Chapter History

In 2005, the same year SMPS HQ hosted their annual conference in New Orleans, Louisiana had three SMPS members with no local chapter. During this late-summer event, HQ encouraged the members to found a chapter for the Southeast Louisiana market. And as we know, Hurricane Katrina arrived in August and changed everything. 

The A/E/C landscape transformed drastically as the city began to rebuild. National firms moved into the market, and many local firms needed dedicated professionals solely to manage the surge of marketing and business development needs. It proved to be the ideal time to create a new chapter that could foster connections between local marketers and provide access to SMPS HQ’s robust resources.  

After many coffee shop meetings and strategic planning sessions, the SMPS Southeast Louisiana chapter was chartered in the spring of 2008 thanks to founding members: 

• Stacey Schexnayder
• Nicole Dufour
• Lindsey Hilton

• Nicole Marshall

The chapter is also grateful for the local AEC leaders who fully supported the vision and mission, including:

• Chuck Perret, Lettermans Blueprint (Founding Sponsor)
• William Sizeler, Sizeler Thompson Brown Architects
• Allen Eskew, FAIA, EskewDumezRipple+

• Ray Manning, FAIA, LEED AP BD + C, Manning Architects

SMPS SeLA has grown to nearly 100 members, and is one of the largest local marketing organizations.  The chapter continues to host monthly programs focusing on the six domains of practice and featuring key industry influencing speakers and education-focused events in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The chapter also hosts touchstone events each year including a day-long educational Making Big Moves Workshop, joint-industry Big Build event, SeLAbration awards and joint-organization holiday party.