Amy McGeady, PhD CPP APMP Fellow (Class of 2011)
Senior Vice President, Strategic Services
Shipley Associates
Bio
Amy has been a proposal manager and writer, a proposal center director in a Fortune 100 company, a small business owner, nonprofit CEO, an executive leader, and a board member. She is currently the Senior Vice President of Strategic Services for Shipley Associates, where she leads Shipley’s efforts to help companies optimize business development practices for sustainable winning results and successful teams. This practice is centered on the Business Development Capability Maturity Model (BD-CMM), which provides a framework to support business growth through well-defined, proven growth paths. Amy joined Shipley in 2022.
Prior to joining Shipley Associates, Amy was the Chief Executive Officer of It’s Time Texas, a statewide health and wellness nonprofit organization. She provided strategic, operational, and financial leadership, leading the organization in securing $12.5M in government funding and $1.3M in grants in a three-year period. She built an executive team and led the organization’s strategies for enhancing board diversity and building the capacity for inclusive leadership.
Amy is a past Chair of APMP's International Board of Directors and a founding member of the former Central Texas Chapter. She co-chaired BPC Chicago in 2014. She recently rejoined the APMP International Board of Directors in January 2023.
In her time as a proposal professional at Lockheed Martin IMS/ACS and then as a co-owner of a Texas-based proposal consulting firm, she helped organizations win billions of dollars in government funding on a wide range of pursuits: health and human services IT, workforce services, design/build, modeling and simulation, architecture and engineering, supply chain logistics.
She earned her master's and doctorate degrees from Purdue University and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
Although Amy’s career path has taken some interesting twists and turns, she’s maintained a consistent focus on helping people and organizations be strategic about their growth. Amy loves spending time with her husband, John, and their two adult children. She loves traveling, camping, doing yoga, playing board games, and talking to her sister every day.
What does being an APMP Fellow mean to you?
I’m honored to be an APMP Fellow. For me, this speaks to the power of building strong networks and immersing myself in professional learning and development. I became a Fellow when I was doing everything I could to learn about this profession and taking on any volunteer role I could to contribute to supporting others in their growth and development. When I think of being a Fellow, I think of all the great people I’ve learned from and with throughout my career, and I am humbled that they wanted to recognize this through an APMP Fellow award.
What's your best memory from attending an APMP event?
Years ago, I led a fireside chat with the woman who brought the Super Bowl to Dallas. It was outside my comfort zone, for sure, but it was a great conversation. Being a lifelong Texan, this was especially meaningful for me.
What advice do you have for a proposal professional entering our field?
Get involved. Take charge of your own professional development. When you don't know the answer, ask. When you want to stretch and grow, put yourself in positions (even if you have to do this outside of your day job) to try new things and challenge yourself. Be part of a community of people who support your growth. Get to know others in this field - there are a lot of kind, friendly, smart people who will be more than happy to welcome you to APMP and other groups where you can build a network.
Anything else you would like to share?
Make sure to spend time doing the things that light you up! Any role in proposals and business development will be pretty involved. Remember who you are by spending time with people you love, and doing things you enjoy. Trust me. You'll not only be happier, but you'll also be more successful!
