Meet the New Board: SMPS SFBAC 2016-17 Leaders
Happy new SMPS Board year! We are excited to introduce the 2016–2017 SFBAC Board of Directors. Our goal this year is to bring you the very best of what our award-winning Chapter has to offer (#bestofSFBAC), with enhanced educational programming, client/industry partner events, and even greater networking opportunities. Please help us kick off the new year by attending our first program, Meet the Press, next Thursday, September 15th.
To learn more about your 2016-17 Board and how to reach them, visit our Board of Directors page.
Executive Board
President
Vanessa Pelletier, CPSM
Marketing Manager | FME Architecture + Design
As Marketing Manager for FME Architecture + Design, Vanessa leads the firm’s marketing and business development strategy and implementation with an emphasis on brand positioning and client relations. With more than 10 years of experience in the AEC industry, Vanessa has successfully managed winning marketing pursuits valued at over $6 billion. Previously, she worked for San Francisco design firms, CSDA Design Group and Huntsman, and one of the world’s largest contractors, Skanska USA Building.
Vanessa has been an active member of SMPS since 2006. Most recently, she served on our Chapter’s Board of Directors as President-Elect as well as Co-Chair for the Communications and Outreach & Development Committees. In addition, she has presented educational programs on women in leadership, social media and technical writing, contributed articles to the Shortlist newsletter, and provided in-kind photography services for various events.
President-Elect
Nicole La
Experience Director | TEECOM
As the Experience Director, Nicole is responsible for elevating the TEECOM branded experience for clients, talent recruitment, employee retention, and the user experience of TEECOM buildings. She also leads a team of marketers who are making strides with inbound and digital marketing.
Over the last year, Nicole has made significant accomplishments both in her career at TEECOM and with SMPS, which lead to her being awarded the Marketer of the Year for the SFBAC chapter. Some of her SMPS accomplishments include rebranding CHAT into the successful Market Share, continuing to build the SMPS brand with marketing students, and leading the new Oakland-based Business Leader’s Forum with Marion Thatch. Nicole is excited to move beyond the Outreach and Development committee and make significant improvements throughout the chapter by supporting Vanessa as her President Elect.
Past-President
Katie Spurlock
Marketing Director | Charles M. Salter Associates
Katie has over 9 years of marketing experience with Charles M. Salter Associates, an acoustical, audiovisual, telecommunications, and security consulting firm. A member of SMPS SFBAC for just as long, she was awarded Marketer of the Year in 2013 and has served as Communications Director and SF CHAT Champion. Katie is grateful to SMPS for the amazing people she has met and the marketing experience she has gained volunteering for such a dynamic organization. She also serves as the Vice President of Public Relations for a local Toastmasters club, on the CoreNet Global Northern California Young Leaders Membership Committee, and on the SF Commercial Real Estate Professionals Network Executive Board. She earned a BA in English (with a creative writing concentration) from Ohio Wesleyan University with minors in French and Gender Studies.
Treasurer
Ginger Kelly
Vice President, Marketing | RIM Architects
Ginger has been with RIM Architects' for over 14 years, beginning her journey in their Honolulu, Hawaii office, with time in Anchorage and now for the last eight years in San Francisco. She has worked on almost every facet of the business from Executive Assistant to Business Development Manager. She recently was promoted to Vice President, Marketing and is working on firm-wide initiatives to support the Win | Work goal in each of the six locations. Ginger continues to be invested in the San Francisco Bay Area community and works closely with the Managing Principal and Sr. Associate in the RIM San Francisco office to maintain client and teaming partner relationships.
Ginger has been an active SMPS member since 2009 and has served on the board as your President for the 2014-2015 term. She has also held positions as: Past-President 2015-2016 term; President-Elect 2013-2014 term; Chapter’s Financial Development Director 2012 – 2013 term; and Communications Co-Director 2010 – 2012 term.
Secretary
Heather Perez
Director, Marketing & Business Development | Acutherm
As a member of the SMPS-SFBAC since 2006, Heather has served on various committees, including Communications and Outreach & Development, where she has contributed towards the following initiatives: chapter branding, website redesign, Striving for Excellence Chapter Award, The Shortlist Quarterly Newsletter, and leadership of the Market Share – East Bay program. From 2009-2011, she held a position on the Board of Directors, as the Communications Chair, during which time the Committee achieved several milestones, including developing an Integrated Marketing Communications strategy through the launch of the Chapter’s social media channels, which provided extended platforms for the delivery of educational content and expanded networking and business development opportunities.
