Change management professionals seeking to deepen their expertise in guiding organizational transformations now have a concentrated opportunity in Portland, Oregon. IMA Worldwide will deliver its four-day AIM Practitioner Certification from October 12 to 15, 2026, at The Bidwell, a Marriott hotel in the city’s downtown core. The program trains participants to apply the company’s Accelerating Implementation Methodology (AIM) to change initiatives, with a particular emphasis on AI adoption efforts that are increasingly central to corporate strategy.
The certification matters because it directly addresses a persistent gap in how organizations execute change. AIM, developed by IMA Worldwide founder Don Harrison, is built on four core drivers of sustained adoption: sponsorship, readiness, resistance, and reinforcement. These drivers give practitioners a structured way to diagnose and influence the human side of transformation, rather than treating change as a purely technical or communications exercise. For companies pouring resources into AI rollouts, reorganizations, or merger integrations, that structure can mean the difference between adoption and abandonment.
Another key implication is professional credentialing. IMA Worldwide delivers the program through an Association of Change Management Professionals (ACMP) Qualified Education Provider, so completed hours count toward Certified Change Management Professional (CCMP) requirements. Participants who finish the four days also earn the AIM Practitioner credential, which includes a digital LinkedIn badge. For individual practitioners, this creates a tangible way to signal verified skills in a crowded field. For employers, it offers a recognizable benchmark when staffing transformation teams.
The program is designed for a broad audience: change managers, change practitioners, change leads, change agents, and transformation leaders, as well as HR and organizational effectiveness professionals, program and portfolio leaders, technology and AI transformation teams, and others supporting organizational change. No prior change management certification is required, which lowers the barrier for professionals moving into change roles from adjacent disciplines. Participants are encouraged to bring an active organizational initiative—such as a technology rollout, an AI adoption effort, a reorganization, or a merger integration—and apply AIM concepts directly to it throughout the four days. That applied focus means attendees leave with work relevant to their own organizations, not just theoretical knowledge.
Dr. Jennifer Vernam leads the Portland session, bringing more than 27 years of healthcare experience and over 20 years in organizational training, leadership development, and change management. Her background suggests the instruction will blend practical delivery with sector-specific insight, particularly for healthcare and highly regulated environments where change fatigue and compliance pressures are common.
Sessions run daily from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Tuition is $3,500 per participant, and seating for the in-person cohort is limited. Registration and full program details, including hotel booking information, are available through the IMA Worldwide AIM Practitioner Certification - Portland course page. Additional information about the company’s consulting, licensing, certification, and workshop offerings can be found at imaworldwide.com, and its broader learning portal is accessible at https://lab.imaworldwide.com.
As organizations confront faster technology cycles and more frequent restructuring, the demand for practitioners who can manage resistance and reinforce new behaviors is unlikely to slow. The Portland cohort offers one route to formalize that capability, combining CCMP-eligible hours, a portable digital credential, and applied work on a live initiative—an increasingly practical combination for professionals who need to demonstrate impact, not just intent.
