holds a Master’s degree in Bioengineering from the University of Michigan and a Master’s of Business Administration with honors from the Kellogg School of Business at Northwestern University.
Douglas DeCarlo – Mr. DeCarlo is the principal of the Doug DeCarlo Group. His work has earned him international recognition as a consultant, keynote speaker, trainer, facilitator and columnist. He is an advisory board member for Project Connections.com and has served on the Project Management Advisory Board of George Washington University and Project World. Mr. DeCarlo is a contributing author to the landmark book, The World Class Project Manager, and the author of the forthcoming book, The End of Project Management As We Know It: Extreme Project Management for Everyone.
Donald G. Gardner, MBA, PMP® – Mr. Gardner has 30 years of professional experience as a project manager for the financial services and healthcare industries. He currently advises large and small businesses in the financial services and healthcare sector in the US, Europe and Asia through Gardner Project Integration Group, Ltd. and serves as an Affiliate Professor in PM education for the Graduate School, Stevens Institute of Technology. Mr. Gardner is a member of the Project Management Institute (PMI®) and Past Chair for the Financial Services Specific Interest Group.
Jay D. Gassaway, MBA, PMP® – Mr. Gassaway has over 30 years of experience in projects in the nuclear power industry, ranging from Initiation through Closeout. His primary areas of concentration are economic analysis and cost, schedule and scope control. He teaches project management at three universities and in Asia. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology and an MBA in Finance and Economics from Rutgers University.
Joan R. Knutson, PMP® – Ms. Knutson is president of PM Guru Unlimited. She is a renowned project management consultant, author and lecturer who guides thousands of people worldwide through her interactive and informative keynote presentations, seminars and webcasts. Ms. Knutson is a long-time and active member of the Project Management Institute (PMI®), and wrote the Executive Notebook column for the PM Network magazine for more than 10 years.
Gordon Lewis, BA – Mr. Lewis has more than 20 years of experience as a writer, editor and instructional designer. He has designed more than 50 courses for Fortune 500 clients such as Rand McNally, United Airlines, Cisco Systems and Traveler’s Insurance. Course topics have ranged from diversity and inclusion to the time value of money. He currently consults for e-Lab, University of Toyota’s internal e-learning development team. He is a member of the Writers Guild of America, American Society of Trainers and Developers, e-Learning Guild, and Pennsylvania/Delaware Distance Learning Association. Mr. Lewis earned his BA in Government from Harvard University.
M. Lou Russell, MS Ed, – Ms. Russell is CEO of Russell Martin & Associates, a consulting and training company focusing on improving planning, processes and performance. She has served as a consultant to companies, schools and colleges to help them grow their abilities to learn. Ms. Russell has published several books, one of which is used as a text in Maximizing IS/IT Team Effectiveness. She is also the author of the monthly e-newsletter Learning Flash. Ms. Russell speaks nationally at ASTD, Training, LOTUSphere, Project Management Institute and ProjectWorld conferences.
Cynthia Snyder, MBA, PMP® – Ms. Snyder is a professional project management consultant, instructor and author. She was the Project Manager for the PMBOK® Guide – Fourth Edition, has written seven books on project management and has been the technical editor on many others. She provides consulting and training services for government, private industry and universities. Her consulting focuses on project management maturity, PMO start-ups and positioning project management as a core competency for organizations. Ms. Snyder is a past President and Fellow of the PMI Orange County Chapter. She also received the award for Outstanding Chapter President of the Year. She is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP®) and earned her MBA from Pepperdine University.
Robert D. Stokes, Ed.D – Dr. Stokes is the Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs at Villanova University, where he also teaches undergraduate and graduate classes in Public Administration, Psychology and Education. In addition to his work at Villanova, he has taught online courses and trained faculty in teaching online at institutions such as the University of Richmond, Hofstra University, Fairfield University and Broward Community College. He has published training materials for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM®) and American Payroll Association, and has been recognized by both SHRM and the American Management Association.
Dr. Stokes received his EdD from Indiana University, his master’s degree from the University of Vermont and his bachelor’s degree from the University of Richmond.
Karen Tate, PMP® – Ms. Tate is President of The Griffin Tate Group, Inc., co-author of The Project Management Memory Jogger, A Pocket Guide for Project Teams as well as Getting Started in Project Management and A Step By Step Approach to Risk Assessment. Ms. Tate has worked with project teams for more than 20 years and consults and trains with organizations worldwide. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Project Management Institute (PMI®), is a Project Management Professional (PMP®) and has an MBA.
Melody Templeton, MS – Human Resource Development – Ms. Templeton is a nationally known speaker and consultant with several hundred clients from the Fortune 500 to small family-owned businesses. She has taught on the faculties of Villanova University, Drexel University, The Wharton MBA program and The Wharton Executive MBA program. She has worked with project managers for nearly 20 years and even admits to starting her career as a COBOL programmer. She has a BS in Communication and Psychology from Illinois State University and an MS in Human Resource Development from Villanova University.
Kimi Hirotsu Ziemski, PMP® – Ms. Ziemski has been an international facilitator and speaker for more than 20 years. She has developed and delivered workshops in project management techniques, recently contributing her knowledge to the Fourth Edition of the Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge. She also contributed to the leadership best practices for courses in project management as well as the text for the business analyst library, published in 2008. Ms. Ziemski has implemented and conducted training on competency-based programs with a strong focus on leadership and communications aspects of project management. She also has facilitated forensic lessons for 30 firms in the last five years. She holds a BS in Information Technologies from American Intercontinental University and a Project Management Certificate in Economics from George Stephens Technical Institute.
