Alumni Profiles

If you are a recent grad and would like to submit your profile, please email Dr. Hanna!

Dr. Finlayson’s World Regional Geography course sparked Hailey’s love for geography, moving her to become a student aide, Geography Club officer, and to take Remote Sensing, Hazards & Resilience, and Dr. Bowen’s Conservation Seminar. Through internships, individual studies, and faculty support, Hailey discovered her passion: environmental outreach and the human-environment relationship. Hailey is the Assistant Coordinator for the Virginia Conservation Assistance Program (VCAP) at the Virginia Association of Soil & Water Conservation Districts. She works with district field staff, conducts training programs, reviews stormwater management projects, and provides policy guidance for districts.
Hailey Cooke, 2025
Anders works as a Swedish Toponymist with Leidos where he supports the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) by updating and maintaining the Geography Names Database. During his time at Mary Wash, Anders held internships with the NGA's Human Geography team. He majored in both Geography and Political Science.
Anders Barretta, 2025
Elisa is a Junior Geospatial Analyst with BlackSky. Her work includes image analysis, monitoring and tracking, and satellite tasking. An internship at Blacksky while she was a student prepared her for this work in geospatial intelligence. The Geography major at Mary Wash gave Elisa a strong foundation in physical geography, GIS, and climate science. She also was president of the Geography Club and served as the assistant to the AAG’s Cartography Editor. Elisa's experiences on several research projects also prepared her for her current job. These included creating a Story Map for the National Park Service and modeling the Venturi Effect on wind movement on UMW’s campus.
Elisa Luckabaugh, 2024
Devin is a GIS Analyst with Wolf Creek Federal Services He works as a contractor for the US Army at Fort Greely, Alaska, where he manages the base’s geospatial data, does field mapping, and prepares maps that meet the requirements of his different clients on the base. At Mary Wash, Devin focused his classwork in physical geography and GIS. He also gained valuable experience through internships with Friends of the Rappahannock, where he surveyed stormwater systems, and with SkyTruth where he tracked environmental incidents by analyzing remotely sensed imagery.
Devin Thigpen, 2023
Gabrielle is a Business Development Representative for VertiGIS. Studying geography showed Gabrielle how spatial thinking can solve real-world problems and connect data, people and place. Courses such as Geopolitics and a seminar on conservation movements - as well as hands-on labs and projects - sparked her appreciation for conservation, provided technical expertise, and gave her communication skills she uses to bridge the gaps between technology and people. At VertiGIS, Gabrielle builds relationships with utility organizations and helps them see how mapping, spatial analysis and real-time data make their work more efficient and impactful.
Gabrielle Domina, 2023
Leda Hinkle: Transportation Planner with FAMPO in the City of Fredericksburg, VA. Although rooted in Geospatial Analysis, Leda attributes much of her success to courses such as Qualitative Methods in Geography and a seminar in Global Protest Movements that promoted critical thinking, research skills, and community building. These classes empowered Leda to be creative and take initiative as regional transportation planner. In her work at the Fredericksburg Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, Leda helps local leaders make informed decisions about transportation, manages the region’s bicycle and pedestrian counter program, and performs spatial analysis using travel demand modeling.
Leda Hinkle, 2024
Yash is a Solutions Engineer with Esri. Being a geography major allowed Yash to feel seen and to see the world in new ways. Intro to Human Geography opened her eyes to how individuals interact with and shape their surroundings. She credits much of her success to the close relationships built with her professors. The GISC certificate paired well with Yash’s passion for Geography and both prepared her to succeed as an Esri Solutions Engineer who works with nonprofits around the word. She meets with customers to explore how GIS can become a core tool for these organizations.
Yash Kandula, 2022
