Staff

President
President and founder of Project Trailblazers, LLC, Shirley F. Buchanan, is a certified project management professional (PMP) with more than 20 years of experience developing and implementing strategic business solutions for clients in the telecommunications, utility, banking, and healthcare industries. A change agent, Ms. Buchanan has managed teams of professionals to reengineer core business practices, reshape risk management operations, enhance quality assurance practices, and to implement technological innovations to improve business functions. She has employed best practice project management techniques to guide companies in improving organizational structures and systems to better support the project management process. With several years of experience managing, training and coaching other project managers, Ms. Buchanan is a proven leader. She has earned the respect and confidence of executives at all levels in each of the firms with which she has worked.

Ms. Buchanan brings a unique combination of in-depth technical experience, and strategic project management and business reengineering expertise. Her approach is informed by a breadth of cross-industry experience, enabling her to offer a wide array of solutions for each of her clients. She has a demonstrated commitment to quality and a proven record of excellence. At the end of each engagement, clients are better prepared to meet future challenges with systems that are more closely aligned with industry models and standards, including PMI PMBOK, CMMI models, and ISO 9001:2000.

Ms. Buchanan holds a Masters of Science in Computer Science from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and a Bachelors of Arts in Chemistry from Kean University of New Jersey.

Read more on LinkedIn.com

Communications Director
Ruth Farmer has over 25 years of experience teaching in private colleges and preparatory schools. She currently consults with The National Writing Project in Vermont, where she teaches courses in association with the University of Vermont and leads workshops on writing instruction. Ms. Farmer serves on the faculty of Goddard College in Plainfield, VT, in the school's Individualized Bachelors of Arts Program. She has served on the faculty of the Putney School in Vermont, teaching Creative Writing, American Literature, Shakespeare, and Modern Literature. She was also a faculty member at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire.

Ms. Farmer has published over 25 essays, poems and book reviews. She has also edited books and newsletters. Spirit, Space, and Survival: African American Women in Academe, edited by Joy James and Ruth Farmer (NY: Routledge, 1993), won the 1994 Outstanding Book Award from Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Human Rights in North America. Ms. Farmer is a member of the National Council of Teachers of English and of the Academy of American Poets.

Ruth Farmer holds a Masters of Fine Arts in Writing and Literature from Bennington College and a Masters of Science in Administration from Long Island University. She received a Bachelors of Science in Health Administration, cum laude, from Brooklyn College. She also holds a certificate in Management and Supervision from the New York City Department of Employment.

Ms. Farmer's background offers a wide range of writing and teaching experience, uniquely combining scholarly experience with practical business expertise. She has the proven ability to teach students of all ages, providing instruction in professional and business writing, as well as in proposal development and public relations.

Technical Advisor
Robert Buchanan has over 25 years of experience in information technology delivering complex solutions in various commercial industries and government agencies. Mr. Buchanan is committed to helping our customers to identify ways to improve their current technology capabilities. He holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Computer Science from Kean University of New Jersey.

Associates
Our associates use their experience to deliver service excellence and sustainable results. Each, on average, has more than 10 years experience in project execution, professional development, and professional and technical writing.