Stronger project professionals lead to stronger project outcomes
Interview with Dr. Kelly Heuer, CAPM
Vice President of Learning
Project Management Institute
Interviewed by Yasmina Khelifi
International Correspondent, PM World Journal
Paris, France
Introduction to the interviewee
As Vice President of Learning at Project Management Institute (PMI), Dr. Kelly Heuer draws on over two decades of experience in higher education to shape PMI’s learning strategy and future growth. She leads the development of high-quality publications, courses, training programs, and other resources designed to equip PMI’s global community of project managers with the knowledge and skills needed to excel in their careers and drive project success.
A lifelong learner, Kelly holds multiple degrees in philosophy, including an Artium Baccalaureus from Harvard University and a Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy from Georgetown University. She began her career in academia at Georgetown, where she played a key role in launching the university’s first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) in bioethics and co-founded its ethics and social innovation lab. Before joining PMI, she served as Vice President of Learning Experience at edX, where she helped drive digital learning innovation across the company’s portfolio. You can connect with Kelly on LinkedIn.
Interview
Q1: First, thank you for accepting an interview request from PMWJ. Congratulations on your new role as PMI Vice President of Learning. What are your duties in this role?
Dr. Kelly Heuer (Heuer): I’ve been with the Project Management Institute (PMI) for almost a year now, and I’m thrilled to help lead an organization that provides best-in-class learning opportunities for project professionals worldwide. As the head of PMI’s Learning division, I oversee a comprehensive portfolio that includes professional standards, live training, and digital learning products—designed to support the diverse needs of project managers at every stage of their careers.
Our goal is to empower project professionals with the knowledge, skills, and credentials they need to succeed. But it’s not just about individual career growth. Stronger project professionals lead to stronger project outcomes, driving real impact within organizations and communities worldwide.
Q2: What are your key strategies for 2025 regarding learning?
Heuer: In 2025, we’re focused on helping project professionals keep pace with an increasingly fast-changing skills landscape. With the rise of generative AI and rapid industry shifts, project managers must not only learn faster but also apply knowledge in more dynamic ways. The challenge? The shelf life of skills is shrinking, making career-long learning more essential than ever.
PMI is committed to delivering the right learning at the right time—helping project professionals stay ahead of the curve and drive better project outcomes. To meet this need, PMI is strengthening its learning ecosystem in three key areas:
More…
To read entire interview, click here
How to cite this work: Khelifi, Y. (2025). Stronger project professionals lead to stronger project outcomes, Interview with Dr. Kelly Heuer, PMI, Interview, PM World Journal, Vol. XIV, Issue V, May. Available online at https://pmworldlibrary.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/pmwj152-May2025-Khelifi-Interview-with-Dr-Kelly-Heuer-PMI.pdf
About the Interviewer
Yasmina Khelifi
Paris, France
Yasmina Khelifi, PMP, PMI- ACP, PMI-PBA is an experienced project manager in the telecom industry. Along with her 20-year career at Orange S.A. (the large French multinational telecommunications corporation), she sharpened her global leadership skills, delivering projects with major manufacturers and SIM makers. Yasmina strives for building collaborative bridges between people to make international projects successful. She relies on three pillars: project management skills, the languages she speaks, and a passion for sharing knowledge.
She is a PMP certification holder since 2013, a PMI- ACP and PMI-PBA certification holder since 2020. She is an active volunteer member at PMI France and PMI UAE, and a member of PMI Germany Chapter. French-native, she can speak German, English, Spanish, Italian, Japanese and she is learning Arabic. Yasmina loves sharing her knowledge and experiences at work, in her volunteers’ activities at PMI, and in projectmanagement.com as a regular blogger. She is also the host and co-founder of the podcast Global Leaders Talk with Yasmina Khelifi to help people in becoming better international leaders.
Yasmina can be contacted at https://yasminakhelifi.com/ or LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yasminakhelifi-pmp-telecom/
Visit her correspondent profile at https://pmworldlibrary.net/yasmina-khelifi/
To view other works by Yasmina, visit her author showcase in the PM World Library at https://pmworldlibrary.net/authors/yasmina-khelifi/
