Jen McGovern, CPSM
Since 2015
Active
SMPS Washington, DC member
AEC marketing professional
Jen leads comprehensive capture planning and proposal strategy for VHB’s Mid-Atlantic region, a nationally recognized engineering, planning, and environmental science firm with 32 offices across the East Coast. As Regional Capture Manager, she drives strategic positioning for major pursuits, partners with technical leaders and business developers to win work, and provides regional training on proposal best practices. Her role encompasses oversight of marketing efforts across seven offices spanning Washington, DC, Virginia, and North Carolina.
Her expertise centers on infrastructure and transportation projects, with specialized knowledge in proposal development, capture planning, and strategic positioning. Jen brings deep experience in technical editing and content strategy, having transitioned from a background as a professional editor and copywriter to become a recognized expert in AEC proposal management. She excels at translating complex technical concepts into compelling proposal narratives that resonate with public and private sector clients.
With over 20 years of professional experience and more than a decade dedicated to AEC marketing, Jen has prepared and reviewed hundreds of proposals for infrastructure, transportation, and environmental projects serving federal, state, and local government agencies as well as private development clients throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.
Jen demonstrates exceptional industry leadership through her FSMPS designation and extensive SMPS involvement spanning more than a decade. As one of only seven professionals nationwide selected for the 2025 SMPS Fellows class, she joins an elite group of 125 Fellows who have made significant contributions to the AEC industry and marketing profession. This prestigious recognition requires more than 10 years of SMPS membership, active CPSM certification, and over 15 years of AEC industry experience.
Her leadership journey includes serving as SMPS Washington, DC Chapter President during the challenging 2020-2021 program year, where her innovative approach to virtual programming kept the chapter engaged, connected, and profitable during the COVID-19 pandemic. This exceptional leadership earned her SMPS’s 2022 National Chapter President of the Year award. She currently serves the chapter as Chapter Advisor and holds positions on the SMPS Northeast Regional Conference Board of Directors and the national Marketer journal Editorial Committee.
Jen is recognized as a prolific author and sought-after speaker, delivering presentations at SMPS conferences nationwide on topics including proposal strategy, technical editing, career development, and marketing team management. Her thought leadership articles in Marketer magazine address critical challenges facing AEC marketers. She has contributed to the advancement of the CPSM credential through service on SMPS’s national Certification Committee and has presented on CPSM domains of practice for chapter study groups from New York to Florida to California.
In 2024, she received the prestigious Ginny Solomon Golden Tuba Award from SMPS Washington, DC—the chapter’s highest honor for significant contributions to professional services marketing and the organization. Her commitment to knowledge-sharing and professional development reflects her passion for raising the bar for marketing excellence across the AEC industry.
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