Committee Directors
Programs Director
Catherine Clow
Marketing Specialist | Gensler
As a Marketing Specialist for Gensler San Francisco, Catherine is both creative and analytical. Her focused project pursuits are in the Lifestyle Sector including: hospitality, brand design, and retail. Her education in graphic design and forensic anthropology has provided her with a unique and adaptable vision to follow. Catherine currently has over five years of marketing experience in the A/E/C industry.
Catherine has been a volunteer member of the SMPS San Francisco Chapter for five years and has served on the programs committee since joining. She served as an event leader and accommodation affiliate for several years prior to directing. This will be her second year as Programs Director.
Programs Co-Chair
Traci Vogel
Marketing Manager | TEECOM
As Marketing Manager at TEECOM, Traci leads an inbound marketing program that expresses the value the firm brings to projects through its innovative telecom, audiovisual, acoustics, security, network, wireless, and virtual reality system design. A member of SMPS since 2011, Traci served as Co-Director of the Communications Committee for two years, during which she transformed the inter-committee communications workflow and instituted the Marketing Campaign Manager role. She is excited to help lead the chapter’s educational and networking efforts this year as Programs Director.
Membership Director
Samantha Stettler, MBA, LEED Green Associate
Business Operations + Marketing Manager, Associate | Cammisa + Wipf Consulting Engineers
Samantha is the Business Operations + Marketing Manager at Cammisa + Wipf, a mechanical, electrical, plumbing engineering and architectural lighting design firm celebrating 58 years in business. She wears a number of hats at C+W and is involved in anything and everything related to marketing, business operations, HR, and most recently, accounting. Samantha loves a good challenge, continuously learning, and giving back where she can and tries to incorporate these values in everything she does.
A member of SMPS SFBAC since 2012, Samantha immersed herself in the organization and has held a number of roles over the years, including Registration Affiliate, Programs Secretary, and Holiday Party Co-Leader. For the past two years she has served as the Programs Committee Co-Chair where she has supported committee members in planning, organizing, and executing programs/events. Samantha is excited to make the shift to the Membership Committee and looks forward to learning more about the needs and wants of members.
Membership Co-Chair
Chet Roan
Business Development Manager | Epic Scan
Chet Roan is the Business Development Manager for Epic Scan, a premier 3D service provider that has been involved with Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) since it’s inception in the US market. Chet has worked in the construction industry since 1994 and has been working with LIDAR systems since 2006 in an array of industries. He joined SMPS July of 2015 and has found it to be one of the most receptive and helpful organizations in which he has ever been a member.
Outreach & Development Director
Allison Halvorson
Marketing Manager | AE3 Partners
Allison Halvorson is the Marketing Manager for AE3 Partners - a 26 person architecture and construction management firm. She is responsible for managing marketing department activities and creating innovative and effective marketing programs for AE3's offices in San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles. A member of SMPS SFBAC since 2007, Allison previously served on both the Membership and Outreach & Development committees, and was the SF CHAT Affiliate from 2011-2013. She has more than 15 years of professional experience, with the past 10 years in the A/E/C industry. Allison's expertise includes marketing strategy and planning, proposal management, social media, market research, information management and graphic design. She earned her B.F.A. in graphic design from the Savannah College of Art & Design.
Outreach & Development Co-Chair
Susie Smith
Marketing Director | KPFF Consulting Engineers
Susie Smith is the Marketing Director of KPFF Consulting Engineer's San Francisco office, providing all aspects of marketing, strategic planning and business development to support the company Vision. She has nearly 10 years in the AEC industry including time at Sasaki Associates and MIG, as well as many years marketing consumer products. Susie has been an SMPS member since 2007, and participated in/been a sponsor of many SMPS events and activities.
