Celebrating Jennifer Nelson-Smith’s 15 Years
From One Role to Many: Jennifer’s Impact at IEA
On a typical Monday, Director of Marketing and Communications Jennifer Nelson-Smith may be moving from an impromptu operations meeting to a communications coffee chat to a lunch training for aspiring project managers. She’s always on the go.
Most know Jennifer as IEA’s Director of Marketing. What you may not know is she recently established the Communications and Culture department and serves on both the Operations and Growth teams. Her helpful attitude has built her career of stepping into a needed role and finding a way to support those around her, truly believing in IEA’s vision of Positive Partnership.
Even long before she was wearing countless hats across IEA, Shakeel Ahmed, PE, IEA’s CEO, saw her value during one Saturday afternoon interview 15 years ago.
“It didn’t take long for us to realize she was the person we wanted. What’s funny about her hiring story is that she had barely left when we reached out and had her turn the car around to come back for the job offer,” as Shakeel remembered nostalgically. “I just knew I didn’t want to lose her.”
Guiding Growth, Inspiring Teams
Jennifer is now a cornerstone of IEA’s growth, shaping not just the work we do, but the teams that exist today.
“As the company evolved, she evolved with it. She was always willing to take on more, learn something new, or step in wherever she was needed. That’s one of the things I admire most about her. She really cares about IEA and wants to see it succeed,” said Shakeel.
That willingness to step in and evolve helped shape the foundation of multiple teams across IEA. Jennifer developed the marketing department from the ground up, growing it from a solo venture into a team now led by a Marketing Manager who complements her leadership style.
As that team grew, so did the trust she built with the people around her. Jerry Allison, MBA, Marketing Manager, put it simply, “Jobs haven’t always felt safe as a landing space, and she made it feel safe to be here.”
That sense of trust carried into how the teams operate today. By helping document key processes and sharing institutional knowledge, Jennifer helped streamline the teams and made it easier for others to step into new roles and grow within the organization.
Jennifer was instrumental in creating those standards and processes for IEA; however, recently realized that it was time to hire more help. That’s when she urged IEA to hire a Learning and Development Coordinator and a Technical Writer, an important step in the growth and development dreams she has for IEA.
From there, the Communication and Culture department took shape. The team plays a key role in strengthening communication, both internally and externally, while supporting how employees learn and grow. With these additions, IEA took meaningful steps towards building stronger processes and a more intentional approach to development.
“Seeing Jennifer’s Communications and Culture Department vision come to life, and being a part of that, makes me really excited about the potential we have here at IEA,” said Frank Martinez, Technical Writer.
As if becoming the Directors of Marketing and Communications wasn’t enough, Jennifer also serves as an integral part of the Operations and Growth teams. She is helping lead IEA to connect gaps in organization and guide the company’s continued expansion.
When Jennifer began her career at IEA in 2011, IEA was a new firm with just 20 employees and $4 million in revenue. Over the past 15 years, IEA has grown to over 140 employees and $30 million in revenue. This impressive success has been partly due to the hard work and dedication that Jennifer has shown throughout the years.
Community Impact
What continues to drive Jennifer is the impact the work has beyond the company itself. Her passion for the work that IEA does guides her to producing great proposals for our teams. The projects that she has helped IEA win over the years leave a lasting impression on IEA and the communities we serve.
“I really love seeing how our work directly impacts the community. Being at IEA for 15 years has been incredible because I get to see the work that I helped do by bringing in projects,” said Jennifer. “It becomes this real, physical thing out there that we drive on, or protects us from flooding. It’s just incredible. It’s so cool to see.”
Her perspective for creating meaningful work shows up in the way Jennifer partners across teams to win projects that truly matter. Director of Transportation Jim Reiser, PE has seen that impact firsthand through the major pursuits they’ve worked on together.
“Jennifer has made a difference in every successful proposal that I have submitted and even going back to the very first win that IEA received from TxDOT as an indefinite delivery contract,” said Jim.
That ability to connect purpose with results extends beyond project wins. Over the years, Jennifer helped shape the growth of both teams and individuals across IEA, widening her impact well beyond revenue and wins. Her leadership style also left a lasting impression on CEO Shakeel.
“Jennifer has been someone I’ve been able to rely on consistently over the years. When leading a company, having a trusted partner who truly understands and is deeply invested in the mission makes an enormous difference.” Shakeel said. “On a personal level, she has helped me grow as a leader. Her honesty, reliability, and unwavering support are qualities I can always count on.”
Full Circle
As a child, Jennifer was interested in math and science, which led her to the engineering industry and IEA. After graduating college, she entered the workforce during the recession and was searching for the right opportunity. She was working as a Shift Supervisor at Starbucks when she found the IEA job listing.
“I’ll randomly think about it and laugh because I never would have thought that something I learned being a shift supervisor at Starbucks would apply to a Director of Marketing and Communications at an engineering firm,” said Jennifer. “But it does. It’s crazy how the things connect together.”
That ability to wear so many hats over the years and step in where needed has shaped Jennifer’s 15-year career at IEA, and it is a big part of why her impact can still be felt across the organization today.
