The Selfless Leader: Meet Heidi Crookston, Senior Project Management Controls Consultant
Few people are fortunate enough to find a career that brings them long-term fulfillment. Burnout or simply a loss of interest are common themes within corporate America. But for senior project management controls consultant Heidi Crookston, the opportunity to mentor and invest in others keeps her in the industry.
“In all these years of working in project management, I firmly believe I have found ‘it’—my purpose in life,” Heidi said. “Mentoring and sharing my knowledge and experiences with lifelong learners like me gives me great pride.”
With an undergraduate degree in finance and computer science and a master’s degree in project management, Heidi brings decades of valuable experience and expertise to MRC. Over the years, she has been a project controls analyst, earned value management manager, project manager, PMO process and tools manager, and now, senior project management controls consultant.
Prior to joining MRC in 2017, Heidi spent much of her career working at GE Aviation in the DOD and civil divisions. After more than 10 years with GE, she left the company to pursue consulting for government, civil and commercial clients. It was not long before she met Manny through a colleague.
“[The colleague] spoke very highly of the company and introduced me to Manny,” she said. “From there it is history, and I have never looked back.”
Heidi is currently assigned to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, in the Projects & Infrastructure Modernization Division, where she was hired to build a project controls department. Her responsibilities include developing a project controls team while creating work processes, procedures, templates and reports that are tailorable to LBNL’s EVM System Description Document.
“My day to day is spent driving best practices with an operational focus in process optimization,” Heidi said. “The goal is to deliver business results by focusing on continuous improvement of people, processes and tools.”
Being in a management position allows Heidi to guide others and mentor a team of talented professionals. Her career has spanned a variety of sectors within project management, and through it all, the opportunity to invest in those around her is what keeps her fulfilled.
“I’ve worked in the private, corporate and government sectors of project management, and by far my favorite and most rewarding part is providing practical solutions and industry expertise to solve difficult challenges in the workplace,” she said. “I enjoy bringing people together as a team and helping everyone accomplish great things.”
Outside the office, Heidi pours her energy into her family. She spends her time caring for her parents, daughter and extended family. She has also taken an interest in her family genealogy and plans to travel to Switzerland next year to continue her research. When she isn’t with her loved ones, you can find her cycling, hiking or relaxing by the water on Lake Michigan.
As Heid continues to be a leader in the project management industry, she knows the MRC team is standing right beside her.
“At MRC I feel more appreciated and valued than I did at any company I have worked at,” she said. “It’s energizing and refreshing.”