Susan Merrigan, CPSM
Since 2006
Active
SMPS Washington, DC member
AEC marketing professional
Susan leads global marketing and business development strategy for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), one of the world’s most prestigious architecture, engineering, and urban planning firms with an 88-year legacy of design excellence. As Senior Associate Principal and Global Marketing Director, she co-leads a team of more than 30 marketing and business development professionals across SOM’s worldwide office network. Her leadership encompasses strategic marketing operations, proposal management for major design and construction pursuits, and business development initiatives for this internationally recognized practice.
Her expertise centers on large-scale federal government projects, with specialized knowledge in securing complex design, program management, and design-build commissions. Susan brings deep experience in strategic joint venture formation, federal procurement processes, and competitive positioning for sought-after institutional commissions. She excels at leading multidisciplinary pursuits that require sophisticated understanding of government contracting, technical evaluation criteria, and strategic team assembly.
With nearly 30 years of professional experience spanning top-tier AEC firms including LEO A DALY, Perkins+Will, Stantec, and BRPH, Susan has established herself as a strategic marketing leader specializing in federal, civic, institutional, and international markets. Her career progression demonstrates consistent success in directing marketing efforts for nationally and internationally recognized design firms serving government agencies, cultural institutions, and corporate clients.
Susan demonstrates exceptional dual leadership across both SMPS and SAME, earning Fellow status in both organizations through sustained contributions to the AEC marketing profession and military engineering community. Her FSAME designation, achieved through induction into the prestigious Academy of Fellows in 2018, recognizes more than 18 years of dedicated service to the Society of American Military Engineers. This elite recognition, bestowed upon fewer than 800 professionals nationwide, acknowledges outstanding service to SAME, military engineering, and the broader AEC profession.
Her SAME leadership journey includes serving as Washington DC Post President in 2017, where she developed and executed strategic plans, chaired local, regional, and national events, and built partnerships strengthening educational, leadership, and mentoring programs. Through this work, she increased member engagement and positioned the DC Post as a model for industry-government collaboration in support of national security infrastructure challenges.
Within SMPS, Susan has maintained active involvement for more than 25 years, serving as SMPS Washington, DC Chapter President in 2005—the same year she earned her CPSM certification. In 2014, she received the Ginny Solomon Golden Tuba Award, SMPS DC’s most prestigious honor recognizing marketing excellence, leadership in the community, contribution to firm marketing efforts, creativity and individuality, and outstanding volunteer service to the chapter. This award places her among an elite group of DC chapter leaders who have shaped AEC marketing standards.
Susan is a prolific educator and thought leader, delivering numerous training workshops and seminars at both national and local SMPS events. Her commitment to professional development reflects her passion for “paying it forward” to the next generation of marketing professionals—a philosophy rooted in her own early career experiences learning from industry veterans who volunteered their expertise. She has taught workshops on federal marketing, proposal best practices, strategic planning, and business development at SMPS conferences, Build Business events, and chapter programs across the country.
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