Newsletter
SMPS Philadelphia Snapshot Newsletter | Fall 2026
A Message from the President
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How is it already November?!
The winds of change are here! The leaves are falling, the interior decor is turning festive, and at SMPS Philadelphia, we are trying to squeeze in a few more things before we take a small hiatus and start our new program year.
In the next few weeks we will host our final 2025-2026 events, and the board will be busy preparing for 2027 and transitioning the reins to President-Elect, soon President, Amanda Irwin and her team!
This week, the 2027 Board of Directors is attending a Board Retreat. This event is a gathering of our leadership to discuss how we operate, what our goals are, and reinforce our why: to connect, educate, and empower AEC marketers across our Chapter.
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In the last several weeks of this program and calendar year, Robby Prall returns for our November 11 Tech Tuesday to talk Photoshop & AI; a Tour of the Village of Industry and Arts Building is on November 18 (space is limited); and our final program is an opportunity to give back and volunteer at Philly House on December 8 (lunch and dinner shifts available).
Volunteering is at the heart of SMPS Philadelphia. Committing to something else for the good of the whole. It provides a vantage point to appreciate all the big and little things. You, our membership full of volunteers, make our Chapter the success that it is.
Thank you. Thank you for volunteering, for showing up, for connecting, for making SMPS Philadelphia a place to learn, grow, and serve.
And if you haven't been roped in yet – get on a committee now to make friends, grow, and help make SMPS Philadelphia the resource you need.
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PS - I almost forgot! If you are considering pursuing your CPSM - GO FOR IT! You don't have to do it alone, your SMPS Philadelphia community is here to help. CPSM Bootcamp starts in December and will roll right into the March testing window. The Kelly McGann Path to CPSM Certification Scholarship is still open, through 11/9.
MCA Nominations are open through November 25th!
Get recognized for your creative contributions and winning results by submitting for a SMPS Philadelphia Marketing Communication Award (MCA), open to both the SMPS Philadelphia and SMPS Central PA regions. region. Learn more about the categories and instructions to submit here!
In addition to local recognition, submissions receive feedback from judges on their entries with enough time to submit to the national SMPS MCA competition. Winners of the "Best in Show" and "People’s Choice" awards will be reimbursed for their Early Bird Entry Fee to this program.
Event Recaps
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SEPTEMBER TECH TUESDAY: TAME YOUR SOCIAL FEED - UNLOCKING HOOTSUITE FOR BUSY MARKETERS
Owls really are having a moment, aren’t they? Between Duo (the Duolingo owl) and September’s Tech Tuesday topic, Hootsuite—a social media marketing/management tool, our learning assistants are trending fluffy and wise. Enter Hootsuite super user Francesca Wallace, PCM (Director of Marketing & Business Development, Keast & Hood) who showed us what this platform is, what it does, and how we can use it centralize our social media content to easily cross post, tailor, track metrics and engagement, and more across all our firms’, volunteer orgs’, or personal social channels. A one-stop-shop for birds of a feather? Owl love it!
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YOUR NETWORK ISN'T SMALL. YOUR MEMORY IS.
Hit that 500+ connections mark or well on your way? Now what? Using AI to deep dive into your professional networks and enhance your own visibility is here! In this unique program, Jigar Desai, PhD, PE, MBA (Principal & Regional Manager - Building Science+Infrastructure, ECS Mid-Atlantic), a proponent of practical AI adoption in the AEC, shared with us ways to analyze and improve our networking strategy online and in person using our own LinkedIn profiles, connections, followers/followeds, and the real data our engagement can yield.
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BRING YOUR MVP: PHILLIES WATCH PARTY & NETWORKING NIGHT
Before a very short-lived Red October (admittedly, the October 1-October 1 memes were funny), there was still playoff hope for the Phils. On September 23, the Fightins’ faced Milwaukee and SMPS Philadelphia enjoyed a watch party together at Stateside Live! In true tailgate fashion, the more the merrier with Chapter members encouraged to bring guests. Despite a 4-1 loss for the team, we grand slammed in good times!
