Calendar of Events

Presentation Description

Description of Topic/Presentation:

This joint workshop with Caltech and PMI-OC’s Industry Affinity Groups is a primer for the Caltech Center for Technology & Management course “AI for Project Management: A Hands-On Learning Lab.” The workshop is designed to familiarize attendees with the course, learn from others who are considering the course, and prepare for a successful experience with the course.

The Caltech course teaches project managers to apply generative AI and AI assistants to planning, scheduling, risk, cost, and communications safely and without coding. Students leave the Caltech course with reusable prompts, ready-to-use templates, and lightweight automations for your real projects.

This workshop provides an opportunity for prospective students to discuss problems and challenges in their job or industry, learn about the Caltech course, and chart a path toward problem solving using the course material. Caltech and PMI-OC staff will host the workshop in a board room format, with discussion, problem solving, and coaching tailored to the course and the specific needs of the workshop attendees.

PMI-OC members receive a 20% discount from Caltech on the cost of the course. Public attendees who complete the full workshop will receive a 10% discount on the cost of the course. If a public attendee joins PMI-OC before applying the discount to their course, then they will get the 20% PMI-OC member discount. The non-member discount expires 90 days after the workshop if not used to register for the Caltech course. All discounts are non-transferrable and may not be combined with other promotions, except as Caltech may allow.

What You Will Learn:

1. How to apply AI and AI assistants to planning, scheduling, risk, cost, and communications.
2. How to use AI safely for project management.
3. How to develop prompts for AI coding and documents.
4. How to achieve lightweight automation using AI.

Caltech URL: https://ctme.caltech.edu/ai-tools-for-project-management-open.html

Speaker Bios

Jen Garcia and Mike Krause, PhD
Instructors, Caltech Center for Technology and Management Education

Speaker Bio: Jen Garcia

Jen García is the AI Strategy & Partnerships Lead at Caltech’s Center for Technology and Management Education (Caltech CTME) and serves as the AI Executive in Residence at both the Goldhirsh Foundation and LA-Tech.org. She is also the founder of ingrained.ai, which equips professionals, businesses, and social impact organizations with tailored AI training and resources grounded in neuroscience-informed, human-first approaches.

Jen is also the founder of Employ California, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit where she developed courses to help Los Angeles County employees pass challenging civil service exams, enabling career advancement and promoting economic mobility. With nearly two decades of teaching experience at institutions including UCLA Extension, UCI Extension, USC, and Cal State Fullerton, Jen brings both academic expertise and practical application to her work. She is a Microsoft Certified AI Engineer Associate and has led AI proficiency development trainings for a variety of commercial organizations and non-profits.

Jen has collaborated with leading institutions including the County of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Fire Department, and she has consulted widely through her roles in social impact initiatives. Her work emphasizes innovation and accessibility, ensuring that organizations and communities alike thrive in the AI-powered future. She holds an M.S. in Education and a B.A. in English from California State University, Fullerton.

Speaker Bio: Mike Krause

Mike Krause is a distinguished artificial intelligence and technology leader with over 15 years of experience leveraging AI to develop and deploy solutions across various industries, including energy, finance, real estate, healthcare, manufacturing, and utilities. He has spearheaded the development of numerous AI solutions and sophisticated industrial AI software applications and championed an initiative leading to the world’s first hybrid AI platform. A frequent speaker on artificial intelligence, Mike has contributed to numerous media articles and industry conferences.

As the Principal at Route 5 Ventures, Mike is at the forefront of developing pragmatic AI strategies that scale sustainably with the business for startups, businesses, and private equity firms. His leadership and influence in this role are evident in his previous ventures, including co-founding a mobile sensing company aimed at transforming infrastructure management for smart cities. Before that, he served as a Data Science Director at Beyond Limits, Energective, and Tiandi Energy, where he helped industrial and energy clients leverage AI to solve challenging real-world problems. His experience in private equity and venture capital, leading major investments in gaming, biotech, real estate, and alternative currency sectors, further demonstrates his leadership and influence in the industry.

Mike holds a PhD and an MS in Energy Resources Engineering from Stanford University and a BS in Civil Engineering from Minnesota State University, Mankato. He also has numerous MIT and Stanford University data science and leadership certifications..

Location

Back Bay Conference Center, 3415 Michelson Drive, Irvine, CA 92612  

FREE PARKING 

Dinner / Meal

Breakfast, Coffee, Juice

Time

Program:

  9:00 AM -- Doors open & casual networking begins
  9:30 AM -- Workshop discussion begins: attendees share problems and needs in their job or industry
10:00 AM -- Course information session begins: Caltech shares course insight and outcomes
10:30 AM -- Problem solving session begins
11:00 AM -- Q&A session begins
11:30 AM -- Workshop closes

Cost

Registration Cutoff Date and Time: July 26, 2026 at 9:00 AM

PDUs:  2 - Ways of Working