Meet Our Team

J. Kent Crawford, PMP, PMI Fellow

Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Kent Crawford is the CEO and founder of PM College and Project Management Solutions, Inc. (PM Solutions). His experience spans more than twenty five years, where he has been responsible for the development of systems requirements and the functional design of integrated project management systems for a number of Fortune 500 organizations.

He is the Former President and Chair of the Project Management Institute (PMI®). During his tenure in office, Mr. Crawford implemented innovative programs, which resulted in an astounding fifty percent membership growth for the Institute. His leadership in PMI has been widely recognized as a primary driver in PMI's success.

Mr. Crawford is a recipient of the PMI Fellow Award, PMI's highest and most prestigious individual honor. A prolific speaker and advocate of the profession, he is also the award-winning author of The Strategic Project Office: A Guide to Improving Organizational Performance (for which he won the David I. Cleland Project Management Literature Award from PMI), Optimizing Human Capital with a Strategic Project Office, Project Management Maturity Model: Providing a Proven Path to Project Management Excellence, and Project Management Roles & Responsibilities.

Deborah Bigelow Crawford, PMP

President 

As President of PM College, Debbie Bigelow Crawford is responsible for the fiscal management and quality assurance of the PM College program. Her previous experience as Executive Director of the Project Management Institute (PMI) during its high-growth phase has given her the expertise to manage and develop new initiatives and programs for this fast-paced and innovative project management training company. Ms. Crawford also serves as Executive Vice President of Project Management Solutions, Inc. (PM Solutions).

As the Executive Director of PMI, she was instrumental in providing the foundation and infrastructure for the exponential growth that the Institute has maintained over the last 10 years. In addition, she served as the Executive Director of the PMI Educational Foundation.

Over the last decade, she has authored numerous articles in PM Network, Chief Project Officer, and Optimize magazines. Ms. Crawford is also co-author of the book Project Management Essentials. She has presented a variety of papers as a speaker at international symposia and conferences and is a member of the National Association of Female Executives and the Project Management Institute.

Maria Kelly O'Hara

Director of Operations

As PM College's Director of Operations, Maria Kelly O'Hara leads the operational functions for developing, implementing, and administering the delivery of PM College training programs. Ms. Kelly O'Hara joined PM Solutions from the Project Management Institute (PMI) where she held the position of Education Administrator during the launch of PMI Seminars. In this position, she managed seminar administration, marketing, and instructor communications. She also initiated the expansion of PMI Seminars worldwide.

Ms. Kelly O'Hara has published in PMI's Seminars & Symposium Proceedings and has also been a presenter at PMI's Annual Seminars and Symposium. She is a member of the American Society of Training and Development (ASTD).

Sherrie James-Hawthorne

Director – Instructional Design/Product Development

Sherrie James-Hawthorne has responsibility for the complete instructional design of all PM College standardized courses, customized client courses and course revisions. In addition to managing PM College’s team of instructional designers, she recommends and implements new courseware product offerings and learning solutions to grow and expand current clients.

Prior to joining PM College, Ms. James-Hawthorne brings nearly 20 years of experience in training and development leading training departments at several Fortune 100 companies where she implemented numerous training solutions, a learning management system, e-learning and instructional design methodologies.

Ms. James-Hawthorne holds a BS in Business Administration and an MBA, Training and Development. She is a member of the American Society of Training and Development (ASTD).

William P. Athayde, J.D., PMP

Senior Instructor

As a Senior Instructor for PM College, William Athayde's responsibilities include classroom training, course development, and consulting on training issues as well as project management. Mr. Athayde gained his project management experience working in oil spill and hazardous materials remediation, construction, and systems development and integration projects and as the program manager of a team composed of 120 representatives of fourteen federal agencies, six state governments, and industry.

Prior to joining PM College, Mr. Athayde served as President of EHS Associates, an environmental, health, and safety consulting firm providing services to companies such as Exxon Chemical Americas (and its successor, Exxon Mobil Chemicals). He also taught project management courses for various organizations, specializing in procurement management and risk management. Previously, he served as Technical Director and then Executive Vice President and CEO of Industrial Marine Service.