John works as a GIS Analyst and Consultant for Motivf in Salt Lake City, Utah where he specializes in contributing expertise in GIS applications, cartography, and data-driven storytelling to create maps and other products for clients. At Mary Wash, John was able to gain the holistic approach that both a Liberal Arts School and Geography program provides. John worked alongside Dr. Hanna on the Fredericksburg Civil Rights Trail which he described as “an eye-opening experience that enabled me to have real life impact using the power of maps.”
John Liberty, 2022
Eleanor is a Transportation Demand Management Consultant, with Arlington Transportation Partners Eleanor works with employers, commercial properties, and multi-family residential properties to reduce carbon emissions by advocating for commutes utilizing public transit, ride sharing, biking, and walking. Majoring in Geography, with a minor in Urban Studies, Ellie found that courses such as Human Geography, the Nature of Cities, and the Geographies of Children gave her a deep appreciate for how people interact with their environment - an appreciation that informs her work at Arlington Transportation Partners.
Eleanor Heil, 2022
Delaney works as a Geospatial Analyst for Dewberry in Fairfax, Virginia where she conducts geospatial analyses and develops GIS applications and solutions. In addition, she works as a manger overseeing projects, writing proposals and supervising other analysts. At Mary Wash, Delaney earned her GIS certificate while majoring in Historic Preservation. Her advice to students is to always tie in GIS to any projects they do. Her background in Historic Preservation and GIS got her an initial internship that led to a job after graduation at Dewberry.
Delaney Resweber, 2021
As Vance County’s GIS Administrator in North Carolina, Hannah creates, updates, and analyzes GIS data for County employees, surrounding municipalities, and the public. She also identifies needs and implements GIS improvements for the County. At UMW, Hannah combined her major in Geography with the GISC certificate which taught her to use and apply GIS to many different applications. She credits faculty for supporting her creativity and self-sufficiency - characteristics she finds extremely important when working with constantly changing GIS technologies.
Hanna Huggins, 2020
As a cartographer for the US Marine Corps, Kelsey makes everything from large scale utility maps to simple directional maps for a wide variety of divisions and offices at Quantico. Kelsey's passion for mapmaking started in high school, and she expanded her interests by majoring in geography and earning UMW's GIS Certificate. During her last year at Mary Wash, Kelsey interned with Apex Clean Energy, which allowed her to apply her GIS skills to solving problems related to renewable energy generation in Virginia.
Kelsey Chavers, 2020
Summers is a GIS Analyst with Blue Raster, a GIS consulting company. After graduating with a BA in Geography in 2016, she completed her MSGA degree in 2018. While pursuing her masters, she worked as a GIS technician at Crow's Nest Natural Area Preserve; afterwards, she worked for the Virginia Outdoors Foundation. At Blue Raster, she provides geospatial solutions for the National Park Service's Inventory and Monitoring Division.
Summers Cleary, 2016 & 2018
Andrew is a Survey Statistician, with the International Programs Center at the US Census Bureau. At the Census Bureau, Andrew works on technically interesting GIS and geography projects during visits to National Statistics Offices across the globe. While overseas, he helps these agencies successfully carry out surveys and censuses. Majoring in Geography at Mary Washington gave Andrew the well-rounded education that propelled him into this career. Human geography courses and a study-abroad semester in Samoa helped him as a Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroon. Andrew combined these experiences with skills learned in UMW GIS courses when completing his master’s in GIS at Clark University.
Andrew Walz, 2014

Click on the photo to learn more about each alumnus:

Taylor Ford
Taylor Ford ’16
Jonathan Steenberg
Jonathan Steenberg ’14
Amanda Waggoner BA '17, MSGA '20
Amanda Waggoner BA ’17, MSGA ’20
Jacqueline Nova '13
Jacqueline Nova ’13

Kait Brogan
Kait Brogan ’18
Meagan Kishman '13
Meagan Kishman ’13
Christina Rodriguez '19
Christina Rodriguez ’19
Sarah Bond '17
Sarah Bond ’17
Phil Devine
Phil Devine ’18
Adam Hager '14
Adam Hager ’14
John Bentley BA '17, MSGA '18
John Bentley BA ’17, MSGA ’18
Sequoi Phipps '18
Sequoi Phipps ’18