Strong chapters are built by leaders who bring experience, perspective, and a genuine commitment to helping others grow. Donna Gregorio is one of those leaders, and her impact can be seen across PMI Mass Bay through the strength of our programming, the growth of our community, and the thoughtful leadership she brings to the chapter.
Donna serves as the chapter’s Vice President of Professional Development, and has been involved with the chapter since 2022. She spent much of her career at MITRE, where she gained over 20 years of project management experience. She also carries a passion for teaching, having taught courses at Boston University and Babson College. Today, Donna is an Associate Professor at Northeastern University, inspiring the next generation of project managers and leaders.
Over the course of her career at MITRE, Donna has built a strong foundation that blends deep technical expertise with strategic project leadership. She started off as a systems engineer before advancing into group leadership, where she led application development efforts and specialized in user interface design. As she progressed, her role evolved from hands-on engineering to leading larger scale initiatives. Serving as Department Head of IT Systems Engineering, she oversaw both the tactical and strategic direction of the department, where she provided systems engineering, infrastructure, and application support.
In 2021, Donna published The Successful Project Manager, a book that draws on real world use cases that she faced during her time at MITRE. Using her expertise in business and PM, she outlines practical strategies for navigating challenges, making this book a useful resource for project managers.
Making Her Mark on PMI Mass Bay
As a published author, Donna presented at conferences, including PMI Global Summit. There, she connected with members of the PMI Mass Bay chapter, and those conversations left a lasting impression that sparked her continued involvement. After speaking with Greg Paul, the chapter’s Vice President of Professional Development at the time, Donna got more involved with the chapter. After a year and a half, Donna made the decision to join the leadership team, taking over as VP of Professional Development.
The professional development team takes on the responsibility of creating events aimed at improving the skillsets of our members. Donna leads a team of 10 volunteers who host monthly programming, featuring roundtables for various PM communities, and bootcamps to prepare members for their PMP certifications. Additionally, they curate impactful speakers who deliver meaningful, lasting value to attendees, including our Professional Development Conference in September! Recently, the team has finalized a partnership with Northeastern University, bridging the gap between students and seasoned professionals, and expanding our membership while staying involved within the Boston community.
“Donna brings the kind of energy that immediately elevates the work of everyone around her! She has deep experience, great judgment, and a thoughtful, grounded way of understanding how people work together and what teams need to succeed. She has been an incredible thought partner to me, and our chapter is stronger because of her leadership.”
-Chet Lang, Chapter President
One of their most popular events are the Women in PM roundtables, hosted monthly, which Donna helped spearhead with the help of Diane Coles, Director of Project Management at Slalom Consulting. These events have fostered a bright community of women of all backgrounds and experience levels to come together, share experiences, and discuss topics women in PM face every day. As one of the main driving forces of the events that have created this growing community, Donna is most excited for the upcoming half-day Women in PM forum that will take place at Boston University on June 5th!
Inspiring Future Generations
In the classroom, Donna shares that she finds herself competing with devices for attention. To combat this, she keeps her sessions interactive and relevant to boost participation and keep her students engaged in the moment. This approach carries over into her work on the Professional Development team, where many events are designed to be interactive and foster meaningful connections among professionals.
As a professor, Donna focuses heavily on motivating young professionals who are seeking more guidance than ever with today’s challenging job market. She says she balances realism with encouragement by bringing her experience from past projects into the classroom, sharing not just successes, but also failures, “This tends to resonate far more than theory alone.” By grounding students in these stories, they can understand how concepts learned in their coursework translate into practice.
When it comes to giving advice to students in their early careers, Donna emphasizes that project management is a journey that requires persistence. She shares how important it is to know how projects operate, and how a strong foundation can help one eventually grow into a PM role, “I encourage students to start with internships or entry-level roles that are part of the project ecosystem, such as testing, documentation, development, or requirements analysis.”
As a way to recharge and stay connected socially, Donna enjoys singing in her band or golfing with friends!
