PMI-LA Events

Menaka Gopinath

PMI Chief Marketing Officer

As Chief Marketing Officer, Menaka leads efforts to strengthen and enhance PMI’s global reputation, leading all aspects of brand, communications, and marketing. Menaka provides strategic counsel and leadership in telling our evolving story and sharing our unique value proposition with stakeholders worldwide. Menaka has built a successful career as a strategic leader guiding Fortune 100 brands in engaging with consumers to build stronger customer-centric businesses. Throughout her career she has worked with a range of best-in-class brands including Coca-Cola, Apple, Nike, Uber, P&G, and Meta. She brings extensive experience in leading-edge growth and marketing initiatives, including applying advanced analytics, guiding growth marketing strategies, and building integrated, cross-channel programs. Menaka’s experience has followed a consistent thread of customer-centricity, from online marketing to loyalty programs, to consumer insights and social media, including setting up some of the first public online communities in the early days of social media. Most recently, as President and COO of Graf Lanz, Menaka led a direct-to-consumer sustainable fashion brand, leading efforts to create and implement the strategic direction of the company’s long-term business model and revenue growth trajectory, as well as oversight of the sales, marketing, and merchandising initiatives. Prior to joining Graf Lantz, she led the Social Media Exchange (SMX) service line at Ipsos, one of the largest consumer insights firms in the world. While at Ipsos, she grew the SMX practice from a team of 20 to 100, with double-digit revenue growth every year. Menaka is passionate about supporting purpose-driven initiatives in the business world – she is on the Board of Mentors for Monday Night Mentorship, a career accelerator for people of color, and while at Ipsos, served as a leader for the Women in Ipsos ERG, and helped to establish BRIDGE, an ERG focused on Anti-Racism. She has a BA in Economics and Communications from New York University and an MBA in Finance from the University of San Francisco.

Kyrstin Ohta, PMP, CSM

Project Manager

Kyrstin Ohta is a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP) and Certified Scrum Master (CSM) with over eight years of experience in project and program management. She has worked across diverse industries, including utilities, music, mortgage, design, and operations, where she has successfully led teams, managed complex projects, and delivered impactful results. During the recent wildfires, Kyrstin and her partner were displaced from their home, facing immense challenges. Despite these hardships, Kyrstin leveraged her project management skills to navigate the complexities of temporary housing, home remediation, and financial uncertainty. Her ability to stay organized and focused during this time has been a testament to her resilience and professional expertise. Kyrstin’s contributions extend beyond her personal recovery. She has actively shared her story to inspire others and demonstrate the power of project management in overcoming real-world challenges. Her dedication to her work and her community exemplifies the spirit of PMI’s “Light the Way” campaign, and her story serves as a beacon of hope and strength for all attendees.

Edson Marinho

PM4NGOs Executive Director

Edson is a Brazilian passionate project/program manager who has headed up PM4NGOs since 2015. He is also the founder and director of Teoria da Prática in Brazil and a senior member of the Project DPro (PMD Pro) Trainers Network. International Relations Bachelor, MBA in Project Management, post-graduated in Distance Learning, Project DPro Practitioner, Program DPro, and AgilePM Practitioner certified, he has over 20 years’ experience in managing projects and programmes. Edson has been involved in training and developing the PMD Pro since the very first training group in Brazil. In his words: "I truly believe that we must empower professionals by disseminating project management tools and techniques to the community-based organizations. In the other hand and most importantly, it is from the community that we will learn how and which of these techniques and tools really work".

Michael Cullihan

PM4NGOs Chair

Mike has been developing the capacity of development and relief professionals for over twenty years. As a founder of LINGOs, PM4NGOs and Last Mile Learning, he has worked with hundreds of non-governmental organizations, developing learning and creating professional certifications for the sector. As a lead author of the Guide to the PMD Pro, the Guide to the FMD Pro and the Guide to the MEAL DPro – he has been a thought leader in establishing standards for development and relief professionals. Equal parts field-based development worker and instructional designer, Mike has extensive experience working for NGOs across the world, including Central America, Africa, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean. He has developed over 100 eLearning titles, on-line course and workshop curricula. In his free time, Mike lives in Seattle, where he enjoys the many outdoor activities of the Pacific Northwest.

Lee Goldstein

P4NGOs Vice-Chair

Lee is the President of Business Contingency Group (BCG), a firm specializing in Business Continuity/Continuity of Operations (COOP) and Emergency Management Planning. BCG also provides Humanitarian Assistance support to improve the capabilities and capacities of partner nations to respond to disasters. In addition, BCG provides Business Continuity and Humanitarian/Disaster Relief Warehouse Management software. Lee is responsible for Business Continuity/Continuity of Operations (COOP) and Emergency Management projects, plans, exercises, and initiatives for clients in various industries. These include government, entertainment, education, retail, research, transportation, insurance, financial, engineering, defense, and others. Some of the Humanitarian Assistance Projects Lee has worked on include Disaster Relief Warehousing, Emergency Operations Centers, and emergency response training for host country personnel throughout Central and South America and the Caribbean. Prior to BCG, Lee was the Business Contingency Program Manager for AT&T Wireless. Prior to joining AT&T, he was the Disaster Recovery Planner for 20th Century Fox Studios. Besides serving on the PM4NGOs Board of Directors he also serves on the Business and Industry Council for Emergency Planning and Preparedness (BICEPP) Board of Directors since 2000. BICEPP is a Southern California non-profit association to provide a forum for information exchange from the public and private sectors to enhance emergency preparedness and contingency planning within the business community, Lee has served on the Executive Board as the VP of the Private Sector. He has also headed the BICEPP/LA County Tabletop Exercise program over the past years.