Her Story
About Deirdre
Deirdre Seling is a trade association management professional based in Washington, DC. She has worked at Smart Policy Group for four years, beginning as an intern after completing a state government internship with Delegate David Bolivar in the Virginia State General Assembly, where her focus included protecting the Chesapeake watersheds and advancing environmental conservation priorities. Seling holds a bachelor's degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. Her responsibilities include overseeing publications and reports for members, managing social media, reviewing legislative papers, and planning in-person events for up to 300 attendees. She brings a graphic design specialty to her role that helped secure her position. Seling is active in the U.S. Biochar Coalition, the U.S. Circular Economy Coalition, the American Biomass Energy Association, the National Energy Resources Organization (NARO), and the Loudoun County Democrats.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Deirdre
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The partner in my firm told me when I first started working for her to keep the mouth closed and the ears open. Especially if you're young or just got brought into the field, you really learn the most just by listening and seeing what others are doing, not only what others are doing successfully, but what also doesn't work. Let the actions speak for themselves. The best thing to do sometimes is just to sit back, listen, think about everything, and then come up with a more delivered and well-thought-out response.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Try a little bit of everything. I went in with no graphic design experience whatsoever, but just because I grew up with technology around me and because I've always been able to use it so efficiently, it was a talent that I did not realize that I had until I was tasked by my job to do so. And then that opened more doors for me by honing in on that craft. So really just see what you can do, try a little bit of everything, and see if it works or not.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Given the times of uncertainty right now in regards to policy and in regards to regulation, there seems to be a lot of silos. What my firm and also others are hoping to accomplish in DC is to break down those silos and to make it less polarizing as well so that we can come in the middle and really work out on issues and just work on legislation as it comes by. There's a lot of stuff on hold right now so it's also just sort of like a waiting pattern and trying to encourage others to get off of the sidelines. Getting people involved, not only whether they can be involved and whether they can pay to do so, but trying to also encourage others to be politically active while they're trying to make sure that their business is successful.
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