In our member spotlight, Dorothy Verdon, CPSM, recently sat down for a virtual chat with SMPS. Dorothy, who’s owner of Bright Bunny Communications, has been in the A/E/C industry since 1978 and an SMPS member since 1986. In this spotlight, she shares more about her career and why SMPS membership is important to her.
Please share some recent professional-related news that you’re proud of. There are a few things that I am proud of:
- This spring a client (the International Parking & Mobility Institute) invited me to manage their entire 2026 awards program. It’s quite huge. Last year there were a total of 32 winners in the Awards of Excellence and Professional Recognition Awards programs combined in addition to two lifetime achievement award winners that I also profiled in articles.
- Other professional accomplishments this year included:
- Presenting a webinar, “Submit to Win: Strategies to Win More Awards” to SMPS Boston in February
- Presenting two “Tech Tuesday” webinars about Photoshop hacks to SMPS Philadelphia
- Serving as a judge again for SMPS HQ’s Marketing Communication Awards and SMPS Philadelphia’s MCA program
- Being a mentor to another A/E/C professional in our chapter’s formal mentoring program
- Working closely with HQ to identify issues with the member database transition and act as a beta tester
- In 2021, I received SMPS Philadelphia’s Honoring Legends award. It was a very proud moment.
- I have served on my township’s Sustainability Advisory Committee since its inception in 2020 and am currently vice chair. My biggest contribution has been as liaison with their contracted PR firm and primary writer and illustration creator and/or specifier for sustainability-focused articles in the “Committees” section of the township’s monthly e-newsletter.
What has been one of your most meaningful projects? Over the course of a 46-year career, there have been so many, especially for past employers! In the last seven years since starting Bright Bunny Communications, I would say that whatever is meaningful to my clients is equally important to me.
If we’re talking about meaningful and fun, then I’d rank very highly working on award submissions that win and get my clients the recognition they deserve for their excellent work. Designing and/or redesigning client websites is challenging but also great fun. One of my all-time favorite assignments is architectural photography and post-production, which harks back to my college major in printmaking that heavily utilized photographic methods.
It’s also a thrill when an article I write gets published, whether it’s under my byline or someone else’s when I’m the ghostwriter. When I was a consultant the first time around (1995 to 2001), I worked with the Urban Land Institute on a book called “Housing for Niche Markets” and contributed six of its 14 chapters about unique housing developments that took me to various sites around the country.
What’s the best professional advice you’ve received? I have always been adept at recognizing superstars and was fortunate enough to work with one of them for a short time before she transferred to another office as a result of a merger. That person was Nancy Egan, and I learned as much as I could by watching and talking to her. I was about 10 years into my career, and she was (and still is) amazing. I have crossed paths with others in the industry who were inspirational in some way, though sadly many have passed or have retired by now.
What’s the best professional advice you’ve given? Learn to read the writing on the wall and don’t stay in a job when it ceases to be rewarding, or worse, becomes an obvious source of consistent stress, conflict, or frustration.
Also learn as much as you can about everything that you can, to make yourself as valuable and marketable as possible, as well as to build self-confidence. Don’t be afraid to fail, because that’s how you learn and grow. Nothing ventured, nothing gained and all that. Fearlessness without arrogance often leads to innovation and is worthy of respect.
Being open to new opportunities for career advancement and staying current with new technologies are essential survival techniques for marketers. When I started, “state of the art” was an IBM Selectric with an integrated correcting ribbon and “cut and paste” involved scissors and glue!. Now I’m using AI, have designed and edited websites, and use various Adobe Creative Cloud programs daily.
Why is SMPS membership important to you and how has it helped you over the years? In 1995 I left the Philly area and moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and started my first consulting practice. I’ll never forget my first SMPS meeting there, where I forged solid friendships and immediately found opportunities to volunteer. A couple years later, I was president of SMPS San Francisco. We were one of the first chapters to have a website, which I worked on with our pro bono consultant. When I moved to Orange County, I joined the board of SMPS Los Angeles. A year and a half later I moved to Alexandria, VA, and was on the board of SMPS Washington, DC.
Three years later, I relocated to southeast Florida and was a special advisor to that chapter’s board. Finally, in 2006 I moved back to the Philly area and stayed put. The greatest value I have derived from the sum of my SMPS experiences is in the relationships that resulted. Whether lifelong or situational, they have all been valuable, each in their own way.
How has obtaining your CPSM designation helped you and/or your firm? I was so proud to attain certification in April 2001 and by then I’d been in the industry for more than 20 years. Honestly, I didn’t even study for the test because I figured if I couldn’t pass it with all that experience, then maybe I should find a new career! The good news: I passed the first time around. I believe there were two jobs that I applied for in the past (and was hired) that indicated their preference for a certified professional services marketer. At this point in my career, it doesn’t have as much significance because of my level of industry experience.
You’re actively involved in SMPS. What made you decide to volunteer and what have you learned that could help other professionals? In both my private and professional lives, I have found that volunteering is rewarding in so many ways. The quid pro quo is off the scale: the target entity benefits from the volunteer’s efforts, while enabling the volunteer to establish credibility, acquire new knowledge and/or skills, and gain access to leaders and decision-makers.
If someone is on the fence about volunteering, what would you say to convince them? Direct involvement as a volunteer opens doors that you don’t even know exist and cannot possibly foresee. Even if you are 100% in-house, as a marketer representing your firm, you owe it to yourself and them to get out there and build strong relationships. This happens much more consequentially when you’re on a committee or board than in the five or ten minutes you might spend networking at an event. Though that also has value, these interactions are short compared to prolonged teamwork focused on achieving common goals.
What would you still like to accomplish in your career? After more than four decades in the A/E/C industry, I am finally done with climbing the proverbial career ladder! I love being a task-driven consultant and see no end in sight, often joking that I will likely die at my desk. What gets me out of bed each morning is the prospect of learning new things that will enhance the services I provide to clients and make me more effective and efficient in doing so.
What’s on your bucket list? There are still a few things left, although I’ve somehow managed to accomplish most of the high-priority items. A Smithsonian Journeys small ship voyage from Glasgow, Scotland, to Bergen, Norway; being a contestant on Wheel of Fortune; visiting the Galapagos Islands; meeting Stephen King; seeing Stonehenge; volunteering at the regional House Rabbit Society shelter; ziplining; and scuba diving one last time.
