Though being an exceptional Project Manager is no laughing matter, on her Instagram, Ordonna Sargeant, MPA’10 aka @ablackpmp, has pages of creative, lighthearted bits that tell her story and advise the growing population of people entering the field, Black and Brown women, considering Project Management as a career.

Ordonna Sargeant is the Staff Technical Project Manager for Twitter, where she delivers much more than tweets, “At work, my team motivates me. They look to me for clarity and direction. I am passionate about teaching and encouraging other young women to become Project Managers in technology.”

Over the last few years, Project Managers have become essential in almost every industry. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment of project management specialists is projected to grow 7 percent from 2021 to 2031. “Many women don’t even realize that much of what they do can be considered project management experience,” says Ordonna Sargeant, “You have enough to jump into this industry. You, of course, can add to your skill set, but you have experience that you can leverage. You have to create the narrative, make the connection, and then land the role. I want women who look like me to know what I have accomplished is possible for them too. Certifications such as Project Management Professional, Certified Scrum Master and Lean Six Sigma are achievable.”

Ordonna’s fire and confidence stem from her mother’s influence. Her mom worked her way up from a clerk to the Head Administrator for the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in St Albans. She published three books of poetry. “She showed me anything was possible,” says Ordonna. Because of her example, she achieved two degrees and multiple certifications while being a mother to two daughters. She is a published author and virtual speaker on Project Management.

Juggling home, work and school wasn’t easy, but like many MCNY graduates, “it can be done,” says Ordonna. “The biggest challenge was learning how to balance being a mother, having a full-time role and being a full-time graduate student. I chose MCNY for my graduate degree in Public Administration and Affairs because the program challenged me to use my on-site experience and practical knowledge while teaching me critical thinking.”

“MCNY taught me that I am more capable than I imagined. Purpose-Centered Education blends what you study with how you can apply it in your career. It focuses strategically on how to improve the world around you,“ says Ordonna Sargeant, MPA’10, “And that’s my goal, improving the world one project at a time!”

Photo credit: Sarah Eliza Bell Photography

More about Ordonna Sargeant, MPA’10
Ordonna Sargeant is currently a Technical Program Manager at Twitter. Previously she was a Program Director, where she was responsible for the digital program management of a top 50 Fortune company. Donna has over ten years of experience as a project and program manager for system/software engineering and Information Technology (I.T.) development. She obtained her B.A. from Hampton University and her MPA from Metropolitan College of New York. Donna also completed a Business Analytics program at Wharton University. She is a certified Project Management Professional (PMP)®and PMI Agile Certified Practitioner (PMI-ACP)® through the Project Management Institute, a Certified Scrum Master through Scrum Alliance and an adjunct professor in the Master of Science in Project Management graduate program at Metropolitan College of New York.

She is a sought-after public speaker covering topics such as Project Management fundamentals, Diversity in Project Management. She has spoken at the Agile Development for the Digital PM Summit 2022 and the Women of Project Management Conference.

Her successful career experience spans commercial and government, which includes managing programs and projects for several clients such as Goldman Sachs, L’Oréal, General Motors, and NBC Universal Media.