Our Faculty & Leadership

Troy D. Allen

Mr. Allen has over 25 years of project management and IT leadership experience both in private business and while serving in the United States Air Force. His experience with Fortune 500 companies spans consumer products, automotive, transportation services, insurance, and telecommunications fields. Prior to his current roles, he was a Program Manager at Aetna Health Services, the Vice President of Business Development for IBM. He also served as the Chief Information Officer for Verizon, North America.

He frequently donates his expertise to community and charitable organizations. In 2014 he gave his time to the Diocese of Phoenix, serving as the Chairman and organizer for the first ever Catholic Men’s Conference held in the State of Arizona.
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Troy is a graduate of the University of Michigan and completed his post-graduate coursework in The Management of Information Technology at the University of Missouri.  He holds a current PMP® certification with the Project Management Institute and was previously certified as an Information Systems Auditor with the Information Systems Audit and Control Association.

Troy D. Allen
​Mr. Allen is a certified Project Manager and former Vice President of Education  for the Project Management Institute.

Eric T. Rider

Eric is the Vice President of Education for the South Dakota PMI Chapter. He has over 20 years of IT experience in the Federal and State Government sector, and is currently serving as a Project Manager in the Project Management Office at the South Dakota Department of Education. Eric is assisting with the continued growth and expansion of the PMO and has overseen projects in infrastructure modernization and area workflow management.

Prior to the South Dakota Department of Education, he was an I.T. Business Analyst/Project Manager for the South Dakota Department of Disabilities and Special Needs. Before that, he was an I.T. Manager for the Department of Political Science at the University of South Dakota, and an Applications Analyst for the University Technology Services at the University of South Dakota.

Mr. Rider began his career as a Mainframe Programmer and shortly moved to Web application development at the University of South Dakota. While at the University of South Dakota, he tuned his skills on requirements gathering and design. His career then took him to South Dakota. Department of Disabilities and Special Needs as a Business Analyst, where he was able to work on his Project Management skills. Now, at the South Dakota Department of Education, he is working to build up a PMO and expand the use of Project Management in multiple areas of the agency.
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​He is a graduate of Michigan State University and the University of South Dakota. He holds a PMP certification with the Project Management Institute, which he earned in 2010.

​Eric T. Rider
Eric is the Vice President of Education for the South Dakota PMI Chapter.