Our guest on today’s podcast is Amy Altomare. She is a PMP with a Doctor of Education, an adjunct faculty member at USC, and a Program Director of Clinical Quality, Strategy, and Optimization at City of Hope in Orange County, California.
In this episode of Wear Your Cape to Work, Amy shares how she built a Project Support Center at City of Hope, starting within the nursing department and expanding across the organization. You’ll hear what project work looked like before that support existed, what it takes to earn trust and buy-in in a clinical environment, and the practical steps Amy used to create a model that helps teams lead meaningful projects with the right structure, coaching, and consistency.
Episode Breakdown
00:00–01:50 | Meet Amy Altomare and why project support matters in healthcare
01:50–03:00 | City of Hope origins
03:00–04:54 | Mission-driven work and improving how project work gets done
04:54–05:21 | Process improvement as “heart projects”
05:21–06:30 | Imposter syndrome and becoming the expert in how work gets delivered
06:30–08:00 | People notice your superpowers
08:00–09:00 | What it looked like before project management support existed
09:00–10:41 | Making change happen and making it stick
10:41–12:07 | “My tasks were not the most important.”
12:07–15:25 | Starting the Project Support Center and reducing burden for clinicians
15:25–16:29 | Formalizing processes and empowering departments
16:29–17:58 | Expanding support beyond nursing
17:58–20:00 | Getting buy-in through support and empowerment
20:00–22:00 | How to start a Project Support Center: start small and iterate
22:00–26:30 | Pitfalls to avoid: adoption, standardization, internal marketing
26:30–28:00 | Amy’s superpower: leading projects with heart
28:00–End | Flipping “process improvement” into “finding an assist”
Connect with Amy on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amyea/
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