Project Management at the Edge: Lessons from a Winter Great Lakes Traverse

Name: Project Management at the Edge: Lessons from a Winter Great Lakes Traverse
Start: 2026-06-02T17:30:00-04:00
End: 2026-06-02T19:00:00-04:00
Location: Carmel Boyer School of Business, Kamm Hall, 191 E Center Street, Berea, OH, 44017

Schedule

Tue Jun 02 2026 at 05:30 pm to 07:00 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

Carmel Boyer School of Business, Kamm Hall, 191 E Center Street, Berea, OH, 44017 | Berea, OH

This session explores how project management principles can be applied far beyond traditional business environments. Through the lens of a first-of-its-kind endurance adventure riding a bicycle across portions of all five frozen Great Lakes.
The featured speaker, IT Project Manager, Eric McKinney, will walk through how he approached the journey as a structured project. From defining scope and building a realistic timeline to route planning, weather analysis, risk assessment, equipment selection, and budgeting, this talk demonstrates how disciplined planning and adaptability enabled the successful execution of a highly unconventional goal. PDUs: 1 - Ways of Working
Attendees will gain insight into how project management frameworks can be used in dynamic, unpredictable environments, and how these tools can translate to personal challenges, creative pursuits, and extreme expeditions. Light snacks and drinks (pop, water) will be served.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Eric McKinney is a project manager with over a decade of experience leading complex initiatives across construction, engineering, and software development. He began his career serving for ten years in the U.S. Army as an Engineer Officer, managing construction projects in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in both military and civilian capacities.