Our history of providing land surveying services to our clients dates back to our founding. Historically, surveying has a been a male-dominated field. It wasn’t until the mid-1800s when the first female surveyor, Alice Fletcher, broke the proverbial glass ceiling of the profession. Alice paved the way for women around the U.S. to consider surveying as a career option. Over the next several decades, the inclusion of women in the field has slowly risen, and we’re proud to support that growth.

Additionally, our team of geospatial and technology services professionals has grown significantly in recent years, and we’re so excited to have welcomed many women to the organization serving in these roles. With the recent purchase of our CZMIL and Riegl sensors, so too came the need for sensor operators, and the women of our organization have certainly answered the call.

What better way to help pave the way for future women in surveying and geospatial jobs than to hear why today’s women of the profession love it and how they ended up here.

Seizing an Opportunity: Lisa Peterson, PE, PLS, CME

Lisa, who is a business unit manager in our Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, office, followed her career path to surveying when she saw how difficult it was to find a surveyor with large route experience. When she started with Dewberry in 2002, she worked on proposed right-of-way assignments. “Our former New Jersey survey lead took the time to explain the surveying process to me and the importance of setting the deed mosaics and the evidence hierarchy process. I learned to plot deeds under his supervision for the Route 80/287 interchange improvement project. After his retirement, there was a real need in our office to have a surveyor with large route experience. So I discussed my career goals to obtain licensure with my supervisor, enrolled in a survey program, and the rest is history!”

Following a Passion: Lavoss “Renee” Thomas

Renee started down the path of civil engineering by way of structural engineering. She interned in college as an environmental engineer student trainee for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for two years. Upon graduating from Morgan State University, she worked as a structural engineer, designing residential and commercial spaces. However, something just didn’t feel right. After speaking with her parents, they encouraged her to find something she was passionate about. So, she went back to school and started over. “I went back to school, re-training my thought pattern, while also knowing this field has not seen many that look like me in the trenches. Over 15 years later, I still get excited about what I do. With a career in surveying, everyday offers the opportunity to discover something new, whether it’s an unknown utility or an unknown ruin going back 100 years. I hope maybe the doors I have walked through are forever open for others like me to feel comfortable following in my footsteps.”

Gaining the Right Tools: Solymar Arribas-Colon

Solymar, office surveys coordinator in Lanham, Maryland, has been surveying for 13 years. Plans to be a civil or electrical engineer changed in college when she fell in love with surveying and graduated in 2009 with her surveying and topography degree. She moved to Maryland from Puerto Rico looking for better opportunities in the field. “Throughout my career I have worked on many different types of projects. Surveying has provided me the tools to pay more attention to details and minimize mistakes, as much as possible, while developing my physical and mental abilities to help engineers, planners, architects, and builders. Dewberry has provided the opportunity to rise as a project manager and I plan to continue my way up and obtain my license in the near future. Surveying runs in my family and I hope the future generation follows my footsteps and gets even further.”

Answering the Call to Help: Jill Campbell

Jill transferred into the Raleigh, North Carolina, surveying group when the survey department needed a helping hand and is now a crew leader overseeing multiple jobs. “As I started working in the field, I had a lot of great teachers help me along on my journey. The most rewarding part of being a crew leader, in my opinion, is being able to pass that on—pay it forward—so to speak. I enjoy teaching others, and I’m a firm believer that the stronger and more knowledgeable your team is, the better you work together.”

Family Traditions: Teresa Hoblitzell

Teresa, a crew leader in Raleigh, was introduced to surveying and found her calling when she helped her brother, also a surveyor, one summer during college. It was during that time that Teresa fell in love with the field. When the summer ended and she returned to college, Teresa continued to work for the survey group part-time. “I really enjoy the ability to have my ‘office’ outside. If you enjoy math and working outside, this job is for you!”

