Leading Firms, Shaping Strategy, and Driving Growth

Designed for senior leaders, directors, principals, and experienced marketers focused on the bigger picture. Explore strategies for driving firm growth, building stronger teams, navigating organizational challenges, and positioning your firm for long-term success. These sessions bring together leadership perspectives, fresh ideas, and practical approaches to making a lasting impact.

The Visibility Gap: Your Next Client Is Asking AI

Lecture
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11 | 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM

Business development in A/E/C now starts before anyone picks up the phone. Owners and selection committees ask AI which firms to consider, and AI names a short list and stops. There is no page two. One Texas contractor moved from a visibility score of 15 to 56 in two months, past two larger competitors, and now routes two to three qualified project leads to its regional offices out of every ten inquiries, from a site that previously captured almost none.

Key Takeaways

  • Explain how AI platforms assemble an answer about an A/E/C firm and which sources they actually pull from.
  • Assess where your own firm currently stands in AI answers, including the competitors who appear when you do not.
  • Break down the four pillars that determine whether AI can find, parse, and cite a firm: AI Visibility (30%), Technical foundation (30%), Content Authority (20%), and Brand and UX (20%).
  • Assign ownership of each pillar across marketing, business development, and technical staff, since two of the four sit outside marketing's control entirely.
  • Evaluate outside partners and internal proposals critically, using questions that separate real visibility work from repackaged tactics.

About Leslee

Leslee Owen is Co-Founder and CEO of Movement Maker, a demand infrastructure and AI visibility company in San Antonio that works with professional service firms across architecture, engineering, and construction. She was named 2026 NAWBO Women Business Owner of the Year by the San Antonio chapter, the largest in the nation.

Before founding Movement Maker, Leslee spent over 20 years in television and digital media, producing globally broadcast commercials, lifestyle talk shows, and documentaries. 

Her work centers on a question most A/E/C firms have never asked: what do AI platforms say about us, and who decided that? She has spoken for AIA San Antonio, NAWBO National, the National Association of Home Builders, and Keller Williams, and delivers sessions for NAWIC and StarNet later this year.

Before a Crisis Strikes: Strategies for Marketers to Build Organizational Readiness

Lecture
THURSDAY, FEBURARY 11 | 9:45 AM - 10:45 PM

Every AEC firm will face a crisis, but few are truly prepared to respond. Learn how one marketing team recognized this gap at their firm, gained executive buy-in and led development of a response program. Leave with practical strategies for developing resources, training your leaders and strengthening your firm’s readiness. You’ll see why marketing professionals are uniquely positioned to connect the people, processes and communications needed to prepare before a crisis occurs.

Key Takeaways

  • Recognize organizational preparedness gaps that marketing is uniquely positioned to address.
  • Build partnerships across operations, legal, HR and company leadership.
  • Develop scalable response tools for a variety of incident scenarios.
  • Prepare leaders through media training and tabletop exercises before a crisis occurs.

About David

David Marino, CPC, is a PR/Communications Supervisor at Freese and Nichols, where he leads strategic communications initiatives that elevate the firm's technical expertise and strengthen its reputation across the engineering, planning and consulting industries. With more than 25 years of experience in journalism, public affairs and corporate communications, David specializes in translating complex infrastructure and engineering topics into compelling stories that resonate with clients, stakeholders and the public. Before joining Freese and Nichols, he held communications leadership roles with municipal organizations and public agencies and built an award-winning career in television news. A Certified Public Communicator (CPC), David is passionate about showcasing technical experts as thought leaders and communicating the impact of infrastructure projects that improve communities.

About Dan

Dan Purschwitz, CPSM, is PR/Communications Manager at Freese and Nichols, where he leads strategic communications, public relations and thought leadership initiatives. He and his team tell the stories of hundreds of engineers, planners and scientists working to improve our communities. He has been a Certified Professional Services Marketer for 10 years and is a member of the SMPS North Texas Hall of Fame. 

Why You? Creating Value Propositions That Win Work

Workshop
THURSDAY, FEBURARY 11 | 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Many AEC firms struggle to explain why clients should choose them over competitors. This interactive workshop helps firm leaders, senior-level marketers and business developers transform technical features into client-focused value propositions and meaningful differentiators. Using a proven Feature/Benefit/Proof framework, attendees will identify client priorities, align messages with project risks, and develop persuasive positioning they can immediately apply to pre-sell activities, proposals, and interviews.

Key Takeaways

  • Identify the difference between firm features and client benefits to develop more compelling value propositions.
  • Analyze client needs, pain points, and project risks to align firm messaging with what decision-makers value most.
  • Apply the Feature + Benefit + Proof (FBP) framework to articulate meaningful differentiators that resonate with clients.
  • Develop a client-focused value proposition that can be used consistently across pre-sell activities, proposals, presentations, and interviews.
  • Utilize practical worksheets, templates, and facilitation techniques to lead internal teams through the process of creating stronger pursuit messaging.

