Susie Underwood, CPSM
Since 2022
Active
NA
AEC marketing professional
Susie leads comprehensive client liaison services, government relations, and business development for Keck & Wood, a 70-year employee-owned civil engineering firm serving 100+ local governments across the Southeast. As Client Liaison based in Charleston, South Carolina, she drives client relationship cultivation, government engagement, recruiting, and social media strategy for a firm providing civil engineering, landscape architecture, planning, and land surveying services that have left an indelible mark since 1954.
Her expertise spans AEC client services with specialized knowledge in government relations, business development, client relationship management, recruiting, and social media across transportation engineering, water resources, natural gas engineering, landscape architecture, urban redevelopment, and site design disciplines. Susie brings exceptional public sector expertise gained through her CPM (Certified Public Manager) credential—Askew Award Runner-up—demonstrating mastery of public administration, governmental operations, and community engagement that distinguishes her client liaison capabilities.
With comprehensive professional experience including American Red Cross disaster relief coordination (3 weeks in NYC after Hurricane Sandy) and IAP2 community engagement training, Susie has built her career characterized by public service, relationship development, and commitment to connecting engineering solutions with community needs. Her knowledge of Keck & Wood’s full-service capabilities—encompassing civil engineering, water/sewer resources, natural gas, landscape architecture, transportation, site design, and land surveying—enables effective client liaison leadership for an employee-owned firm serving state and local governments, utility authorities, public institutions, and private developers.
Susie demonstrates exceptional professional leadership through her dual CPSM and CPM certifications, positioning her as rare professional combining professional services marketing expertise with public administration mastery. Her CPM credential—earning Askew Award Runner-up recognition—required rigorous coursework in governmental operations, public policy, community engagement, and leadership development, distinguishing her client liaison capabilities when serving public sector clients.
Her disaster relief experience coordinating American Red Cross communications and logistics for 3 weeks in New York City following Hurricane Sandy demonstrates commitment to public service under crisis conditions. This experience navigating complex multi-agency coordination, community needs assessment, and emergency communications translates directly to her AEC client liaison work serving government agencies managing infrastructure challenges, disaster recovery, and community development priorities.
Susie’s IAP2 (International Association for Public Participation) engagement reflects commitment to community engagement best practices. IAP2 connects practitioners with national and international experts in public participation, providing frameworks for inclusive decision-making processes essential when infrastructure projects impact communities—knowledge Susie leverages when representing Keck & Wood to local governments, utility authorities, and public institutions.
Her $180M GDOT Design-Build project final CPM assignment showcased understanding of complex transportation infrastructure including 12 miles of barrier-separated reversible toll lanes on I-75 in south metro Atlanta with 7 toll plazas, 4 bridges, 9 culverts, and 40+ walls—demonstrating technical comprehension enhancing client liaison effectiveness.
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