ProFocus Technology is proud to announce Shamla Rampersad as the recipient of this year’s Philip Lilly Memorial Scholarship, recognizing Agile, Scrum, and Project Management professionals across Oregon and Southwest Washington.
This scholarship honors individuals who lead with curiosity, care deeply about their teams, and are committed to continuous learning. Shamla stood out for her ability to connect strategy to execution—and for the way she brings others along with her in the process.
Working Where Strategy, Delivery, and People Meet
Shamla is currently a Program Manager at Columbia Sportswear, where she has been leading large, cross-functional initiatives since 2018. Her work spans ecommerce, order management systems, ERP, data and analytics, supply chain, and product information management—partnering closely with business leaders, IT teams, and external vendors to deliver enterprise-scale solutions.
Over the years, she has played a key role in major transformation efforts, including Columbia’s Experience First (X1) Ecommerce transformation, helping implement a mobile-first Salesforce Commerce Cloud platform, Order Dynamics OMS, and SAP financial integrations. She also successfully delivered a mission-critical ecommerce program during COVID-19—supporting strong adoption and measurable business results during a time of significant disruption.
In addition to ecommerce, Shamla has led data and analytics programs, planning and allocation system implementations, large-scale distribution center launches, and the rollout of a centralized Product Information Management platform. Across all of this work, she’s known for bringing clarity to complexity and keeping teams aligned around shared goals.
Scholarship in Action
Shamla plans to use the Philip Lilly Memorial Scholarship to attend PMI Training’s “A Program Management Master Class,” an advanced, four-day course designed for experienced program leaders. The training focuses on aligning programs with organizational objectives and strategic goals, applying value stream thinking and Disciplined Agile concepts, and managing business value and stakeholder benefits across complex initiatives.
In her words:
“Receiving this Professional Development Scholarship helps pave the way for me to grow as a Program Manager. I shall aim to solve the challenge of continuously aligning project and program goals with corporate strategy. It will empower me to navigate the complexities of large scale, high value transformations.”
Leading by Supporting Others
A core part of the Philip Lilly Memorial Scholarship is recognizing professionals who actively support the growth of others—and that’s something Shamla does consistently.
In her application, she shared an example of partnering with newer, less experienced business project managers on a strategic initiative. Rather than simply advising, Shamla worked side by side with them throughout the project lifecycle—helping define goals, break work into clear milestones using Agile principles, and create structure across design, testing, and deployment phases.
She also guided effective project kickoffs, stakeholder alignment, risk management, and mitigation planning—sharing practical templates, checklists, and tools along the way. The result was a successful delivery and a stronger, more confident project team, which led to continued collaboration on future strategic initiatives.
About the Philip Lilly Memorial Scholarship
The Philip Lilly Memorial Scholarship was created to honor the legacy of Philip Lilly, a beloved colleague remembered for his compassion, thoughtfulness, and commitment to helping others succeed. The scholarship supports Agile, Scrum, and Project Management professionals in Oregon and Southwest Washington who are investing in their growth and making a positive impact on the people around them.
Congratulations, Shamla
We’re excited to support Shamla as she continues to grow as a program and Agile leader, and we’re grateful for the impact she’s already making within the regional tech community.
At ProFocus Technology, we’re proud to help our local tech community advance their careers and stay ahead of changing workforce needs. As Agile, project, and program management roles continue to evolve, we remain committed to investing in people and leadership that move the industry forward. Learn more about how these roles are shifting in our recent blog:
https://www.profocustechnology.com/general/agile-isnt-gone-its-embedded-how-agile-roles-are-shifting/
