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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."