Gayle Howard on volunteering with APM: “Go for it”

One of the key foundations of our profession built around the involvement and expertise of our volunteering community. Read Gayle’s experience of volunteering with our People Specific Interest Group (SIG) and learn how you can contribute to our Branch and SIG Committees. Nominations are open until 20 June.

Gayle is an experienced Senior Project and Programme Professional with a special interest in the ‘people’ element of projects, which comes from her background in workplace coaching and development, and a career in project, programme and change management. As a result, Gayle is keen to share her own experience with others and to learn from those around her.

“Being a volunteer offers me excellent opportunities to meet and engage with like-minded people from varied business sectors. It has also offered me the chance to get involved in activities and events that I otherwise would not have had.

“The diverse experience of volunteers in the People SIG offer really valuable insights into people-related topics within the profession, and whilst we all have a specific interest in the people aspects of the profession, we have knowledge from different sectors (public and private), countries, cultures and business models. Also, we all have experience of what has worked well and not so well within these different parameters that we can share.

“Working with people from such different professional backgrounds is a massive opportunity to learn and develop. It’s a two-way relationship, by getting involved in some of the ongoing initiatives, volunteers can contribute but also learn from those they’re working with.  

“One of the opportunities I’ve been most proud of as a volunteer is running a series of interactive live webinars for APM members and the Change Management Institute, as part of the collaboration between the two organisations. This is something that I hadn’t been involved with before, but I’ve developed skills relating to the planning, execution and follow-up of these events; what works with an online audience; what doesn’t and how best to get the interaction of the participants.

“To anyone thinking about volunteering with APM, I would definitely advise them to go for it. It’s fully understood that as volunteers we may, at times, have other priorities but the opportunities that it can offer are great. No other specific skills or experience are required to volunteer. In my opinion, the key is an interest in the particular subject area, regardless of level of knowledge and experience.”

Are you interested to find out more or would you like to join our volunteering community? Submit your details on our Branch and SIG Committee page.