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ALIGN AND ACHIEVE: BUILDING CONFIDENCE, BUILDING CONNECTIONS
Like a crisp fall day full of opportunity, better networking is in our autumn air! In partnership with WiSE Philadelphia, our successful second annual Align & Achieve event, held at Global Furniture Group’s gorgeous Center City office, was a hit. This interactive evening focused on strengthening networking skills, building confidence in professional settings, and creating and maintaining authentic connections across our industry. With insights from a diverse panel of AEC professionals – Carrie Streahle (PROMATECH), Jared Green (Langan), Sadie Maney (DLR Group), and Scott McKelvie (RL Controls) – wallflowers no more, we’ve got this!
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OCTOBER TECH TUESDAY: GET FLEXIBLE WITH SMARTER LAYOUTS IN INDESIGN
A low-key flex, with high impact! Thank you Molly Grassi (Proposal Specialist, SmithGroup) for showing us a great new tool in InDesign: Flex Layout. From org charts to gallery walls, this function helps tailor layouts that are evenly spaced without a ton of work. With just a right- or properties panel-click to activate, Flex Layout is a companion (or competitor) to our old friend, Align that can save a ton of time in reordering or moving elements around, and seeing the results easily in a – with a little practice – visually intuitive workspace.
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FALL ESPRESSO EXCHANGE
A fall (and every season) favorite and literal members-only *perk*☕, October’s Espresso Exchange connected Chapter members from all across the region over mochas, matchas, and yes, miscellany! In Center City, we talked distance running, recent moves, the latest in mani/pedis, the best east coast cities (hint: Philly gets all the love), work, and more! What did you get into over a cuppa?
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New Members
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Kelly Camarco
Director of Customer Experience, AMZ Energy Systems
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Maria Damasceno
Marketing & Proposal Coordinator, mcfa
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Jill Hewes, AIA, LEED AP, NCARB
Partner, MKSD architects
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Lisa Quick
Senior Marketing Specialist, LF Driscoll
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Anniversaries
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October
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November
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Christine Ferrazzano, CPSM, 27
Michelle Westgate, 17
Melissa Dea, 14
Kirsten Malenke, 8
Jenna Fagan, 4
Lewis Land, 2
Julie Levy, 2
Toni Anderson, 2
Megan Scales, 2
Joe Dugan, 1
Payton Warner, 1
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Stacy Barrett, 22
Sandra Bones, CPSM, 16
Sandra Drain, CPSM, 14
Darcy Veneziale, CPSM, 14
Daniel Fox, 9
Aubrey Blackman, 4
Meredith Koons, 4
Jason Mills, 4
Mikaela Seitz, 2
Michael Daly, 1
Nicholas Kovalcik, 1
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Member News
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Have a professional update or achievement to share with our Chapter? Share it through the Submit News form on our website!
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It's that time of year, friends - interested in, as Nikki said above, really going for it and earning your CPSM certification in 2027? Our Boot Camp to get you there, led by the fab Jaime Kacperowski, CPSM, starts in December and applications for our Kelly McGann Path to Certification Scholarship are open for just another couple of days, through Monday, 11/9.
Last week SMPS Philadelphia's Mentorship Program kicked off with our new cohort of 24 mentor/proteges! We're excited to start meeting monthly as a group and in our 1:1 pairings to get to know one another! Thanks to program co-leaders Meg Bailey and Lauren Coughlin for a great first sesh!
Let’s talk tech! SMPS Philadelphia is calling for presenters for our popular online learning initiative, Tech Tuesdays. Do you use a program that helps you be a better marketer? Want to share your tech insight with SMPS members? Contact Lauren Coughlin with your ideas!
Join us for members-only Tech Tuesdays, our new monthly series where we learn quick and useful tips for programs AEC marketers use daily. We hold these sessions on the second Tuesday of each month at noon, so grab your lunch, hop on Zoom, and let’s talk tech!
For November's Tech Tuesday, register here!
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Thank you to our 2025-2026 Program Year Sponsors! Your generosity helps SMPS Philadelphia achieve our goals of providing networking, education, and business development opportunities for our members and the industry!
Sponsorship opportunities for our 2027 Program Year are coming soon! Keep an eye out!
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