Jackson Free Press

Jackson-based architecture, interior design and planning firm Dean and Dean/Associates Architects named Angie Smith Brewer as the firm's director of marketing and business development on June 18.

Brewer, a Brandon resident, has more than 20 years of experience in mass media marketing, public relations and business management, and has negotiated projects with organizations such as BancorpSouth, the Mississippi State Department of Health, Visit Jackson and the Foundation for Excellence in Education.

In her new position, she will be responsible for bringing in clients and leads, as well as managing Dean and Dean's brand and marketing strategies.

Brewer, 42, was born in Pearl and graduated from Pearl High School before going to Hinds Community College, where she received an associate degree in business management in 1996. She then received a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1998.

She says her parents, Danny and Martha Smith, were her inspiration to enter the business world, ultimately pursuing a career in marketing.

"My parents have owned their own outdoor and indoor equipment-rental business, Pearl Rental Center, for more than 38 years," she says. "Watching them at work, I became interested in managing a business for myself from an early age. However, what eventually led me to go into marketing and advertising, instead of opening my own business, was the desire to do something to help organizations in my community prosper. I feel that where I am now puts me in a position to make the Jackson community a better place."

After graduating from USM, Brewer took a job as a media coordinator for Jackson advertising firm Maris, West & Baker. Over the next 20 years, she worked as the company's media buyer and planner, media director and community outreach coordinator, and was responsible for developing and executing the marketing campaigns for health care, government and educational entities, among other clients. Brewer accepted her current position with Dean and Dean in June 2018 but will continue serving as a consultant for Maris, West & Baker as needed.

"I was interested in Dean and Dean because it's a 69-year-old, third-generation family-owned company that has established itself as having a history of integrity and professionalism," she says. "Thanks to my parents, it being a family-owned business was a huge draw for me.

"Going forward, I want to use my new position to help Dean and Dean grow their brand visibility. Marketing is something that goes hand in hand with that, so growth and profitability will come along with it."

Brewer and her husband, Larry Brewer Jr., have been married for five years and have a 13-year-old daughter named Swayze.