Mr. Athayde has authored various papers and spoken on disaster recovery planning and operations, project and program team dynamics, CAMEO® (Computer-Aided Management of Emergency Operations), and emergency response. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Government from the University of San Francisco and his Doctor of Jurisprudence from University of Houston Law Center. He also studied law at Universidad Catolica Santa Maria (Arequipa, Peru). He is a member of the State Bar of Texas.

Ruth Elswick, PMP

Senior Instructor

In addition to teaching the PM College curriculum, Ruth Elswick contributes her extensive project management experience in curriculum development and instructor mentoring.

Ms. Elswick gained her project management experience working in FDA-regulated industries. She has held various project management positions for major pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical device organizations. These positions included managing a multimillion-dollar global biotech start-up as well as establishing a project office and the implementation of a project selection process. Prior to joining PM College, she was President of Elswick Project Management, Inc., performing consulting and training services to Fortune 500 companies such as Baxter Healthcare, Dade International, Warner Wellcome, IBM, Motorola, AT&T, and UPS.

Ms. Elswick holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of South Carolina and a Master's Degree from East Carolina University. She currently serves as an adjunct professor in project management at Florida International University and is active in the South Florida PMI chapter as a PMP Exam Prep Instructor.

Paul Lombard, PMP

Senior Instructor

As a Senior Instructor for PM College, Paul Lombard's responsibilities include classroom and distance learning facilitation, course development, consulting and mentoring on a wide range of topics including strategic management, program management, portfolio management, project management, and quality management.

Prior to joining PM College, Mr. Lombard gained his experience while serving as a project and program manager and trainer for the U.S. government and as a principal at Global Training Group. During his tenure with Global, he consulted and trained at numerous Fortune 500 companies including Deloitte and Touche, Genentech, IBM, Motorola, NCR, Nortel, Sprint, The New York Times Company, The Vanguard Group, and Verizon Corporation. While in government he worked with many federal and state organizations including the U.S. Navy; Commander in Chief, U.S. Naval Forces, Europe; Commerce Department; The Port Authority of New York &New Jersey; Naval Personnel Command, New Orleans; and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. As a capstone for his excellent work with the federal government, Mr. Lombard was awarded the Distinguished Civilian Service Medal, the highest non-valorous military and civilian decoration, by The Department of the Navy.

Mr. Lombard is a noted author of books and articles on numerous project management and training topics. He is also a curriculum developer and a Certified Master Trainer.. He has been a long-time active member of the Project Management Institute (PMI) and has been recognized by PMI's Quality in Project Management Special Interest Group for his long service to that SIG.

Crystal L. S. Busch, M.A.

Senior Instructional Designer

As a Senior Instructional Designer for PM College, Crystal Busch is responsible for working with clients to customize courses to meet their business needs and reflect their internal processes. Ms. Busch is also responsible for designing and maintaining core courses.   Her particular strengths include understanding the business drivers for a course and ensuring course material and activities support skill development to meet those drivers.

Prior to PM College, Ms. Busch worked for QVC as a Training Specialist in the Human Resources Development and Training organization.  At QVC, she conducted needs assessments to determine the appropriate training solutions for various business units; provided performance-based coaching; and designed, developed, and facilitated both technical and soft-skills training.  Ms. Busch also supported the implementation of QVC's company-wide competency-based performance evaluation program for exempt employees and other organization development initiatives to support the culture and values of the business. 

Ms. Busch has a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Kutztown University and a Master's degree in Industrial/ Organizational Psychology from West Chester University.  She is an active member of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD).

Don Lauro

Training Production and Support Manager

As a Training Production and Support Manager for PM College, Don Lauro is responsible for the production and dissemination of all PM College course materials, ensuring they arrive on time and with the utmost quality standards in place.  His other responsibilities include inventory management, maintaining participant transcripts, and responding to inquiries regarding PM College's PM Professional Coach online learning program.

Before joining PM College, Mr. Lauro was the Publications Coordinator at the Project Management Institute (PMI) for five years. While at PMI, he was instrumental in the development of its order processing systems.