Palo Alto Networks

Senior Project Manager

Project Success Academy℠

Course Instructor

Velvet Vision

Founder

Raytheon Technologies

IT Project Manager

Fulcrum Technology Solutions

IT Project Coordinator

University of Houston

Program Manager

Project Manager | Helping Women Land Tech PM Roles | your PM bff

In 2024, I noticed something: most mid-career project managers weren’t underqualified. They were under-positioned. They had the skills, experience, and drive, but weren’t landing six-figure project management roles because hiring managers couldn’t see their value.

That realization led me to build the Velvet Vision framework. It helps project professionals position themselves as the obvious hire before they ever apply.

This isn’t resume tweaking or chasing certifications. It’s about clarity, strategy, and execution. My clients stop blending in, start leading with confidence, and step into roles that pay them what they’re worth.

Who I Work Best With:
I work with project managers in the U.S. and Canada who:
• Have at least 3 years of project management experience
• Are ready to step into $100K+ roles
• Want to be seen as leaders, not task managers
• Value clarity, execution, and accountability

This program is not for people who are brand new to project management, unwilling to take ownership of their growth, or looking for a quick fix.

Results so far:
• Clients have collectively secured $313K in salary increases with an average uplift of $44K per person
• On average, clients land offers in 3.3 months (fastest in 68 days)
• ROI consistently exceeds 800%, with some clients covering their investment in the first paycheck

If you’re a project manager in the U.S. or Canada ready to earn more, lead more, and finally get seen, you don’t need luck or endless hustle. You need positioning.

No fluff. No guessing. Just strategy that gets results.

👉 Apply to work with me: https://calendly.com/d/cm7j-vb9-kvr

Yonelly G.

Goodbye, Pepe. 🕊️ 

I found Pepe while biking around Houston a few years ago. He was an emaciated stray walking in the middle of the street with no collar. 

I told him, “If you don’t bite me, I’ll take you home.” He didn’t, and that moment changed both of our lives.

At the vet, we learned he was filled with heartworms and parasites. We treated him, gave him care, and he recovered. But his heart murmur never went away. Over time, it grew worse. 

Still, Pepe never lost his spirit. He was goofy, curious, and bold. He’d chase the big dogs like he was one of them, always convinced he could keep up.

Today, we had to say goodbye. His heart finally gave out, and we made the painful decision to let him rest.

You don’t always get to choose when someone or something comes into your life, but you do get to choose how you show up for them.

Even with a weak heart, Pepe lived with joy. And that’s a lesson worth carrying forward.

I will forever miss you my sweet boy.

Yonelly Gutierrez

Helping PMs land 6-figure roles faster | Join my waitlist (link in bio) | Featured by Favikon as a Top 10 U.S. PM Creator.

No alternative text description for this image

$40K → $135K+ in 4 Years (and No, I Didn’t Get Another Cert)

In 2021, I was making $40,000.
Working in education.
Stuck, underpaid, and tired of waiting...

I knew I had to pivot fast.
So I studied nights. Got my PMP and CSM.

↳ Landed my first IT role as a Project Coordinator.
↳ Then moved to Raytheon as an IT Project Manager.
↳ Now I’m a Senior Project Manager at Palo Alto Networks
↳ leading multi-million dollar delivery for a Fortune 500 client.

Here’s the wild part...
To go from Project Manager → Senior Project Manager,
I didn’t get another certification.
I didn’t go back to school.
I didn’t grind in the same role hoping someone would notice.

↳ I executed at a different level:
I positioned myself as a strategic leader, not a task executor
I turned delivery into business impact leadership cared about
I learned how to create visibility without  playing politics

That’s what gets people promoted.

And I'm helping other mid-level PMs do the same.

I put together a free PM Promotion Playbook that maps out what I used to get promoted and how you can too.

Grab a copy here: https://lnkd.in/gAmUhu3b

Let’s turn your current role into your next one.

The higher your visibility, the more people project onto you.

They’ll question your credibility.
They’ll assume you haven’t earned your place.
They’ll talk to you like you didn’t build what you built.

That’s not about you. 
↳ It’s about what your growth reflects back to them.

When I first started showing up online, I thought staying quiet protected my peace. 

Now I know boundaries do that better.

Receipts protect your business.
Composure protects your brand.
Confidence protects your energy.

The goal isn’t to avoid friction. 

The goal is to stay so rooted in who you are that friction can’t move you.

Your success will always trigger someone who hasn’t faced their own.

AI Isn’t Replacing Project Managers. 

It’s Replacing Those Who Refuse to Evolve.

If your projects look the same with or without AI, your value is shrinking.

AI now 
-forecasts risks before humans flag them.
-predicts schedule slips with data.
-builds status updates in seconds.

The PM who uses AI leads with insight.

So ask yourself…

👉 Are you using AI to clear your plate or to sharpen your decisions?

Because the next wave of promotions will go to PMs who manage intelligence.

🧐How are you using AI to lead smarter projects?

I went from $40K to $135K+ without an MBA or additional certs.

I didn’t work harder.
I just stopped being invisible.

Now I’m teaching the system that helped me step into senior roles and I’m giving it away for free.

Inside this free session:
✔ How to make your work visible to the people who matter
 ✔ How to speak like a strategic leader, not a task manager
 ✔ How to handle senior conversations with clarity and confidence
 ✔ The 5-part framework that helped me go from overlooked to undeniable

This is built for mid-level PMs who are doing the work but not getting the title.

If that’s you, grab a spot here: https://lnkd.in/gXqjFXXt

Spots are limited to keep the session high-impact.

Control is a signal, not a personality trait.

Looking calm ≠ being naturally composed.
Looking calm = promotion trigger.
Executives read presence faster than resumes.

That’s what we drilled in Monday’s live session. 

