Success Stories
Barbara Heffernan: 1979 PMI
Barbara Heffernan culminated her 30 year federal
career in 2009 as the Resource Director, Office of the Assistant
Chief of Staff for Installation Management, Headquarters Department
of the Army. Having spent the majority of her career as an Army
civilian, Barbara's passion was to take care of soldiers and their
families. As the senior advisor to the Assistant Chief of Staff for
Installation management she was responsible for all matters related
to resource management for Army installations worldwide, to include
the programming, budget formulation and justification of $20
billion in Army resources. Barbara was one of the chief architects
of the Installation Management Command, the largest command in the
Army. She created enhanced automated tools and systems to enable
the accurate and transparent justification and recording of
resource/budget requirements. Barbara's broad knowledge of the Army
and the Defense resource process resulted from her having held
positions at various levels within the Army, the Office of the
Secretary of Defense and her tenure as the Comptroller of a Defense
agency. In a career broadening endeavor, she moved to the
Department of Energy to be the Budget Director for the
Environmental Management Program.
Throughout her career Barbara coached and mentored
Army personnel, participating in formal mentorship programs
including the Army Fellows program. She participated on PMF
selection panels and co-led a PMF cluster group. Barbara recalls,
"When I decided to become an Army PMI, part of my reason for doing
so was because the Army said I would become a part of their family.
I didn't know in 1979 what that meant, but as I embraced the Army
values and culture I understood the meaning of being a part of the
Army family. When that occurred, I knew I had made the right
decision for me."