Gary M Nelson

Gary M. Nelson, PMP (Gazza) -

I am passionate about sharing knowledge and making Project Management concepts more accessible, particularly to new and aspiring Project Managers (of all ages). Said another way, I like to tell stories to help convey complex concepts in a way that helps the concepts 'stick'. Who says learning shouldn't be fun?

Born in Calgary, Alberta (Canada), I moved west to B.C. at the very early age of 2, where I spent most of my formative years - aside from a 6 year stint where I learned to appreciate living in a very small town of 800 people. I then attended high school in Surrey, B.C. and went on to graduate from Simon Fraser University (BC, Canada) in 1989 with a major in Computing science and a minor in English - an odd but useful mix (a techie who can write clearly)!

I was tricked into becoming a Project Manager by my first manager, and have never looked back. My international experience includes projects in New Zealand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the US and Canada, working on projects in the Telecom, Student Information Systems, Local Government and Healthcare sectors.

Having wanted to write books since high school, it took many long years of successful procrastination until I finally felt I had something useful to write about, and wrote my first book of stories in 2012...on Project Management, of all things. Next, presented with the terrifying challenge of writing for children, I enlisted my youngest sons to be the first victims (reviewers and editors) and the Project Kids series of books were born. Several years on, I am amazed to see the books being translated into multiple languages, and reaching into schools and homes around the world.

I enjoy speaking and training, have presented at numerous events and conferences and am also the author and host of Gazza’s Corner Project Management Blog and Podcast.

I currently live in New Zealand with my wife, three sons and two cats, and am loving every bit of it.