Getting Paid to Play Outside: Allison McDade, PLS

Allison, a project surveyor in Lanham, was introduced to surveying when her (now husband) invited her to work with him. “I remember thinking this has got to be the greatest job: getting paid to play outside. I majored in geography in college and could see how surveying fit in with my interests. When a position opened up in his company, I jumped at it. I learned one step at a time. I was first hired to do land records research, in the world before the internet. I traveled to every county courthouse in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and occasionally Virginia and Delaware, where I had to learn the system of each county. I learned to do field work, then drafting, first by hand and eventually CAD. I worked at small surveying companies to start with, so joining Dewberry brought many new opportunities, and I was encouraged to set new career goals. Becoming licensed as a professional land surveyor in 2020 was a proud moment for me.”

I remember thinking this has got to be the greatest job: getting paid to play outside. I majored in geography in college and could see how surveying fit in with my interests." Allison McDade

Discovering GIS: Victoria Celiberti

Victoria has a bachelor’s degree in information studies, and before Dewberry, she was a retail store manager. That’s when she started searching for a master’s program. “That’s when I discovered the world of GIS…and I haven’t looked back since! I joined Dewberry as a geospatial analyst performing 1:2400 lidar edits in December of 2020 and was fortunate enough to be selected as a sensor operator through hard work and attention to detail.”

Computer Science to Music to GIS: Kate Tombillo

Kate’s path to getting where she is today was nothing short of circuitous. She started out as a computer science major/music minor. Kate ended up with a bachelor’s degree in communication arts with an emphasis in theatre and a minor in art and the environment. “During my last semester, I studied abroad at James Cook University in Townsville, Australia. I took all kinds of fun courses, but the one I loved the most was an intro to geography course. I remember calling my mom, basically telling her I’d just spent four years in college, and I wanted to do something else. A couple years later received a geography degree from West Virginia University. Everything I learned about lidar, I’ve learned from Dewberry. It never even crossed my radar when I was in college that this is something I would fall in love with.”

A New Perspective: Claire Breeden

For Claire, GIS allowed her to tap into her interest in arts and science as she created map posters on topics related to environmental science, sociology, planning, and economics during college. “Now, I spend my time operating our Riegl VQ- 1560 II-S lidar system. The job requires a lot of hands-on hours, but has taken me across the country, exploring terrain from a unique vantage point–5,000 feet above sea level. My first trip in Indio, California, was a rewarding time filled with desert heat, mountains, and lots of time in the sky. Watching the intense sunrises over the valley made the night flights worth it. We typically make two lifts in a day; when we are flying, I operate a system that instructs the pilot regarding flight lines and a system that controls the sensor and acquires accurate data.”

A New Appreciation for Data: Cheyenne Hinson

Cheyenne earned her bachelor’s in marine science and biology from the University of Tampa, where she took a course under Dewberry Senior GIS Professional Al Karlin, who introduced her to the team in our Tampa, Florida, office. “I was interested in the topobathy, seagrass mapping, and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) work. Little did I know that this would lead to a full-time analyst position as well as becoming a sensor operator! I have been at Dewberry now for nearly three years, and it has been interesting to explore all of the avenues that are available in the field of GIS. Plus, being up there in the plane gives you a whole new perspective of the data we analyze in the office.”

A Broad Industry with Limitless Application: Colleen Walsh

While working towards her bachelor’s in environmental science and coastal management, Colleen took her first GIS course and quickly learned what a broad industry it is with limitless applications. “The ability to enact change through this informational visual medium holds a lot of power. I went on to earn a master’s in coastal and ocean policy with a concentration in GIS application. I received a lot of field training on research ships with single beam echosounders, sonar, magnetometers, and creating beach profiles using survey equipment. I discovered that I am a fast learner when it comes to operating equipment and machinery.”

There are many more empowering stories of surveyors and geospatial professionals (plus all the other professionals we have, like architects, engineers, designers, and consultants) across the company who contribute greatly to our organization’s success.

If it weren’t for the many women who’ve taken risks, blazed trails, and overcome obstacles, we wouldn’t be where we are today.