Editor’s Note: Time to vote! The election window closes at the end of December 2018.  Please note the two candidate statements (for the NSPS office of VP), re-posted today on xyHt.com. The National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS) will be holding its annual election of officers in December of 2018. NSPS members will be notified by the NSPS prior to the election with details on how to vote and deadlines. xyHt annually extends an invitation for any and all candidates to submit candidate statements for publication. Here is the candidate statement from Amanda J. Allred, PLS, who has put her hat in the ring for the office of NSPS Vice President. VPs often progress to President-elect and then President of the NSPS. Learn about your NSPS candidates and be prepared for December’s vote.

Candidate Statement – Amanda J. Allred, PLS:

As president elect of NSPS it would be one of my goals to see the organization partner with state societies to bring a National Surveying Conference to a region.  The Western Federation of Professional Surveyors (WestFed) for example, has built a fantastic relationship working closely with a group of states to bring a larger scale conference to a central location. 

I believe this can also be accomplished on a national level to gather several states, bring in large sponsors and also use this as an opportunity to reach out to the GIS community. Including GIS professionals under the umbrella of surveying is not a lost agenda item in my mind.  This is a necessary step to insure quality data for all end users and I have seen this work first hand in Alaska where the University of Alaska Anchorage has two paths to becoming either a GIS professional or professional land surveyor where all students get exposed to both disciplines.  

Exposure to the quality, precision and depth of knowledge that a professional land surveyor brings to the table is key to the basic education of the GIS professional.  They also take this one step further in Alaska by having both groups attend their state conference where, for instance, ESRI educational tools are taught right alongside PLS courses in adjacent rooms. 

We as professional land surveyors must continually expand our influence and knowledge base to the so called “ignorant masses” (as some characterize non-surveyors; perhaps not the best way to foster outreach to our clients and young people considering entering the profession).  In this day and age, it is a vital step to keeping our industry alive and well.

Biography:

Amanda Allred, PLS has worked in the land surveying industry for more than 20 years.  She’s from southwestern New Mexico and graduated from New Mexico State University with a degree in Surveying Engineering and from the University of Alaska Anchorage with a degree in Geomatics. 

Her experience includes working for the Bureau of Land Management in the Alaska and New Mexico field offices, conducting original boundary surveys and dependent re-surveys.  She’s a licensed professional land surveyor in six western states: Alaska, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and Nevada.  Amanda also owned and operated her own land surveying firm in Silver City, New Mexico for a number of years conducting boundary surveys, construction staking, and design for large-scale mining reclamation projects, water rights, mining claims and utility surveys. 

As the National Society of Professional Surveyors has grown in recent years with increased participation from young professionals, Amanda has been active in her state’s professional surveyor association (where she has served as president and as the NSPS director).  She was also on the national executive board of directors and chairman of the NSPS Western States Director’s Council.

In 2016 Amanda was listed as one of xyHt Magazines 40 under 40 remarkable geospatial professionals. She is currently employed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers and is the District Land Surveyor for the Walla Walla District in Washington State.  Her position oversees all land surveying activities for the development of water resources projects on the Columbia and Snake rivers.