We covered actual strategy that changes how leaders see you.

Every attendee walked out with additional resources & everyone saw where they’re falling flat.

You signal control when you…
-know what matters
-won’t fold under pressure
-operate at the next level

That’s what gets you tapped.

🙅🏻‍♀️ Not busywork.
🙅🏻‍♀️ Not loyalty.
💁🏻‍♀️ Control.

GovOS

GovOS provides a secure suite of cloud-based solutions for local and state governments to maximize revenue, increase compliance, reduce costs, and meet constituent demand for modern, self-service transaction and payment services.

👉 Manage multi-million dollar portfolio of projects, focusing on the implementation of cloud-based software for local and county governments.

Project Manager

Johnson Controls

👉 Lead marketing projects for portfolio of 4 brands and 50+ products (hardware and software) worth over $150M. 

👉 Collaborated with global cross functional teams including 12 product managers, engineering, digital marketing, creative and sales teams to develop go to market (GTM) strategies for new product launches (NPI) including  sales enablement, social media strategy , distribution channel projects and website design

👉 Championed 20 product launch projects with budgets of $1M+, managing scope, timelines, vendor coordination, and stakeholder engagement for timely end-to-end delivery

💪 Pioneered a global sales campaign project, producing tailored deliverables that boosted year-end sales by 15%

Hikvision USA

Hikvision is the world’s largest manufacturer of video surveillance products and solutions. 

My role as Program Manager was to champion Hikvision’s Dealer Partner Program with over 4,000 dealer partners, collaborating with external stakeholders and cross-functional internal teams to develop and manage metrics, messaging, requirements, strategy, branding, project plans and challenges.

   💪     Instrumental in building partner program by increasing partner participation 𝐛𝐲 400% 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 50% of the company’s revenue for 4+ years. 

  👉      Developed  45+ 𝐝𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐛𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 for senior sales leadership team of 11-15 executives based on monthly and annual purchase data for 9-10 sales territories to provide insights on key business metrics including YoY performance, partner evaluation, program compliance, strategy and effectiveness of field operation model. 

👉        Created and managed 40+ 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 for distribution to internal teams and 1,000s of external stakeholders to provide messaging and education re: program goals, changes, progress, marketing tools, marketing campaigns and initiatives.

👉     Coordinated monthly newsletter creation process including content conceptualization, timeline planning, workflow creation, reviewing and editing content to 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 40+ 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 with open rates that consistently 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐛𝐲 10 - 20%.

Hochiki America Corporation

Hochiki America provides fire protection and suppression equipment in North and South America. 

I owned all marketing, advertising, promotional and sales support activities including trade shows, press releases, product catalogs, technical spec sheets, company trademarks, vendor management, website maintenance and social media. 

💪	Spearheaded project to improve process for price change updates in Microsoft Dynamics that shortened the turnaround time 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 6 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐨 4 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧 80% 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 vs. prior project estimates.

👉  	Project managed operations and logistics for 13 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐬 in the US, Mexico and South America including booth design, set-up/tear down, finances, vendor relationship management, marketing plans, marketing collateral, product selection/placement and post-event lead follow up. Optimized efficiency of staff resources to reduce sales team’s time away from field by 1.5 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬. 

👉	Partnered with cross-functional departments and ad agency to develop marketing plan and strategy including allocation of $250,000 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐭.

STYLE 2020

Client Relations / Marketing / Social Media

📧  𝐋𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭!  ZeenaAbidi@gmail.com

👋   I am a project management professional with experience leading projects, program management & development, marketing, sales operations and sales enablement. I enjoy overseeing all aspects of project planning, from building detailed work plans to budgeting and resource allocation to ensuring quality deliverables and communication with all stakeholders while achieving alignment with business targets. I thrive serving as a connector between teams to facilitate projects that span multiple cross-functional teams.

💪   At Johnson Controls, I lead marketing projects for a portfolio of 4 brands and 50+ products (hardware and software) worth over $150M. I collaborated with global cross functional teams including 12 product managers, engineering, digital marketing, creative and sales teams to develop go to market (GTM) strategies for new product launches (NPI).

💪 When I started my role as Program Manager at Hikvision, the Hikvision Dealer Partner Program was about a year old and had less than 800 dealers. I played a key role in growing the program by focusing on developing and managing metrics, messaging, requirements, strategy and project plans. During my tenure, the program grew 400% and contributed to nearly 50% of the annual revenue for 4+ years.

🙌   𝐄𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬

"As the program manager for Hikvision’s dealer partner program she wore a lot of hats that were key in the building of the program."
--- Vince Lupe, Business Development & Strategic Accounts @ Avigilon 

"Zeena shows passion for all things done well. She has a high capacity to manage several projects at once while still staying focused on delivering the best possible outcomes."
--- Lisa Marmorino, Sales Director

"She is [a] stickler for detail and accuracy and has an easy rapport with clients. Her fun sense of humor is an added bonus to her long list of good qualities that made her a pleasure to work with."
--- Lisa Giger, Accounting Professional

🛠   𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬

Project Management | Program Management | Program Development | Cross-Functional Team Leadership | Communication | Stakeholder Management | Marketing | Microsoft Project | Jira | Sales Operations | Sales Enablement | Sales Support |  Messaging | Editing | Presentation | Research and Analysis | Client Relations | Collaboration | Branding | Problem Solving

Fluent in: English | Urdu | Sarcasm | 𝘍·𝘙·𝘐·𝘌·𝘕·𝘋·𝘚

taplio

The Battle

Yonelly G.

Zeena A.

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance ScoreYonelly G.'s LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

The Battle

Yonelly G.

Zeena A.

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Yonelly G.'s LinkedIn Performance

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Performance ScoreYonelly G.'s LinkedIn Performance