
E25 Danielle Crop from AMEX and Dana Brownlee from Professionalism Matters
In this episode of Project Management Office Hours Joe Pusz, PMO Joe, and his guests Danielle Crop from American Express and Dana Brownlee from Professionalism Matters take a deep dive into Agile Transformations discussing the AMEX Portico project, Managing Up from Dana’s new book and also the new Women in Product group in Phoenix.
Danielle shares her unique story working her way through various industries and careers prior to landing at American Express. She details the history of the Portico project to complete an Agile Transformation at American Express. Danielle shares many insights and lessons from the 4 year journey including the origination of the Portico name. We also hear of the new Women in Product group Danielle helped found here in Phoenix.
Dana shares the story which led her write her recent book, “The Unwritten Rules of Managing Up: Project Management Techniques from the Trenches” We learn the different types of bosses and techniques to deploy when working with these different types of bosses. Dana also shares the importance of building a “Culture of Candor” and how a collaborative work environment, as with Agile teams, is beneficial and necessary.
During this episode we also shared a great offer from IIL, the International Institute of Learning to Veterans providing free access to the 2019 Leadership and Innovation Online Conference. The conference runs from March 7 – June 9 and Veterans get free access using code VETMENT. Register athttps://www.iil.com/leadership-and-innovation-conference/
Tune in for upcoming shows with Project Management leaders and also Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcast, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Stitcher, Spreaker or your favorite podcast platform! Our next show will be March 21 with Ruth Pearce and Michael Donnelly.
The American Express Company, also known as Amex, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center in New York City. The company was founded in 1850 and is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Danielle Crop leads the team responsible for creating world class digital products and scaleable platforms through best in class Agile product management, analytics and testing to drive value to our customers and shareholders. Since 2001, Danielle has held a series of multi-market roles of increasing responsibility within the areas of acquisitions, underwriting and data management. Over the past 4 years in EDA, and before assuming her current global role recently, she and her team have played a significant role in accelerating application complete rates and billed business acquired.
Danielle lives in Phoenix with her husband Chris and their daughter Anna. She enjoys gardening, reading, hiking and cooking. Ask Danielle about healthy eating, Wes Anderson films or her favorite TED talk!
Connect with Danielle on LinkedIn.
Professionalism Matters provides innovative speaking and training services around the U.S. and beyond. For more than 15 years the company has delivered workshops that are dynamic, interactive, and packed with practical tips that participants can begin using immediately! Training topics include various areas of professional development including Managing Up, Leading Difficult Meetings, Building Effective Teams, Project Management, and more.
After years of working as a business strategy consultant with top IT firms, in 2003 Dana Brownlee founded Professionalism Matters, an Atlanta based corporate training company. An energetic and innovative speaker and trainer, Dana has thrilled audiences with speaking events across the U.S. and globally.
Rated as the #1 Leadership Influencer on projectmanagement.com, she has been interviewed by (or published in) CNN, The Wall Street Journal,
The Huffington Post, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Redbook, Working Mother, Forbes.com, and other notable publications. Dana’s first book “The Unwritten Rules of Managing Up: Project Management Techniques from the Trenches” was published by Berrett- Koehler in February 2019.
A nationally recognized speaker, Dana speaks to groups large and small on a variety of topics including tips for rescuing your meetings, dealing with the difficult boss, secrets of the “Thoroughbred Leader”, and discovering the keys to true work life balance. She holds a BS, BIE, MBA, and PMP.
Connect with Dana on LinkedIn and Instagram.
ABOUT PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE HOURS SERIES
Project Management Office Hours is intended to provide Project Management professionals a place to drop in and discuss Success Stories, Best Practices, and Lessons Learned. Project Management Consultant Joy Gumz has shared with us, “Operations keep the lights on, strategy provides the light at the end of the tunnel, but project management is the train engine that moves the organization forward.”
Each of us has a unique story to tell, but collectively we share a message that organizations who embrace Project Management Best Practices perform better than those which don’t. Organizations which align Projects to Strategy perform better. Organizations with Engage Executive Sponsors deliver better results. Organizations which measure Project Management performance outperform those which don’t.
During our Project Management Office Hours, we hear directly from Industry leaders how to make an impact in our profession. How we, collectively, will Advance Project Management Best Practices, One Listener at a time!
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ABOUT YOUR HOST
Joe Pusz started THE PMO SQUAD to bring real world PMO Leadership experience to the consulting space and to advocate for Project Management through his blog PMOJOE.com. The old saying is “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” Following this mindset Joe left Corporate America in 2013 to start THE PMO SQUAD and work with fellow Natural Born Project Managers to advance Project Management Best Practices.
THE PMO SQUAD focuses exclusively on PMO and Project Management consulting. Corporate America is full of Accidental Project Managers running projects who haven’t been trained to be PMs. To help solve this problem THE PMO SQUAD is on the Leading Edge with PMO As a Service. PMO As a Service allows our clients to focus on their respective core competencies while THE PMO SQUAD delivers Project Management expertise. Contact Joe at 678-591-7868. Follow The PMO Squad on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.





