Student Q & A
Cie Riley
Control Manager for Risk Finance and Administration Division
Freddie Mac
When Cie Riley joined Freddie Mac in 1991 she got her first taste of project management when she was tapped to establish a process for managing internal audits.
"I worked in a multifaceted department with five distinct business areas and more than 140 employees," she said. "The vice president needed a process that would allow her to know which audits were scheduled or in progress and the status of open audit issues. With exceptional guidance from my director, I was able to develop and implement an internal process that eventually improved the department's score from marginal to satisfactory. This experience was almost overwhelming, but it instilled in me some fundamental lessons about working with busy people to accomplish a task that is not necessarily a priority for them."
Armed with that project management success, she volunteered to work on another project, the development of a Black History Program for Freddie Mac. She created the operational plan for the event that matched 100 youths from Washington, DC area schools with Freddie Mac professionals based on career interests. The event was a success generating both kudos from the company chairman and participants throughout the program.
Her experiences as a new project manager sparked her interest in the profession of project management. She soon began reading more about the topic and searching for training options. "I did all of this project planning and execution and didn't know what a project plan was," she said. "As a result of that first effort, I began to ask questions of people about the process of project management. Finding out that there was a whole body of knowledge to support project management was really exciting."
Today, Cie serves as the control manager for risk management in the Finance and Administration Division where she spends much of her time troubleshooting projects and creating action plans to resolve problems as they arise.
"My biggest challenge is responding in a timely manner to multiple customers with competing projects. Each customer's project is important to him or her, and it is important to me to successfully manage each customer's expectation. Even though I have a lot of responsibility with minimum to zero authority, I'm committed to providing my customers with excellent service."
On-Site Classes
Companies with 15 or more people to train can take advantage of significant tuition discounts with on-site training.
Discounts
Take advantage of ESI's discount options and special offers.
Pricing for Government Employees
Take advantage of discounts for courses offered through ESI's GSA Federal Supply Schedules.
Customer Service
+1 (888) ESI-8884 (U.S.)
+1 (703) 558-3000 (Outside U.S.)
esi-info@esi-intl.com
More Information/Request a Catalog
Request information about ESI's products and services
Corporation & Agency Training Information
Request information about organizational training and professional services