![\"SMPS](\"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/MemberNewsSpotlight-KPorter-1280x570-1.jpg\")
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In our member spotlight, Kathleen Porter takes time out of her busy day to chat with SMPS. Kathleen, who works for Lavellee Brensigner Architects as business development manager, shares the rewards of her job and the benefits of being an SMPS member.<\/p>\n
How long have you worked at <\/strong>Lavellee Brensigner Architects? <\/strong>This summer, I\u2019ll celebrate five years.<\/p>\n How long have you been an SMPS member? <\/strong>I\u2019ve been an SMPS member since 2011.<\/p>\n What are the rewards of your job? <\/strong>There are two aspects of my job that are the most rewarding. First, the ability to collaborate and work as a team, inside and outside of the firm. We\u2019re constantly learning and improving when we work together. Second, I derive much of my professional fuel from the competitive nature of our industry. I love a win!<\/p>\n What are your challenges? <\/strong>Between the deadline driven nature of our industries and the constant connectivity, I find it very hard to unplug. I don\u2019t blame anyone but myself because I genuinely love the work I do. I like working hard and I appreciate our accomplishments\u20142020 is the year I will find better balance in my life!<\/p>\n What has been your most meaningful project? <\/strong>Our firm was recently awarded a publicly funded education project that was years in the making. Working alongside a Design Principal, we conducted extensive research, observed our competitors, learned from our consultants, strategized, perfected our message, and waited patiently for the stars to align. The moment we earned that project, I felt as though I\u2019d won the lottery. My second thought was what will I do with all my free time, which of course was immediately filled with other pursuits. Our firm made a commitment to this project type and didn\u2019t stray from the path; it was an investment in time, and it paid off.<\/p>\n How did you decide to have a career in the A\/E\/C industries? <\/strong>I fell into my A\/E\/C career. After six months, I knew that the built environment was the place for me. No two days are ever the same, no two projects are the same, no two clients are the same, and no two pursuits are the same. We\u2019re not just consultants, we sell ideas and we solve problems.<\/p>\n How has SMPS membership helped you? <\/strong>I originally became involved with SMPS to garner a better understanding of marketing specific to A\/E\/C. There are tremendous resources available including, conferences, workshops, webinars, white papers, and the monthly Marketer<\/em>. Without a doubt, though, it\u2019s the personal connections that I\u2019ve made by attending local chapter events that have had the greatest impact on my career.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve built a strong network that I continue to utilize every day. My network includes engineering and construction partners as well as competitors. At SMPS, there really aren\u2019t competitors. Recognizing that we\u2019re all in this together, we support one another and aim to drive the industries forward. I come from the small but mighty SMPS Northern New England, where as a volunteer I\u2019ve had the opportunity to work with some of the most thoughtful, hardworking, and smart group of people. Our chapter\u2019s success is proven by the growth we have seen in the past six years.<\/p>\n What\u2019s the best career advice you\u2019ve received? <\/strong>I\u2019ve received so much good career advice over the years.<\/p>\n \u201cSpeak up and advocate for what you think is right.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cKnow when to keep your mouth closed.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEncourage and teach junior staff, they\u2019re our future.\u201d<\/p>\n And probably most important in my business development role, \u201cDon\u2019t be away from your family more than three evenings a week, you\u2019ll never get that time back.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s the best career advice you\u2019ve given? <\/strong>\u201cCuriosity will take you far!\u201d and \u201cStart with yes then figure out how you\u2019ll get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n What has contributed to your success? <\/strong>I see my success as an indicator of my value to the firm. One of my contributions is that I\u2019m always thinking about the best and highest use of someone\u2019s time. If there\u2019s a task that I can take from a firm principal to free them up to do the things that only they can do, I jump at the chance. Then, I just get things done. Our CEO once said to me, \u201cYou\u2019re one of the lowest maintenance people I get to work with,\u201d that was a huge compliment coming from him.<\/p>\n What\u2019s on your bucket list? <\/strong>World travel. Greece and Italy are at the top of my list.<\/p>\n What was your childhood dream? <\/strong>My dream job in high school and college was to be a U.S. Senator. Mostly because I enjoy a good debate but also because establishing public policy is an honor and a privilege. I never ran for national office, but I\u2019ve been volunteering in my community for more than 25 years; my friends and family say I have volunteeritis.<\/p>\n Guilty pleasure: what can you not live without? <\/strong>As much as I could probably live without them, I have an unhealthy relationship with the potato. I like them fried, baked, and mashed. If I had to choose just one, it would be the tater tot smothered in truffle oil and parmesan cheese. I have a smile on my face just thinking about them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In our member spotlight, Kathleen Porter takes time out of her busy day to chat with SMPS. Kathleen, who works for Lavellee Brensigner Architects as business development manager, shares the rewards of her job and the benefits of being an SMPS member. How long have you worked at Lavellee Brensigner Architects? This summer, I\u2019ll celebrate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43281,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,19],"tags":[265,266,267,268,34,18,199,195],"class_list":["post-28095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business-development","category-membership","tag-collaborate","tag-competitive-nature","tag-kathleen-porter","tag-lavellee-brensigner-architects","tag-marketer","tag-member-spotlight","tag-resources","tag-teamwork"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28095","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28095"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28095\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43282,"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28095\/revisions\/43282"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28095"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28095"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smps.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28095"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}