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ASK OCE — March 17, 2006 — Vol. 1, Issue 6

APPEL held the twelfth Masters Forum in Herndon, VA, on March 8-10, with a full line-up of NASA and industry veterans on hand to share stories and wisdom with approximately 67 current program/project managers and engineers.

The knowledge sharing sessions and panels packed in more than a dozen speakers and panelists from NASA past or present, including: Frank Martin, NASA/Lockheed Martin (retired); David Leckrone, Carl Wales, Bob Menrad, Dorothy Tiffany and Walter Majerowicz (GSFC); Kim Ess and Skip Hatfield (JSC); Tom Sutliff (GRC); and Gus Guastaferro, (LaRC/Lockheed, retired). Deputy Chief Engineer Greg Robinson spoke to the full group on the changing shape of technical excellence and technical authority.

The conference also featured perspectives on business-government relations from David Dehaven (Northrop Grumman), Bill Altman (Batelle), and Zeke Wolfberg (Defense Intelligence Agency).

In keeping with APPEL’s commitment to providing thought leadership for NASA, the Masters Forum also featured authors who tackled subjects broader than program/project management and engineering. Dr. Nancy M. Dixon, author of Common Knowledge: How Companies Thrive by Sharing What They Know, shared the podium with ASK Magazine managing editor Don Cohen to discuss the state of knowledge management. ASK Editor-in-Chief Larry Prusak led a session on establishing and maintaining a collaborative enterprise. Bob Ward, biographer of the legendary MSFC Director Wernher von Braun, brought his subject to life in a large group discussion.

The Masters Forum is a biennial invitational conference held over 3 days for a small group of practitioners to learn from past masters of project management. Attendees build cross-center relationships, develop leadership expertise, and participate in a community of practice focusing on lessons learned and unique practices. Learn more about past APPEL Masters Forum events.

APPEL’s Project Management Challenge 2006 will take place March 21-22 in Galveston, TX. Scheduled speakers include NASA Administrator Dr. Michael Griffin, Associate Administrator Rex Geveden, NASA Chief Engineer Chris Scolese, Space Shuttle Program Manager Wayne Hale, APPEL Director Dr. Ed Hoffman, and many more.

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