What began as a small group of marketing professionals from a handful of companies has evolved into a 100-member nonprofit that serves the architecture, engineering, and construction industries. 

Founded in 2000, OneAEC hosts about 10 events a year to educate its members, promote the industries, and provide networking opportunities.

Typically, the nonprofit holds four or five client-based panels each year, at which client representatives will discuss trends, upcoming projects, and expectations for the future of their industries.

This month, for example, OneAEC is hosting its Regional Healthcare Panel. It will feature Michael Nafzgar, director of facilities at Providence, and other industry experts.

Terri McRae, a founding member and now the executive director of OneAEC, says, “Of course, people in the AEC industry want to know about what’s coming up, what can I do to prepare for this, and how can I position myself?”

The group also holds two socials a year to provide members with networking opportunities.

McRae says OneAEC is different from other industry-specific groups—like the American Institute of Architects Spokane chapter, the Inland Northwest Associated General Contractors, and the Associated Builders & Contractors Inland Pacific chapter—in that it brings together members from across three different disciplines.

“They can potentially team on projects,” McRae says. “(Members) form these relationships that they might not have had otherwise.”

One event each year is usually focused on a marketing topic, like how to get media coverage, how to submit design awards, or architectural photography.

Marketing, after all, was the sole focus of the group when it started.

In the late ‘90s, it was becoming more common, and more necessary, for architects, engineers, and contractors to market their services and reach out for proposals and interviews, McRae explains.

“Everybody in a company is a marketer,” she says. “From the receptionist you meet when you go in the front door to the office manager to everybody. Anybody in a company can benefit from coming to our meetings.”

McRae worked at ALSC Architects when OneAEC first started. She, along with marketing professionals from companies including Integrus Architecture, NAC Architecture, Lydig Construction, Coffman Engineers, and Architects West would meet for lunch and bounce ideas off each other.

“And then we started thinking, well, maybe more people would be interested in that,” McRae says.

OneAEC was originally founded as Marketing Associates of Spokane.

The group began to grow and meetings became larger. At first, it was primarily attended by marketing professionals.

“But we saw a shift, in that principals of firms were getting more interested in our group and learning more about it,” McRae says.

The group shifted from only discussing marketing topics like how to use PowerPoint, or what to include on a website, to more of the client-based panel discussions. Principals and others were interested in how they can apply topics discussed at the events and develop their businesses and meet new clients, McRae says.

To better fit the scope of the organization, the name eventually changed to OneAEC.

In addition to the health care panel discussion, this year’s events also include a panel discussion about regional infrastructure, as well as an event focused on how artificial intelligence is impacting the architecture, engineering, and construction industries.

Those events are scheduled for September and October, respectively.

The roughly 100 individual members of OneAEC are mostly local, although there are some who come over from Seattle, McRae says.

Membership to the nonprofit costs $150 a year, and the events, which nonmembers can attend, cost $50 for members and $60 for others. Student discounts are also available.

As executive director, McRae hopes to continue growing membership, increasing visibility for the industries, and helping people perform better in their jobs.

OneAEC is funded by membership fees, event ticket sales, and sponsorships.

The membership total took a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic but has been climbing back up of late.

Despite the membership drop, the nonprofit is financially stable, McRae says.

McRae, who is the only founding member still actively involved with OneAEC, became the organization’s first-ever executive director in 2023, and is the group’s only paid employee.

After working at ALSC for over 35 years in various marketing roles, she left in 2022 and founded her own company, McRae Marketing + Design LLC.

McRae Marketing + Design works with architecture, engineering, and construction companies to help them with marketing.

“Often, it's with smaller firms who don't have the budget to have their own in-house marketing staff, so they reach out to us to help them put together proposals, or interviews, or websites, just a whole range of services we provide,” she says.