Sophearay Smith

Presentation: The Project Manager’s Edge: Excelling in Non-Traditional Environments

Abstract: The Project Manager’s Edge: Excelling in Non-Traditional Environments will dive into real-world strategies for thriving as a project manager where project management isn’t always the focus. For most, we’ve operated in organizations where the role was directly scoped for project management. But, there there may be times when a person is hired as the first or only PM on their team, brought in to create a PM structure or project management principles aren’t the norm. Whether you work on a sales team, an operations group, or any other department that might not have dedicated project roles, this workshop will show how to use project management skills to make a real impact in non-traditional environments. This workshop can also help project management individuals looking to pivot in their career to a new non-PM industry.

The workshop discussion will review practical techniques like adapting Agile principles in informal settings, establishing your influence without formal authority, and using flexible PM tools that fit even the most dynamic work environments. We’ll also get into ways to build cross-functional relationships and communicate the value of project management in ways that resonate with any team.

By the end of this workshop, attendees will walk away with actionable strategies to:

  1. Build their influence and demonstrate a PM’s value,
  2. Lead projects seamlessly, even without formal titles, and
  3. Adapt PM tools in ways that enhances team performance.

Overall, this workshop, The Project Manager’s Edge will empower attendees on how to make their PM skills work in any environment, formal or not. So, if you’re a project manager ready to thrive, no matter where you are in your career, the industry you’re in or looking to pivot in your career, this session is for you!

PMI Talent Triangle: Ways of Working


Biography: Sophearay Smith combines her superpowers of project management and empathy for all people to take program/product development from ideation to full solutions and implementation. With over a decade of experience, she possesses a unique skill of being able to build diverse teams, leverage project management principles, identify underutilized or underserved markets to produce increased revenue and tactical strategies.

Sophearay is currently the Senior Program Manager, Partnerships (Undiscovered Small Business Accelerator/USBA) at Amazon. In this role, she leads project management and programmatic efforts, product development as well as SOP development tied to the discoverability of small/emerging businesses. Her solutions primarily focuses on businesses that fall within diverse populations such as Black owned, Women owed and Veteran owned. She’s also held previous roles at Amazon as the Senior Diversity Program Manager, G&A responsible for creating, developing and launching project management solutions and DEI products tied to advancing Senior leadership goals as well as her role as the Business Operations and Strategic Planning Lead for the North Americas Sales team at AWS.

Prior to Amazon, she was the Manager, Accel Projects at AdvaMed where she led the company’s strategic initiative focused on fostering relationships between medical device companies and university technology transfer offices. This resulted in a program connecting medtech companies to emerging technologies in universities as well as support from government agencies. She also published the University Technology Transfer Best Practices guide which is currently used as an industry resource. Lastly, she’s held previous roles in the pharmaceutical industry with companies such as Pfizer and Taro Pharmaceuticals focused on marketing and public health awareness strategies.

She holds a BS in Public Health from Rutgers University (Edward J. Bloustein School of Public Health) as well as an MBA with a concentration in Project Management from Keller Graduate School of Management.

LinkedIn