About Cynthia

As a marketing communicator, business development strategist, public speaker and trainer, Cynthia Harvey-Brown is passionate about helping AEC firms win work. She has been coaching design and construction teams through the pursuit lifecycle, from pre-sell tactics and RFQ/RFP submissions to shortlist interviews since joining the AEC industry in 2005. Her  30+ years of experience includes a variety of marketing and business development positions for several national architecture firms and a regional construction firm. She recently launched her own business, AECcelerate, a BD strategy consultancy for the AEC industry. Cynthia was trained as a professional speaker in high school, winning regional and national contests. Throughout her career, she has led training classes to a variety of professional organizations and private firms. She has presented at the SMPS national conference, SMPS Southern regional conference, and numerous times to the Houston Chapter.

Steer From Within: Strong Teams Don’t Happen by Accident

Lecture
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12 | 8:30 AM - 9:30 AM

Strong brands are built from the inside out. This keynote-style session explores how trust, communication, psychological safety, and leadership behavior shape the way A/E/C firms collaborate, perform, and show up to clients. Attendees will learn why strong teams do not happen by accident and how to create conditions that strengthen internal alignment, client experience, and brand impact.

Key Takeaways

  • Identify how trust, communication, psychological safety, and leadership behavior shape internal culture and external brand experience.
  • Recognize the hidden team dynamics that create friction between marketers, business developers, technical professionals, and firm leaders.
  • Assess where internal misalignment may be weakening collaboration, pursuit performance, client experience, or brand consistency.
  • Apply practical strategies to strengthen communication, reduce unnecessary friction, and build greater trust across internal teams.
  • Develop one intentional leadership action attendees can take to help their firms steer brand, relationships, and performance from the inside out.

About Jeff

Jeff Visnic, P.E., PMP, is the founder of Reclamation Collaborative, a coaching, speaking, and thought leadership company helping A/E/C professionals navigate pressure, leadership, and sustainable success without losing themselves in the process. He also serves as Director of Electrical Engineering for Thompson Engineering. With more than 25 years of A/E/C leadership experience, Jeff brings a grounded understanding of the communication, collaboration, and leadership dynamics that shape firm culture and performance. As a Certified Fearless Living Coach and Trainer, A/E/C leadership speaker, and co-host of the Burnout Banter podcast, Jeff helps professionals recognize the human patterns beneath stress, disconnection, and burnout so they can lead, communicate, and build stronger teams with greater clarity, trust, and resilience.

The Behavior Blueprint: Internal Campaigns That Drive Action

Lecture
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12 | 9:45 AM - 10:45 AM

Marketing leaders are often asked to communicate change, but lasting results require more than emails and launch events. This session introduces a practical framework for designing internal campaigns that change behavior, strengthen culture, and improve the client experience. Through real A/E/C case studies and an interactive discussion, attendees will learn how to align leadership, messaging, reinforcement, and accountability to turn business initiatives into sustainable organizational change.

Key Takeaways

  • Identify organizational challenges that can be addressed through intentional internal campaigns designed to influence employee behavior and support business objectives.
  • Apply a repeatable framework to design internal campaigns that align leadership, messaging, employee engagement, and organizational culture.
  • Develop reinforcement and accountability strategies that sustain behavioral change beyond the initial campaign launch.
  • Evaluate campaign success using business outcomes and behavioral indicators rather than traditional communication metrics alone.

About LaKeta

LaKeta Morris is the Vice President of Marketing and Client Relations for O'Donnell/Snider Construction (OSC). She is a marketing veteran in the construction industry. LaKeta leverages her extensive knowledge to develop, lead, and execute OSC’s overall marketing strategy focusing on strengthening and expanding the OSC brand across their four divisions. LaKeta is also exceptional at developing and maintaining client and vendor relationships.
LaKeta is the past President of the Society of Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) Houston chapter. She also serves on the Women in Healthcare – Houston chapter Special Events Committee; and Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW) – Houston chapter Special Events and Programs Committees. She has served the Society of Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) Houston chapter in several roles, including Programs Director on the Board of Directors, past Programs Committee Chair, and former Gala Co-Chair. She was recently named SMPS Houston’s Member of the Year. 

About Sara

Sara Connell is the Marketing Director at O'Donnell/Snider Construction, where she leads the company's brand strategy, communications, and business development marketing efforts. With more than 20 years of marketing experience, including 12 years in the AEC industry, she specializes in helping general contractors strengthen their market presence, win work, and build trusted brands.

Sara is an active member of the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) Houston Chapter and previously served on its Education Committee, supporting professional development for AEC marketers. She is passionate about transforming technical expertise into compelling stories that build relationships, elevate brands, and drive business growth.

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