DEBRA FORTUNE-ROGERS
PMP-certified Senior Program Manager
Austin,TX
Summary
PMP-certified Senior Program Manager with 15+ years of comprehensive experience driving the execution of complex capital improvement plans, operational expenditure initiatives, and large-scale physical infrastructure deployments. Proven track record collaborating directly with executive leadership, managing high-value procurement workflows, and leading cross-functional teams to drive strategic organizational outcomes. Expert at managing scopes, schedules, budgets, and risk analyses within highly matrixed environments, utilizing data-driven KPI reporting to keep multi-million dollar portfolios aligned with executive parameters.
Overview
1
1
Certification
19
19
years of professional experience
Work History
SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER – PORTFOLIO GOVERNANCE
Spectrum Business
09.2025 - Current
- Operational Program Governance: Manage multiple concurrent technology, mobility, and physical infrastructure programs, taking full accountability for scopes, schedules, budgets, resource plans, and executive status reporting.
- Matrix Resource Collaboration: Partner closely with engineering, technical team leadership, and external partners to maintain strict alignment between technical solutions and defined business requirements.
- Performance Monitoring: Standardize reporting cadences and design centralized operational dashboards covering delivery trends, program performance, and risk management framework parameters for executive review.
SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER – CAPITAL INFRASTRUCTURE TRANSITION
Verizon Business
10.2023 - 09.2025
- Large-Scale Capital Improvement Execution: Directed full-lifecycle planning, physical infrastructure deployment, and operations scheduling for a complex $2.5B modernization initiative across 100+ critical locations.
- Executive Reporting & Governance: Provided high-frequency status briefings, milestone tracking, and risk analysis updates directly to executive leadership, ensuring compliance with strict regulatory and funding frameworks.
- Procurement & Resource Alignment: Collaborated closely with contract teams to develop independent cost estimates, evaluate statements of work (SOW), and manage third-party vendor resource plans.
- Field Work & Validation: Conducted rigorous on-site field visits to oversee system operations, assess physical site readiness, and troubleshoot complex operational issues to preserve the project's critical path.
- Data-Driven Predictability: Engineered performance metrics that reduced field deployment deviations and missed-order escalations by 95%, optimizing overall capital predictability by 20%.
SENIOR IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM MANAGER
Spectrum Enterprise
11.2022 - 10.2023
- Lifecycle Execution Management: Managed large-scale multi-site program rollouts, coordinating multi-disciplinary task forces from initiation through release to guarantee the balanced delivery of quality, cost, and schedule targets.
- Cross-Functional Controls: Led matrixed organizational teams to map system configurations and field deployments, utilizing unified platforms to track open issues, minimize project lag, and maintain clear records management.
SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER – INFRASTRUCTURE DELIVERY
Spectrum Communications
01.2014 - 01.2022
- Capital Expenditure Rollouts: Managed regional physical infrastructure expansion programs, coordinating civil engineering dependencies, municipal permitting, and field operations across multi-site asset deployments.
- Vendor Procurement & SLA Enforcements: Supervised contract agreements and led weekly operational performance reviews with third-party service providers and contractors, improving baseline vendor delivery predictability by 20%.
- Process Improvement Expertise: Implemented standardized operational gates, quality assurance guidelines, and lessons-learned frameworks that improved regional project execution efficiency by approximately 15%.
SENIOR IMPLEMENTATION PROJECT MANAGER
Verizon
12.2007 - 08.2012
- High-Value Portfolio Ownership: Orchestrated high-stakes physical layer infrastructure and site-readiness programs for premier Tier-1 clients, safely managing capital execution accounts generating over $130M in annual revenue.
- Field Inspections & Compliance: Conducted comprehensive field work and safety audits to verify hardware positioning, structural capacity, and equipment readiness against strict architectural and Safety Management Systems (SMS) standards.
Education
Bachelor of Science (B.S.) - Business Management
Empire State University (SUNY)
Skills
- Program & Project Governance: Capital Improvement Planning
Certification
PMP: Project Management Professional – Project Management Institute (PMI), Executive Certificate: Project Leadership, Management & Communications – George Washington University School of Business, Technical Frameworks: ITIL Foundation v3 Certification
Timeline
SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER – PORTFOLIO GOVERNANCE
Spectrum Business
09.2025 - Current
SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER – CAPITAL INFRASTRUCTURE TRANSITION
Verizon Business
10.2023 - 09.2025
SENIOR IMPLEMENTATION PROGRAM MANAGER
Spectrum Enterprise
11.2022 - 10.2023
SENIOR PROJECT MANAGER – INFRASTRUCTURE DELIVERY
Spectrum Communications
01.2014 - 01.2022
SENIOR IMPLEMENTATION PROJECT MANAGER
Verizon
12.2007 - 08.2012
Bachelor of Science (B.S.) - Business Management
Empire State University (SUNY)