SMPS is pleased to announce that Dacota Griffin has been honored with the 2025 Emerging Leader of the Year Award. This SMPS award honors rising marketing professionals who are demonstrating exceptional leadership at their firm. Dacota, who works at GEI Consultants as their national water sector marketing manager, is passionate about the Society, his career, and the A/E/C industry.
While managing a steady workload of marketing and business development responsibilities, Dacota has led major projects at GEI that have yielded a positive impact on the organization. For starters, Dacota oversaw the end-to-end development and implementation of a custom CRM system at GEI, resulting in improved lead management, integrated financial forecasting, and enhanced business development processes across the company.
Dacota also played a key role in planning GEI’s Project Management Workshop by leading the creation of a cohesive and engaging brand—including a logo, templates, signage, and promotional materials—that contributed to the event being recognized as one of the most successful in the company’s history. Dacota brings proactive leadership to business development by going above and beyond, actively engaging with clients, representing GEI’s strengths, and generating qualified leads, including direct follow-ups that led to opportunities.
On the Society side, Dacota has been a member of SMPS Boston since 2021 and immediately became an integral member of the Membership Committee. In his first year on the committee, Dacota helped organize quarterly Peer to Peer Coaching (P2PC) events and the chapter’s annual Summer Social. He also began to reach out to members with memberships nearing expiration and encouraging them to renew.
After his first year on the committee and despite being new to SMPS, Dacota volunteered to chair the Membership Committee, giving him another moment to let his leadership skills shine. He now serves in the role of director, and his contributions to SMPS Boston were recognized by the chapter in 2023 when he was awarded the New Member of the Year award.
“Dacota is an asset to the chapter. His enthusiasm is contagious. Collaboration fuels him. He can find balance between big ideas and practical implementation. He takes pride in each element of his work and the impact it has. I have no doubt he will continue bringing this energy to the chapter for years to come, “ said Shannon Koop, senior manager corporate development at GEI, and SMPS Boston past-president.
Outside of GEI and SMPS, Dacota remains active in connecting with his alma mater network from Bates College. At Bates, Dacota captained the men’s track and field team, and he continues to help the team with various volunteer tasks. In his free time, Dacota is an award-winning gardener.
Congratulations, again, to Dacota Griffin!
