From Handshake to Handover – Creating consistency, accountability, and exceptional experiences throughout the customer journey.
Catalyst Conversations aims to bring action and relevancy to all things A/E/C marketing with a diversity of thought. It is intended to be a low-stakes, open form, conversational speaking engagement that truly brings depth and knowledge to each topic.

Key Take-a-Ways: 
• The Hand-Off Matters: You’ve won the client through strategic pursuit efforts, compelling proposals, and polished interviews. Learn how to effectively transfer client expectations, commitments, and relationship insights from the pursuit team to project delivery teams.
• Map the Client Experience Journey: Explore the full client journey after project award—or even after a loss—to identify key touch points, moments of truth, and opportunities to strengthen relationships and future business opportunities.
• Building a Client Experience Program: Review practical examples of successful client experience initiatives, including program structure, stakeholder roles, communication strategies, and measurement approaches.
• Closing the Gap Between Promise and Performance: Discover common disconnects between what is sold and what is delivered—and strategies for ensuring teams consistently fulfill the commitments made during the pursuit process.
• Turning Feedback into Action: Learn how to collect meaningful client feedback throughout the project lifecycle, interpret the results, and implement changes that improve satisfaction and retention.
• Creating Advocates, Not Just Clients: Explore how exceptional client experiences lead to repeat work, stronger partnerships, referrals, and long-term business growth.
• Learning from Wins and Losses: Understand how post-award and post-loss reviews can uncover valuable insights, reveal client perceptions, and shape future pursuit and delivery strategies.
• Measuring What Matters: Identify key client experience metrics and indicators that help teams evaluate success, demonstrate value, and continuously improve the client journey.
• Embedding Client Experience into Company Culture: Learn how firms can make client experience a shared responsibility across marketing, business development, project management, and technical teams.
• From Transaction to Relationship: Develop actionable strategies for strengthening trust and maintaining meaningful client relationships long after a project is complete.

About the Speakers:

Amy Pugh | Moderator:

Amy is Principal and Director of Marketing and Revenue Operations at DCI Engineers, where she leads marketing strategy, brand, communications, and business growth. With a background in psychology, she brings a people-centered lens to the full client experience, from pursuit and handoff to project delivery, feedback, and future opportunities. A former SMPS Seattle Chapter President, Amy is passionate about evolving the role of marketing in AEC.

Erin Hatch, CPSM | Panelist:

Erin has spent nearly two decades helping small and medium-sized businesses and nonprofit organizations advance their goals through strategic marketing and communications. Her background in interior architecture and design provides a unique perspective that enables her to approach challenges with creativity, curiosity, and strategic insight. Erin is an active member of the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS), a Past President of SMPS Seattle, and a Past Conference Chair for the SMPS Pacific Regional Conference. She is currently the Marketing Director at Berger Partnership.

Shelby Riddell | Panelist:

Shelby has spent the last decade helping AEC firms identify opportunities, build meaningful client relationships, and win complex projects across Phoenix, Europe, and Seattle. As DPR Construction's Get Work Lead in Seattle, she connects market intelligence, customer insights, and pursuit strategy to help teams focus on the right opportunities and make informed decisions. Shelby is known for asking tough questions, challenging conventional thinking, and helping teams see around corners as DPR continues to grow its presence throughout the Puget Sound region.

Jeremy Richard, CPSM | Panelist:

Jeremy is a Principal at Design West Engineering where he has spent 19 years building the firm's brand, developing new business, and focused on growing the organization across its three Pacific region offices. Jeremy stays hands-on with client development, turning first conversations into some of DWE's longest-standing and most impactful business relationships. Outside the office, he's kept busy at home with his wife, April, their three teenage boys (one now off to college), and their black lab, Mitsy.