SMPS Oregon - Mentorship Program

Mentorship Roundtable 2026 - Connect, Learn, Grow

The SMPS Oregon Mentorship Roundtable is a flexible, participant-led space for Architecture-Engineering-Construction (AEC) professionals to learn, connect, and move their careers forward. Whether you are new to the field, navigating a transition, or charting a path to leadership, join a cohort designed to help you find your place.

What Makes this program different

Open to all career stages! Anyone seeking growth, transition support, or help navigating challenges can join.
Hybrid monthly meetings: Large group sessions plus one-on-one mentor connections.
Participant-led topics: Your interests guide the conversation.
Easy on the presentations: We will provide practical content, open dialogue, and space for real-time problem solving.

Key Dates

GROW event: February 18, 2026 – Meet the co-chairs and share your goals.
Mentor orientation: Late February 2026 – Training and toolkits.
Formal kickoff: March 4, 2026 – Orientation, training, and collaborative topic planning.
Monthly meetings: April-June; September-February (hybrid).
June feedback poll: Help us refine summer and post-summer plans.

How to Get Involved

Click here to submit your Mentee Application
Submit your application to become a Mentor
Questions or ideas: Contact Kendall and Patrick.

Discussion Subjects

Career development: how to find your niche and chart your growth
Networking, interviewing, and managing up
Navigating challenges at work & company culture
Personal growth: confidence, boundaries, and work-life balance
Technology & data, including AI in AEC marketing

Accessibility and Format

Hybrid participation available.
Mentor–mentee pairs are encouraged to meet monthly between group sessions.

Co-Chairs

Kendall Garcia Gordon is a proposal manager and marketing coordinator at AKS Engineering & Forestry with just over three years of experience. She considers herself an avid student of life and thinks this is a remarkably interesting time to be a young professional. Kendall was a mentee in the roundtable in 2024-2025 and can’t wait to dive into the 2026 cycle. In her free time, Kendall is a big nerd.
Patrick Keller is a 20+ year marketer with tenures at both construction and engineering firms. He currently serves as Business Development Manager at DOWL, where he focuses on private development clients and public alternative delivery projects. Known as the “marketing version of a Swiss Army knife,” he is useful in all sorts of situations, especially when facing unexpected disaster. In his spare time, he enjoys making up biographical paragraphs about himself.