Founded in 1997, Dawson & Associates is the nation’s premier government relations and public affairs firm for defense, transportation, water and natural resource environmental permitting. The company includes more than 30 former federal and state officials, including former Members of Congress H.L. “Sonny” Callahan, Ralph Regula, Martin Lancaster, and John Myers.
For more than a decade, Schmitt has overseen several of the largest water and development projects in the Southeast. As a Senior Division Administrator for the Collier County (FL) government, he led a staff of between 200 and 300 overseeing all aspects of the County’s planning, zoning, engineering and environmental reviews. This included a widely praised rural growth plan that balanced wetlands protection with agricultural and development interests.
Prior to that, his 30-year career in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers culminated in serving as Commander of the Corps’ Savannah District where he oversaw construction operations at hydropower plants, deep-water ports and regional waterways throughout Georgia and the Carolinas.
His efforts to streamline operations improved customer satisfaction ratings by 20% while reducing cost and time growth by 10%.
Most recently, he was Chief of Staff and Project Manager at the Defense Department’s Logistics Civil Augmentation Program, which provided support services for U.S. combat, peacekeeping, and humanitarian operations.
Schmitt has a Master of Science in Construction Engineering Management from Oregon State University, a Master of Science in Systems Management from the University of Southern California and a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University in Washington DC.