Blog
July 29, 2024
Project Managers—Navigating the Gap Between Team and Client
Carey Monroe, Ph. D., shares her expertise with Attain Partners’ clients as a Salesforce Project Manager for Higher Education. She gained her official title of Project Manager in 2021 but has been mastering the skills needed for her role from a young age. We sat down with Carey to learn about why she chose Attain Partners and hear about the expertise she brings to her role.
Attain Partners (AP): How did you get into project management?
Carey Monroe (CM): I honestly feel like I have been a project manager my entire life—even before I knew it was an official role—from a very young age, I have been conscious about time and organization! During my academic pursuits, I approached my coursework much like a project and always took a leadership role in group activities—and in my household, if you ask my husband or children to describe my leadership style they would definitely say, “task master,” haha!
I received my PMP in 2018 while serving as a Vice President for Enrollment Management and Marketing at a small private university because recruiting, admissions, and marketing are large projects! I also wanted to add a PM program to the curriculum due to the predicted shortage of PMs (which we are seeing now!). In 2021, I officially became a project manager by title and have loved every minute of it—from planning the projects to managing the team and building client relationships. Our family has a nonprofit organization that has become a reality since we had the vision in 2021. I am proud to be the driving force behind this project’s execution.
AP: What brought you to Attain Partners?
CM: Before this role, I was working as an Engagement Manager. An internal employee referred me, and then after meeting with Jenny Rice, Alanna Steffens, Virginia Berkenkotter, Phil Agee, Reshma Patel-Jackson, and Francis Quinn, I knew this is where I wanted to be! The goals of this company, the clients we serve, and the team atmosphere made me want to be a part of Team Attain.
AP: Which of our seven core values speak to you the most?
CM: Execute with Discipline—great ideas are nothing without discipline and deliberate execution. With stunning intensity, we lead by example and create an empowering environment for great work. As someone who has always embodied the entrepreneurial spirit, this core value speaks to me the most. I love driving a vision into a reality!
AP: What do you like most about the work you do?
CM: I love working with the internal team to brainstorm and assist in delivering creative solutions to meet the needs of our clients. Also, I absolutely love working with and creating lifelong relationships with clients!
AP: What are the biggest ways you’ve seen project management efforts impact organizations?
CM: Project Managers stand in the gap between the team and the client. We know how to have tough conversations on both sides if needed, we know how to steer the ship, and we are tremendous problem solvers—we know how to get things done! There is a big difference between being a “doer” and getting things done—project managers drive the work from both sides. We are also the face of the organization as our clients see us day in and day out. A great project manager has the ability to win trust and keep it.
AP: What is the most challenging aspect of your job?
CM: There is SO much to do! It’s very easy to get buried in the day-to-day weeds and forget why we’re here and the difference we are making for our clients, our company, and the constituents our clients serve. In higher education and nonprofit alike, our clients have amazing missions with the ability to change the course of so many lives for the better—we have to keep our overall goals in mind without missing the big picture of the “why.”
AP: What do you read and watch to keep current?
CM: The Chronicle of Higher Education is one of my favorites. I am also a member of several groups on LinkedIn that focus on technology in higher education and nonprofit organizations.
Learn more – Program and Project Management
At Attain Partners, our program management team holds decades of expertise in helping organizations across the social and public sectors deliver services on time and within budget. By leveraging today’s program management best practices—inclusive of Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) and the Project Management Institute (PMI) standards—we see the full picture of your program to better align your projects and processes to your strategic objectives, improving your day-to-day practices, ensuring compliance, and achieving your desired goals.
Learn more about our end-to-end program management support services for large-scale systems integration and development programs here.
Learn more – Carey Monroe
Dr. Carey Monroe has served as a vice president of enrollment management, director of career development, cooperative education manager, student success specialist, high school business teacher, and owned two successful businesses. She now has the pleasure of serving higher education clients as they navigate enterprise projects in the Salesforce ecosystem. Carey loves to spend time with family and friends, ride her horse, and operates a nonprofit organization serving veterans and those who have suffered traumatic injuries in her “spare” time!