Founders Awards Director
Michelle Martin
Marketing Manager | SmithGroupJJR
A strategic marketer and experienced professional in the AEC industry, Michelle brings a focus on teamwork and communications to all aspects of marketing. Throughout her career, she has focused on bridging the communication gap between technical professionals and marketers. With a mission to enhance creativity, improve efficiencies, and continuously increase happiness at the workplace, her successes have played a role in improving organizations’ performance. Michelle’s experience spans from the east coast to the west coast, directing marketing, communications, and business development while also serving in various leadership roles for the Maryland and San Francisco SMPS Chapters. Presently, she is the Marketing Manager for SmithGroupJJR’s San Francisco and Los Angeles offices and is an active member of the SMPS San Francisco Bay Area Chapter.
Founders Awards Co-Chair
Alethea O’Dell
Global Director of Marketing Communications | Northland Controls
If Alethea O’Dell could be anyone else, she'd be Dolly Parton. Instead she is a Certified Professional Services Marketer and the Global Director of Marketing Communications at Northland Controls. Her journey to marketing and business development is confounding, even to her. After college she managed a shelter for battered women in Northampton, Massachusetts. Inspired to tell the stories of the women and children she met, she packed up her car and her cat and headed to Bloomington, Indiana, to earn a Masters in Journalism. Her studies in Journalism inspired a deep desire to write for the Weekly World News, a now defunct icon of journalistic integrity that frequently featured bat boys found living in caves and aliens adopted by first ladies. Between rows of corn, she heard the West Coast calling her. Oakland bound, she found herself temping for a high-tech company that needed a marketing communications person. From there, it was a glamorous ascent to professional services marketing, as the Director of Marketing and Business Development for the nation’s oldest and largest earthquake engineering firm. Her 20-year career is marked by more than 30 marketing communication awards and a solid sense of humor and wonder.
Financial Development Director
Will Cannell
Business Development Manager | JL Modular, Inc.
A 15-year construction professional, Will Cannell will work on the development committee. Will led the SMPS North Bay Forum successfully for two years and has been active in all SMPS programs. As Business Development Manager, Will Cannell oversees JL Modular’s client relations and marketing. Will helps educate and advocate for new and existing clients, works with architects and engineers on partnerships, and ensures that projects are being run successfully. Will’s specialty is communication via proposals, presentations, tradeshows, interviews, and social media. Prior to joining JLM in 2013, Will worked with Swinerton Builders, Fisher Development, XL Construction, and Bechtel Corp.
Financial Development Co-Chair
Liz Jordan-Teicheira
Regional Director, Project Development | Guidepost Solutions LLC
With over 20 years of business development experience, Liz Jordan-Teicheira is the Regional Director, Project Development for Guidepost Solutions LLC, a security, fire alarm, telecommunications, and audiovisual infrastructure design and consulting firm. Liz is an integral leader for the firm's Western region, working closely with technical staff to develop organizational strategy, expand new and existing business markets, and maintain client relationships. Additionally, Liz manages three marketing coordinators that support marketing efforts nationally.
As an active member of SMPS since 2007, Liz has served on the Communications Committee, and the Financial Development Committee before becoming the Director of the Financial Development Committee in 2015-2016 year. She will stay on the Financial Development Committee and will focus on increasing the number of sponsors, and enhancing the sponsors visibility.
Communications Director
Justin Nagy, CPSM, LEED AP
Marketing Manager | Enovity
Justin is the Marketing Manager for Enovity, a firm of engineers who operate, maintain, and optimize facilities to assure higher performance places. Justin oversees the Enovity marketing team and its activities throughout the West Coast, including marketing planning, research, branding, communications, and BD support. Justin has been in the A/E/C industry since 2008 and an active member of the SMPS SFBAC Communications Committee since 2013. This past year, Justin led a task force to upgrade the SFBAC website to the StarChapter platform, providing a more integrated and mobile-friendly digital experience for members.
Communications Co-Chair
Tina Barni, LEED Green Associate
Senior Marketing Coordinator | Degenkolb Engineers
Tina is the Senior Marketing Coordinator for Degenkolb Engineers, a structural engineering firm. She focuses on proposals and marketing communications for the firm. Tina comes from a journalism background and has worked in the solar industry for several years. She entered into the A/E/C industry in 2011 and has been an active SMPS member since then. Tina writes for the Shortlist and was on the Striving for Excellence proposal team that submitted and won Chapter of the Year in 2014.
