NAVAL AIR WARFARE CENTER WEAPONS DIVISION, POINT MUGU, Calif. -- Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division recognized 25 employees for completing the Project Management 101 program during a ceremony Aug. 8 at Point Mugu; 44 more will be honored in a ceremony at China Lake Aug. 29.   

PM 101 is a locally developed, command-sponsored program that teaches key project management skills and tools. Participants, who can come from anywhere in the organization, complete 80 hours of training in six classes over the span of two months. Since 2011, more than 500 people have participated in the program.

Tom Dowd, NAVAIR Ranges director, praised graduates for their willingness to step up and complete the challenging curriculum.

“It’s always a collateral duty,” Dowd said. “You still have to do your regular jobs while completing this course. It takes dedication to see it through.”

Dowd also noted that while there are many project management classes available in the government, NAWCWD’s program is special, and not just because you learn the “WD way” of doing things.

“The program creates the network you need to get stuff done,” he added. “Your classmates and the subject matter experts you met during the class are your network. You should not be bashful about using that network.”

And in addition to using the networks they’ve built, Dowd challenged graduates to spread their skills and learning beyond themselves.

“Be infectious in our organization,” he said. “Share what you know. If you benefitted from this class, encourage others to participate.”

Fiscal Year 2017 Project Management 101 graduates from Point Mugu are:

Rinaldo Baietti, Peter Chan, Ryan Coulter, Alexandra Dyar, Derek Falde, Jeremy Fratella, Allan Gatbonton, Matthew Gerner, Felix Gonzalez, Tyler Halpin-Chan, David Koger, Johnny Lam, Mario Martinez, Jason Maxwell, Amanda McWhorter, Fernando Mendoza, Glenn Nelson, Alex Ordway, Brian Platt, Melanie Ramirez, Eduardo Rivas, Varshanjali Sayyaparaju, Justin Simangan, Samuel Soria, and Matt Tarditti.