Meet two K-State alumni behind JE Dunn Construction’s pursuit marketing efforts
By Ashley Pauls
K-State Alumni Association
Before steel beams stretch up to the sky, concrete is poured, or the first shovel
breaks ground, a client has to select the right firm to bring their project to life.
In such a competitive industry, it’s vital to provide the perfect pitch to secure
the construction work. This is exactly the kind of fast-paced, high-stakes work that
K-Staters Heather Ledbetter ’07 and Becky Cullinan ’07 thrive on in their marketing
roles at JE Dunn Construction.
Ledbetter has been with JE Dunn since 2014 and was recently promoted to marketing
director for the Midwest region. Cullinan has been with the company for four years
and was recently promoted to director of pursuit marketing management.
“This industry, especially the front-end pursuit process, is extremely competitive,
and I absolutely love that,” Cullinan said. “It's always such a fun process to figure
out the strategy, including who is best to help tell the story, and how to convey
that in words, images, graphics and in the interview itself. The thrill you get when
you win one of these big jobs after hours of work is incredible, and is what keeps
me excited to take on the next one every time.”
Meet Heather Ledbetter ’07
Ledbetter grew up with what she calls “purple running through my blood.” Her parents
and her brother are K-State alumni, and she has a number of extended family members
who are also proud Wildcats.
“I fell in love with K-State, on my own, when we went and visited,” she recalls. “I
was a Chi Omega, and I was active all four years while I was there — one of the best
decisions I ever made. To this day, my best friends are my sorority sisters.”
During her time at the university, she served as a student worker for the KSU Foundation
and a copy editor for the Kansas State Collegian. And it’s also thanks to K-State that she discovered her first post-college job.
While walking around with a friend at a K-State internship fair, she discovered a
booth operated by the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS). Through
that organization, she connected with a marketing internship at an architecture firm
in Kansas City.
“My dad was an architect, and so I knew about the industry, but I didn't realize that
you could work in it outside of being an architect or an engineer,” she said.
Her internship at Ellerbe Becket led to a full-time employment offer, and her time
spent studying public relations, advertising and business at K-State provided a helpful
foundation for her future career.
“Everything that I learned through public relations and advertising, you have to use
all of it in this industry,” she said. “We have to design, we have to write, we have
to be strategic. It's part of what we do to support these firms and companies that
we work for.”
Ledbetter now supervises JE Dunn’s Midwest marketing team, which covers a wide area
that includes cities in the U.S. like Kansas City, Wichita, Des Moines, Omaha, Springfield
and Minneapolis.
She said one of the most exciting and fulfilling aspects of marketing for the architecture,
engineering and construction industry is the opportunity to stay involved in a project
from start to finish.
JE Dunn’s marketers help develop the overall pursuit strategy and prepare pitch materials
for potential clients, ranging from strategic proposals and interview decks to printed
information packets. Then, while a project is being built, they help capture stories
for news outlets or social media. Additionally, they assist with project milestone
events, such as groundbreakings and ribbon cuttings, as well as arranging formal project
photography once complete.
“It literally is this whole life cycle that our marketers work on,” she said. Recent
pursuits have ranged from county justice facilities and civic centers to major healthcare
and restoration projects, giving her team a front‑row seat to the region’s growth.
Meet Becky Cullinan ’07
Cullinan was inspired to consider K-State by her older sister, who attended the university
several years ahead of her. She met lifelong friends while she was living on campus,
and similar to Ledbetter, her early K-State connections opened the door for her future
career.
“I had great connections at K-State that helped me with summer jobs and steered me
into the construction industry,” she said. “Those same great relationships helped
me land my internship and my first job right out of school.”
She figured out fairly quickly that architecture, engineering and construction marketing
was exactly the space she wanted to be working in.
“It is such a unique market,” she said. “What drew me down this path and has kept
me here for almost 20 years is a passion for good writing, which is a big part of pursuit
marketing. With numerous family members in the industry, I've always loved construction,
and an AEC marketing career has been a nice way to blend both of those worlds.”
She still looks back on her early experiences as some of the most rewarding.
“I started working right out of school for a mid-sized firm and stayed there for about
nine years. Then, I had the opportunity to work for a much smaller firm that was just
getting off the ground,” she recalls. “The first job we won when I was with that firm
was so rewarding because it helped get the company off the ground.”
At JE Dunn, Cullinan is responsible for the development of standards and best practices
for the company’s pursuit process and supports high-priority pursuits across the enterprise.
“I'm focused on front-end marketing efforts,” she said. “I work with teams to try
to win work and help meet our sales goals.”
Cullinan is based out of the Kansas City area but gets to interact with projects across
the company’s 26 offices.
“We get to see what's coming up, what's on the horizon,” she said. “There are so many
cool projects and things happening across the country that you get a peek behind the
curtain on. That's always been a really fun part of the job for me.”
How Ledbetter and Cullinan inspire future Wildcats
For current K-State students who are interested in a career in marketing, Ledbetter
advises them to “be open” and “be flexible.”
“Don't think that just because you're in marketing you can only go to an agency,”
she said. “Think outside the box. Talk to people. Think about what other things interest
you. You can take your skills into an industry you care about and apply your marketing,
advertising and public relations background in ways you may not have imagined.”
“We always tell our JE Dunn interns to ask good questions, be open, be willing to
help, come excited and eager, and I think that'll take people a long way.”
Cullinan also advises students to cultivate authentic personal relationships, especially
in a world where so much communication is digital.
“One of the biggest lessons I learned, starting at K-State and carrying through my
career, is to build as many relationships as you can,” she said. “The people who advocate
for you, support you, and mentor you often matter more than any single technical skill.”
