Calendar of Events

In the words of Western film star Mae West “I never said it would be easy, I only said it would be worth it”. During this presentation, we will explore the journey Buncombe County Information Technology (BC IT) Department has taken from the ‘wild, wild west’ way of managing projects to defining and adopting a formalized project management framework. We will look into themes of communications, transparency, accountability, collaboration, and productivity. As the journey unfolds, we will also share stories of challenges and successes with gaining staff buy-in. Finally, we will explore the tool sets BC IT has created and utilized including SmartSheets, Power BI Dashboards, Microsoft Teams, and more.

Jodie Razdrh

Jodie Razdrh currently oversees the Buncombe County IT Department’s project portfolio and is responsible for spearheading BC IT’s Project Management initiative. In her previous roles with Buncombe County and other organizations, she served as a web developer creating web based applications. Jodie’s love for working with teams made for an easy transition from developer to project manager. Through professional development opportunities and lots of hands-on-experience, Jodie has developed and applied a project management framework specific to the current needs of Buncombe County IT’s work environment. Jodie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Western Carolina University and has received a Project Management Certification through NC State University. Outside of work, Jodie enjoys spending time with family, outdoor activities and pairing a nice glass of wine with homemade grilled pizza.

Eric Grau

Eric Grau is currently the Software Services Manager for Buncombe County where he manages and provides strategic direction for the Applications Division. Overseeing a portfolio of hundreds of applications, integrations, and other types of solutions, Eric has spent much of his time at Buncombe County creating transparent processes to effectively manage systems, resources, and projects in a vastly complicated and historically siloed work environment. Before coming to Buncombe County, Eric was a Software Developer and Senior Project Manager (Agile) for private companies in the biotech sector. His education background includes a B.S. in Mathematics and an M.S. in Public Administration. When not sitting behind a computer, Eric loves playing music, being outside, and spending time with his wife and kids.