Dewberry is pleased to announce that Elise MacPherson, PMP, has been promoted to associate in the firm's Tampa, Florida, office.

MacPherson has more than 20 years of experience in the geospatial industry, specializing in lidar, photogrammetry, and other remote sensing projects. She has led geospatial projects for a variety of local, state, and federal clients throughout the U.S., including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). She was one of the first data analysts in the lidar profession and was instrumental in developing data processing methods, marketing for commercial purposes, and training new entrants to the industry.

She recently led USGS' and NOAA's El Niño lidar data collection and processing project for the complete western coastline of the U.S. and NOAA's Chukchi and East Siberian Surveys to monitor polar bears and seals in the Arctic. Additionally, she is working as the project manager on numerous tasks, including the NOAA National Geodetic Survey's Gravity for the Redefinition of the American Vertical Datum initiative, 50,000 square miles of lidar data collection and processing for USGS in Texas, and lidar data collection for USGS and FEMA Region IX in Mendocino County, California.

MacPherson earned her bachelor's degree in environmental science from Queen's University. She is a member of the Project Management Institute and earned her Project Management Professional accreditation in 2013.