Following an early career focused on underground mining engineering, operations and construction, 


awarded international professional speaker, Bridgett McGowen. Master
Bridgett McGowen is an awarded international professional speaker, author, and the founder and owner of BMcTALKS Academy. She has been a high-energy, dynamic professional speaker since 2002 and has spoken on programs alongside prominent figures such as Former President Barack Obama; Deepak Chopra; Major League Baseball sensation Alex Rodriguez (A-Rod); and Shonda Rhimes, American television producer, screenwriter, author, and the creator of ABC’s primetime hit series “Scandal.” 

Connie Lopez Anaya is a native Arizonan. She grew up in the border town of Nogales, Arizona as the 8th of 9 children. She graduated from the Nogales High School as a proud Apache and later moved to Tucson, Arizona where she began her college education at the University of Arizona. She married in Tucson, Arizona and is a mother of two wonderful children. Connie became a devoted Christian and after raising her two children as a single mother, she returned to school and completed her Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice at the University of Phoenix, Tucson Campus in 2008. 

Journey Radio is powered by
Journey Radio’s host and sponsor Enid Moore-Cranshaw is a consummate business professional. Enid holds a Master’s Degree in Finance and Accounting from Regis University. She is the Immediate Past District Director of Toastmasters International, District 3 (state of Arizona) with a membership of over 4,000. District 3 Toastmasters is ranked seventh in Arizona’s networking and is one of the top organizations for communication and leadership development in the world. She is a Financial Professional and owner of Divinity Beauty Bar. Divinity Beauty Bar specializes in nails, hair styling, wigs, hair extensions, maintenance and growth. Enid is the Immediate Past Board President of Child Parent Centers (Headstart). Child Parent Centers is a leader in early childhood development and serves Southern Arizona’s underprivileged children. Her passion is early childhood development, community service, personal development, effective communication and empowering others to realize their full potential.



Autumn Wilson has proudly stepped into the Community Relations Specialist position with Scott-Foundation as well as continued work as a Thought & Service Leader and Mentor.
SarahAnn Goree, Thought & Service Leader & Mentor. Her Scott-Foundation journey began at 14 and her passion is helping others in need, drama club and writing. She is happiest when she is helping her siblings and others; and loves being together with them.

Ash Krupnik is a Holistic Health Coach and Lifestyle Instagram Blogger with her husband. She is obsessed with street tacos, Disney trips, old movies, The Office, and fashion. As a Xennial, she brings a different perspective as one of the Older Millennials.
Caitlin Martin is a 22 year old with a passion for empowering women to elevate their peers and alleviate the constant competition between one another. She is currently a titleholder in the Miss Arizona Scholarship Organization and spends her free time volunteering and promoting her platform, “Empowered Women, Empower.” 
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Jacob Fann is the CEO and Founder of Fanntastic Media, which has elevated over 90 businesses to a greater level of success. Gross revenues from his combined clients total over 32 million and that number continues to grow with his customized marketing strategies. He specializes in social media marketing; creating powerful brand presence, capturing new customers and finding untapped markets by optimizing target marketing and social media algorithms that results in higher conversion rates and increased sales.
transactions, to include: investors, leadership teams, directors, service providers, clients and employees. From start-up to maturity, The Recla Group provides peace of mind and confidence in decision-making.
The Reclas: Justin and Tonya Dawn Recla, former counterintelligence special agents, have taken the business world by storm…and they brought their daughter. When she was two, Neva Lee Recla asked for business cards and business hasn’t been the same since. What started as a single corporate counterintelligence firm, grew to six different businesses, two exceeding six figures, and one operated by a nine year-old. 

Born in Queens, New York, 
Kelley Durham is a caring, compassionate and dedicated attorney focusing on serious and catastrophic personal injury law. Kelley Durham is the owner and managing attorney at K Durham Law, PLLC and believes that each person’s injuries and experiences are unique and treats each client as an individual. Kelley graduated from ASU Magna Cum Laude and went on to law school at Texas A & M School of Law graduating a semester early with her juris doctorate. 





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