At PCG, we embrace four key tenets as foundational to the work we do every day delivering solutions that matter. These principles—Entrepreneurial Spirit, Passion, Impact, and Community—help to define how we pursue our mission and how we celebrate our employees. As such, our EPIC Awards program is designed to help bring these four principles to life in a tangible way as each quarter, we recognize an employee or team that embodies one of these values. Today, we are thrilled to announce that Kris Marshall has been selected as PCG’s newest EPIC Awards winner for her unwavering commitment to Community, which has positively affected colleagues across the firm, the firm itself, our clients, and those they serve.

Kris was nominated by Laurie Thornton, a Vice President within our Technology Consulting practice, in recognition of the strong sense of community she has fostered within her team, with fellow members of PCG’s Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Council, and with PCG clients. Laurie also commended Kris’ dedication to serving the Sacramento community and surrounding areas through PCG Cares events, as a board member of a local nonprofit, a speaker at public forums, and more. Continue reading to learn more about Kris and her EPIC efforts.

Dedicated to the Local Community

A board member of The Capitol Coalition (TCC), Kris is passionate about bringing science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) educational opportunities to underserved youths in her community. TCC is a nonprofit organization that provides scholarships to high school students and creates innovative and impactful STEM projects for youths in Sacramento and the surrounding areas. In 2020, TCC marked its fourth year by being awarded a $114,400 grant to deliver the summer CyberPatriot camp program to kids between the ages of 12 to 18 in 2020 (virtually) and 2021 (delivered in-person and virtually). Sacramento CyberCamp (SacCyberCamp) is a free summer camp that engages middle and high school students with STEM-based curriculum focused on cybersecurity—an area of critical importance to entrepreneurs and start-up organizations. The camp curriculum is designed to provide students with a path to the workforce by inspiring them toward careers in cybersecurity and other STEM disciplines.

Kris has dedicated her time and efforts to help TCC nurture a growing network of strategic partners in the education space. For example, TCC has partnered with University Instructors LLC (UI) and Stockton Unified School District to offer EPIC® Out-of-School-Time Programming for Students & Families and virtual tutoring support. Kris is also serving as a charter member of the Blockchain Program at Pepperdine University, looking to form a partnership with TCC to offer training camps, industry grants, and internships to underserved youths in the community.

Actively Engaged in the Technology Community

In 2020, Kris pursued learning opportunities at Singularity University and was a Dual Doctoral Candidate at Pepperdine University in Organizational Leadership (Ed.D.) and Global Leadership (Ph.D.), Summa Cum Laude.

Upon earning a Master of Professional Studies, Enterprise Architecture (EA) at Pennsylvania State University (PSU), Kris has also served as a guest lecturer at PSU‘s College of Information Sciences and Technology, speaking on the topic of EA within government settings. She authored a STEM-focused white paper and has been a guest blogger for the Technology Consulting team, covering topics as heavy as robotic process automation and artificial intelligence. She is passionate about learning and expanding her knowledge base and continues to find new ways to apply that knowledge to her work as well as share it with colleagues, clients, and peers in the community.

She is also looking for opportunities to bring new technologies and tools to PCG and her clients, towards the accomplishment of our mutual goals and objectives. This year, for example, Kris has also engaged with several research-based institutions (non-profit and academic) to aide in data analysis, modeling, and contact tracing in order to get a more holistic understanding of how our professional services may change overtime—with a focus on how we as an organization may be able to adjust practices to accommodate changes in our clients’ needs.

Passionate about PCG’s Community

In addition to her work with external organizations and others in the local community, Kris is committed to cultivating a strong sense of community within the firm—a fact that was evident in her EPIC Awards nomination. For example, Kris currently serves as a representative on PCG's diversity and inclusion (D&I) council, engaging with leaders and change agents throughout the firm to support cultural change. She also dedicates time and energy to support PCG Cares initiatives with others on her team. Colleagues on her team see her as a trusted mentor and the clients she serves regard her as a trusted advisor. 

Commenting on the impact of Kris’ contributions, Gary Reimers, a Vice President in our Technology Consulting practice who’s had the opportunity to work closely with her said, “Certain people really ‘get’ how to bring an added level of value to their clients and peers, and Kris is definitely one of those people. Clients and colleagues alike regularly voice their tremendous appreciation of Kris and the value she brings, especially on topics related to CMS [Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services] and federal certification. Those who know her overwhelmingly respect Kris for her experience and knowledge, cool demeanor, and genuine kindness, all of which she displays while working tirelessly to assure our clients are well informed and positioned to make decisions in the best interest of those they serve.”

Kris has engaged with internal teams to strengthen internal practices, participated in the development, implementation, and utilization of Technology Consulting artifacts, as well as provide practitioner knowledge to her peers. Throughout the year, she has also provided leadership, guidance, and assistance to several internal Technology Consulting groups—including the Systems Development/DevOps (SDDO) and Medicaid Information Technology Architecture (MITA) service lines as well as the independent verification and validation (IV&V) center of excellence—thereby expanding the overall footprint and cross-coordination of each team. Additionally, she has continued to act as a change agent for each when engaging outlying teams to aid in transforming how each disparate unit engages and incorporates common concepts and practices – aspects that are often overlooked.

Kris embodies what it means to be EPIC at PCG, and we commend her for fostering a strong sense of community within her team, across the firm, and beyond, with non-profit, industry, and academic organizations. Please join us in congratulating Kris for this well-deserved recognition of her hard work and community contributions. It is because of colleagues like Kris that PCG continues to make an impact in the communities where we live and work.