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Meet Dillon Mitone, the Vice President of Operations for our PMI-SVC chapter, a dedicated professional with a passion for organization and continuous improvement, and our Volunteer Spotlight of the month! Check out his full interview below. 

 

1. Tell us a bit about yourself and how you got involved in project management. 

 

• I started my professional career in administration, working my way from an executive secretary for Sacramento City College's student senate to an administrative analyst role with the government. It was in that role that I was exposed to project management as an individual contributor, and in that role, the duties expanded gradually until I was the one coordinating, planning, and scheduling smaller projects on behalf of the organization I worked for.  

 

• At the same time, I was trying to figure out where I wanted to develop professionally, which lead me to pursue an MBA at Sacramento State. It was in that program where I got introduced to PMI as a community to explore project management further. From there, I actively pursued opportunities that reflected my interest in project management - process implementation, scheduling, analysis, and planning - and that's where I am today. I am still growing and learning, and as part of my continued development, I am actively seeking my PMP certification this year. 

 

2. What aspect of project management are you most passionate about? 

 

• Organization, conceptualization, and continuous improvement. Planning and definition represent what I love most of project management, where you can take the vague and convert it into concrete, quantifiable things that can be planned and defined. I would consider it the hardest and most enjoyable part of project management, and how you effectively tackle this part of a project affects the viability of everything else. 

 

3. What role do you currently play as a volunteer with PMI, and what does that involve? 

 

• At the moment, I am the current VP of Operations for the PMI-SVC chapter. The role involves the direction and management of operational activities, and the alignment of the team with strategic objectives as it relates to operations, IT, and governance. I'm actively involved in the management of forums, which I would encourage our community to sign up for on our PMI-SVC website events calendar, the coordination of our publicly available board of director meetings, and the implementation of IT technology to optimize board operations.  

 

• There's a lot to learn, but I'm happy to have an incredible teacher, Matthew Daley, the previous VP of Operations, to lean on for support and wisdom.  

 

4.  What has been the most rewarding part of volunteering with PMI? How has volunteering with PMI contributed to your personal or professional growth? 

 

• The sheer amount of information available and the potential to network in the community cannot be understated. Volunteering has opened up my professional network and given me insight into roles and concepts that continuously refine my career path and development. It's been a catalyst to boost my personal growth.  

 

5. What advice would you give to someone considering becoming a PMI volunteer? 

 

• Two things - It's never too late to start, and project management is a universally applicable skill set. Whether it's for a career change or to simply add to your existing repertoire of knowledge, project management, and by extension, PMI, offers invaluable knowledge, skills, accreditation, and community that can open doors and make you aware of opportunities that you may not have considered. 

 

Curious about volunteering? Check out our open volunteer positions here