Sarah Fowlkes manages client accounts for Army and Air Force clients at Jacobs, where her work sits at the intersection of strategy, execution, and relationship building. In parallel, she leads the Society of American Military Engineers San Antonio Post, where she has spent nearly a decade working to connect small businesses with federal opportunities and create practical pathways for firms outside the established network.
There are rooms where decisions get made before the meeting starts. Where the contract language is still being drafted, but everyone already knows who will be invited to respond. Sarah Fowlkes has sat in those rooms. She has also sat across from capable small firms who never made it past the first filter—not because they lacked expertise, but because they were not yet part of the network.
Her work at Jacobs places her in direct contact with Army and Air Force clients, managing accounts that demand both strategic oversight and operational precision. But it is her parallel role as President of the Society of American Military Engineers San Antonio Post that positions her at a different vantage point: one where the gaps in access become visible, and where the language of inclusion meets the mechanics of federal contracting.
She describes the challenge plainly. A small firm may have the right solution. They may have the capacity, the certifications, the technical depth. But if they are not already in the room, they often do not get the chance to present. The barrier is not capability. It is network proximity.
From Dripping Springs to Federal Clients
Fowlkes grew up in Dripping Springs, Texas, in a household shaped by entrepreneurial discipline. Her mother owned an environmental consulting firm, AmaTerra Environmental. Her father worked as an arborist for Davey Tree. Her brother later started an organic pasta business. The family culture was defined by building something from the ground up, by accountability, and by the understanding that nothing happens without follow-through.
She was involved in everything during high school: band, cheerleading, choir, theatre, student council, French club. She made varsity in both cheer and choir. The experience taught her how to manage time, work across different social structures, and navigate competing demands—skills that would later translate directly into her professional life.
She studied biology at St. Edward’s University in Austin, originally on a pre-med track. While in school, she worked as a pharmacy technician at Walgreens and later at 38th Street Pharmacy. The role required precision and accountability. There was no margin for error. She absorbed the discipline of that environment and carried it forward.
After graduating in 2012, she did not pursue medical school. Instead, she moved into teaching, working in third grade, fifth grade, and high school classrooms at Lockhart ISD. The transition was abrupt, but it taught her how to communicate complex ideas, manage groups, and adapt quickly when things did not go according to plan.
In 2017, she joined her mother’s firm, AmaTerra Environmental, as a Business Development Coordinator and Marketing Specialist. The shift from teaching to business development was significant. She learned how to identify opportunities, build relationships with potential clients, and coordinate the operational side of proposal development. It was here that she began to see how strategy, relationships, and execution connected—and how gaps in one area could stall progress in another.
Moving Into Federal Contracting
After seven years at AmaTerra, Fowlkes transitioned briefly to Environmental Research Group, LLC, where she served as Operations Coordinator and Marketing Specialist. In January 2024, she joined Jacobs as a Client Account Manager supporting Army and Air Force clients.
At Jacobs, her role involves managing client relationships, coordinating across project teams, and ensuring alignment between client needs and deliverables. The company is a global architecture, engineering, and consulting firm recognized as one of ENR’s Top Design Firms. The work requires both strategic thinking and operational rigor. Fowlkes describes her approach as relationship-based: understanding what clients need, identifying where coordination is breaking down, and ensuring that execution follows intent.
She states that her background in education and business development gave her a different lens. She learned to think about how people understand information, how teams stay aligned, and how follow-through determines whether good ideas actually move forward.
Leading SAME San Antonio
In parallel with her work at Jacobs, Fowlkes has spent nearly a decade involved with the Society of American Military Engineers, a nonprofit volunteer organization that connects military, government, and private-sector professionals in the engineering and construction fields. She has served on the SAME San Antonio Post Board of Directors for eight years and will serve as Post President in 2026.
Her leadership within SAME has been recognized at both the regional and national levels. In 2023, she received the SAME Regional Vice President Medal and the SAME National Post Small Business Liaison Officer Award. The latter reflects her sustained focus on creating pathways for small businesses within the federal contracting ecosystem.
She describes her work with SAME as relational and incremental. It is not about one event or one meeting. It is about building relationships over time, creating opportunities for introductions, and helping small firms understand how federal programs work and where they can engage.
She has observed that most people want to support small businesses. But intention does not always translate into action. The difference, she notes, lies in consistent, practical steps: making introductions, attending events, sharing information about upcoming projects, and creating space for firms that are not yet in the established network.
Barriers That Are Not Always Visible
Fowlkes has witnessed firsthand the structural barriers that prevent capable small firms from accessing larger projects or federal work. She describes sitting in rooms where a small firm had the right solution but did not even get a chance to present. The issue was not capability. It was network access.
She emphasizes that small businesses are a significant part of the architecture and engineering industry. But they do not always have the same access to information, relationships, or opportunities. The playing field is not level by default. It requires intentional effort to create pathways that allow smaller firms to compete on merit.
Her advocacy is practical rather than rhetorical. She does not call for sweeping policy changes or broad gestures. Instead, she focuses on small actions that professionals can take: introducing a small firm to a project manager, attending a SAME event, sharing information about federal contracting programs, or including smaller firms in the conversation before decisions are finalized.
She states that the biggest thing she has learned is that nothing happens in isolation. If people are not aligned, even good ideas stall. Progress requires coordination, follow-through, and a willingness to create space for firms that are not yet in the room.
A Career Built Step by Step
Fowlkes did not enter the architecture and engineering industry through a traditional path. Her background in biology, pharmacy, education, and business development gave her a breadth of experience that shaped how she approaches client management and strategic coordination. She describes herself as someone who has always been drawn to roles where she can connect people and make things run better.
Her career trajectory reflects adaptability and long-term thinking. She moved from teaching to business development to federal client management, learning different skills at each stage and applying them in new contexts. The thread that runs through her work is relationship building, execution focus, and a commitment to creating alignment between what people say they want and what actually happens.
She states that a lot of people have good intentions. But the difference is in the follow-through. That is where things either move forward or stall.
Looking Ahead with Sarah Fowlkes
As Fowlkes prepares to assume the presidency of the SAME San Antonio Post in 2026, her focus remains on practical action and sustained engagement. She continues to work with small businesses, federal clients, and industry professionals to create opportunities that are based on merit rather than proximity to established networks.
Her message is direct: supporting small businesses does not require major structural change. It requires consistent, small actions done over time. It requires professionals who are willing to make introductions, share information, and create space for firms that are capable but not yet connected.
She remains committed to the work of building networks that open doors, not just for the firms that are already inside, but for those still trying to get in.
