Marie Spark – Project Management Program Director, Lecturer

Marie Spark, MBA, PMP®

Lecturer

Program Director, Project Management

Prof. Spark oversees all project management curriculum and instruction at GGU, as well as serves as faculty advisor for related student clubs.

She came to academics following a career in project and quality management in banking, technology and nonprofits. Her passion is to empower adult learners to their careers. In addition to teaching, she is an active leader and speaker in the professional project management community both locally and nationally.

Program Director, MS Project Management:

2019 –GGU Faculty Service Award
Oversee and manage all curriculum development and instruction for Project Management programs at GGU
Student Clubs:
- Faculty advisor, GGU PM club (In partnership with PMI San Francisco)
- Faculty advisor, GGU ASQ club (official student branch of ASQ)
Faculty Senate
- Representative (2017 to present)
- Chair, GGU Adjunct Committee (2021 to present)
- Past Senate Chair (2019-21)

Courses taught:

PM 340 – Intro to Project Management
PM 398 – Project Management Internship

Certifications:

Project Management Professional (PMP)
Six Sigma Black Belt
Certified Scrum Master (CSM)
ITL 4 Foundation

Leadership & Outreach: Professional Associations

PMI San Francisco Bay Area Chapter (PMISFBAC)
- Senior Advisor and university liaison (2024 to present)
- Facilitator, monthly roundtable meeting (2016 to present)

Public Speaking Engagements
- PMI chapters: San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Sacramento, San Diego, Ottawa Valley, Central Illinois, Inland Empire
- Other organizations: Bio Pharma PPM Conference, Executive Support Leadership (ELS) Forum, Berkeley Continuing Education for the Bar, ASQ San Francisco
- Topics:
  - Project Management Jump Start
  - Branding Your Project Management Career
  - Project Management overview for Attorneys; for Veterans; for Executive Assistants
  - Panel discussions: Women in PM, Managing vs. Leading Projects, Stakeholder Management
  - Agile for Virtual Teams
  - The Evolution of Projects