In our member spotlight, Allison Halvorson, CPSM, takes time out of her busy day to chat with SMPS. Allison, who’s communications manager at McMillen Jacobs Associates, shares the rewards of her job and the benefits of being an SMPS member.
Please briefly describe your current role. As the communications manager at McMillen Jacobs Associates, I oversee both internal and external communications including corporate identity and branding, advertising, sponsorships, media relations, social media, and web content creation.
What’s a typical day like for you? Working in communications, there really is no typical day. I spend a lot of time collaborating with company leadership, subject matter experts, and the marketing team to mine and craft communications content. Depending on what’s going on in the company, you might find me reviewing media kits, writing a press release, or flushing out the editorial calendar for our quarterly newsletter.
How did you decide to have a career in the A/E/C industries? Like many other A/E/C marketers, I just fell into it. I have a B.F.A. in graphic design. When I moved to California in 2006, I applied for a job as a marketing and graphics specialist at an engineering firm called Jacobs Associates. Over the past 14 years I’ve worked for various A/E/C firms before eventually returning to the same company where I started my A/E/C career (now McMillen Jacobs Associates).
How long have you been a member of SMPS? I have been a member off and on since I first started in the industry in 2006. I remember attending a Marketing Coordinators Bootcamp in 2007 where I met a lot of people who are friends of mine to this day. After a few years of being a member, I started volunteering for my chapter and that’s when I really got the most out of my membership. Now I’m chapter president!
What’s the best career advice you’ve received? Never stop learning.
What’s on your bucket list? Most of my bucket list items are travel related, so 2020 has not been a good year for checking items off my list! At the top of my list is spending a week or two walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain.
