Her Story
About Dori
Dori Young is a project management executive, PMO transformation strategist, and founder of PMUs, a boutique advisory firm dedicated to helping organizations modernize project management offices into strategic business partners. With more than 20 years of experience leading enterprise transformation initiatives, she has built and matured PMOs, redesigned operating models, managed enterprise portfolios, launched new products, and guided complex organizational change across the healthcare, technology, SaaS, and insurance sectors. In addition to leading her advisory practice, Dori serves as a Principal Program Manager, where she oversees a large Employee Resource Group (ERG) ecosystem that includes 13 Employee Belonging Councils and more than 350 volunteer leaders, driving governance, leadership development, and operational excellence at scale.
Throughout her career, Dori has earned a reputation for transforming PMOs from administrative functions into high-value strategic partners that enable business growth and execution. Her expertise spans governance design, portfolio management, organizational effectiveness, change leadership, and executive advisory, helping organizations improve decision-making, align strategy with execution, and build sustainable operating models. She holds numerous industry credentials, including the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification earned in 2014, the PMO Certified Practitioner (PMOCP), Certified ScrumMaster (CSM), and SAFe Agilist certifications. An active member of the Project Management Institute (PMI) and the PMI San Francisco Bay Area Chapter, she is also a sought-after speaker and thought leader on the evolving role of project and program leaders in today's business landscape.
At the core of Dori's leadership philosophy are integrity, calculated risk-taking, and an unwavering curiosity to understand people, systems, and organizations more deeply. Through her work, writing, and coaching, she encourages project and program professionals to embrace leadership long before receiving a new title, believing that influence is earned through judgment, clarity, and the ability to create alignment in uncertainty. She advises emerging leaders to recognize the strengths they have already developed, continue building from that foundation, and pursue growth with confidence rather than waiting for external validation. By helping organizations and individuals shift from execution to strategic leadership, Dori continues to shape the future of modern PMO excellence.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Dori
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to holding core values such as integrity, taking calculated risks, and staying curious. I don't bend to pressure and my fear is more about regretting not taking a risk. Staying genuinely curious helps me remain open to new information and wisdom. These values help me show up authentically and influence others positively.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Growth doesn't always begin with a promotion or a title or someone else's permission. It begins sometimes that moment that you recognize what you've already become, and you start building from that place. Every role that has catapulted my career, I was already functioning in before I had the title. Not waiting for anybody's permission, not waiting for a title, it's just becoming who you want to be, and build from that place, and let the opportunities catch up to you.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The challenges are everyone trying to figure out what to do with AI, with a lot of fear around whether project and program managers will be replaced. Another challenge is how organizations leverage PMOs, often seeing them as administrative functions rather than strategic partners and change agents.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
People first. The person in front of you first. I learned that from my parents. It doesn't matter that we're dealing with projects and programs... All those things need people to make them happen, even in the age of AI. Relationship management, judgment, and your connection with people are important. Being intentional about how you show up and doing the self-work to show up as the best version of yourself.
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