Annette Harris, M.S., is a specialist in the field of industrial organization psychology. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Lee University in Cleveland Tennessee, and a Master’s of Science Degree in Psychology from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. She is founder and president of Sonrise International, a management consulting firm located in Chicago, Illinois. Ms. Harris has over 20 years of extensive and diverse experience in Project Management, Change Management and Learning and Development initiatives.
She has provided consulting services for major Fortune 500 companies such as AbbVie Pharmaceuticals, State Farm Insurance Companies, General Electric (GE&DC), Verizon Wireless (GTE) and Takeda Pharmaceuticals. The vast majority of Ms. Harris’s experience lies in leading and supporting cross functional teams to bring about improvements and fundamental change in project management, change management and diversity, with a focus on application and ‘people’ development services, business process improvements, cost saving measures and corporate profitability.
Her expansive knowledge in ERP software and technology adoption, PMBOK®, ITIL and ADKAR® change management coupled with her creative ability to identify effective ways to leverage her experiences to execute outcomes from quantifiable and qualitative data has proven to be a significant benefit to her clients. In her role as HR IT Project Management Consultant for Takeda Pharmaceuticals, she quickly began adding value by forming relationships and managing a global SAP/MDG/Concur project, while working with stakeholders and communicating status meetings on future deployments, interfaces and system enhancements in a short period of time.
In addition to her work as a Consultant, Ms. Harris has served as Adjunct Professor at Illinois State University, Aurora University and Benedictine University. She has also served on the Mayor’s commission for the status of women and acting member of the Governor’s Council on the status of women where she assisted with legislative issues impacting women business enterprises and women’s healthcare in the State of Oklahoma. She has also served on boards, chaired committees, and served as a Team Development Leader for Jack Canfield’s” Chicken Soup for the African American Soul”.
She is a recipient of the “2015-2016 Director of the Year Award” at the Project Management Institute in Chicago, where she also served as Director of Corporate Outreach between 2017-2019. She has been featured on the front page of “Business to Business” HR magazine for her exceptional work in ” Diversity Education” and has also made several appearances on CBS specials. in 1993, Ms. Harris appeared on “CBS Good Morning” as a “Thought Leader” and “Analyst ” with Harry Smith and Paula Zahn on the diverse cabinet selection of a former President of the United States of America.