Brittany Hoffnagle has a M.S. in Coastal Marine and Wetland Studies from Coastal Carolina University. To complete her graduate degree, she utilized GIS and advanced analyses to assess geomorphological changes along the coastal shoreline and knew she wanted to incorporate GIS and advanced spatial data analyses in her career. Brittany is currently a Climate Resiliency Specialist at Woods Hole Group located in Bourne, Ma. At Woods Hole Group, Brittany helps clients assess climate change impacts and develop creative adaptation and resilience strategies, creates cartographic visualizations & graphics and manages the GIS processing and QA/QC procedures for Woods Hole Groups storm surge and sea level rise model. She has been attending NEARC conferences since 2016.
Pam DeAndrea joined the Vermont Agency of Transportation’s (VTrans) Mapping Section in 2021 as a GIS Professional, III. Her primary duties include updating the Vermont Roads data and providing Town Highway mapping services to Vermont municipalities and transportation analysis and mapping support to VTrans and other state agencies. Prior to her time in state government, she was with two Vermont Regional Planning Commissions: Central Vermont Regional Planning Commission (CVRPC) and Lamoille County Planning Commission (LCPC) where she was responsible for oversight of GIS and IT operations including but not limited to GIS program and project management, data management, spatial analysis, map creation, field data collection, web mapping and IT management and support. Pam built her GIS skills in the environmental consulting field working for Bear Creek Environmental, Inc and Stone Environmental, Inc. where she completed numerous field data collection and desktop studies utilizing ArcGIS technology. Pam holds a Master’s Degree in Water Resources from the University of Vermont where she first was exposed to GIS using ArcInfo as the teaching assistant for the Intro to GIS course. Pam also holds a BS in Environmental Geology from SUNY at New Paltz.
Nate Ward, GISP, is a Solution Architect at Terracon, an engineering firm. In this role, he serves to provide administration of the organization’s spatial infrastructure, systems, and data, while providing solutions and interoperability for projects, initiatives, applications, and client needs. He is an FAA certified remote pilot and helps lead the organization's unpersonned aircraft systems program. Nate holds a BA in Geography from the University of Vermont.
Katie Grillo, Past Chair Board of Directors: 2018-2024 Chair: 2020-2022 Phone: 617.349.9368
Katie Grillo has a BS in GIS and Environmental Studies from Central CT State University. After graduating, she moved towards a career in environmental conservation and community development at a volunteer travel organization. Her role lead her to participate in numerous projects in Costa Rica, Mexico, Thailand, and South Africa. After a couple years of working in outreach and recruitment, Katie decided she missed her life as a MapGirl and wanted to turn her focus back to GIS. She moved to the Boston area and has been with the City of Cambridge GIS for over five years. As a GIS Web Technology Specialist she is involved in a variety of different projects, primarily focusing on Story Maps, Interactive Maps, and 3D data and visualizations. She has been attending NEARC conferences since 2011, where she has done multiple presentations on Story Maps and her 3D work in Cambridge. She also served on the Host Committee when the Fall conference came to Falmouth, MA in 2016.
Erica Poisson Board of Directors: 2020-2023 Phone: 774.261.1814
Erica Poisson is the GIS Coordinator for Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation, Division of Water Supply Protection. She has been with DCR since 2017. In her role as GIS Coordinator, she is responsible for coordinating the direction of GIS in the Energy and Environmental Affairs secretariat with other Department GIS Coordinators, overseeing regional GIS staff, data development efforts, project development and management, administration of a mobile field data collection fleet and co-administration of a secretariat-wide ArcGIS Online account. Erica works directly with staff to develop and test field data collection solutions using Survey123 and Collector, and to develop decision-making tools for accessing and analyzing collected information. She also assists in the administration of the secretariat ArcGIS Enterprise system. Erica holds a BS from Eastern Connecticut State University in Environmental Earth Science and a Masters of Environmental Science and Management with a focus in GIS from the University of Rhode Island.
Anita Beinikis Board of Directors: 2022-2025 Phone 857.260.1016
Maps entered Anita Beinikis’ life when, to quell the backseat boredom of his kids, her road-tripping dad would toss a gas station road map into the back seat. While she still favors paper maps, as Regional GIS Coordinator for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Southeast Region, Anita’s current focus is the guiding of users from the ArcMap environment to ArcGIS Online applications. She particularly enjoys supporting program staff in their GIS skill development. Prior to her Regional GIS Coordinator position, Anita spent seven years at MassGIS, managing the statewide data library, producing maps, and encouraging the user community to hold to MassGIS standards. She earned her BA and MA in Geography from Binghamton University in New York. Anita returns to the Board for a second term after serving from 1997-1999. In addition, Anita was a host committee member for both Fall NEARC conferences in Falmouth, MA.
Rob Craig Board of Directors: 2022-2025
Rob Craig has a BS in Fisheries and Wildlife Science with a minor in GIS from Paul Smith’s College. While in college, Rob spent a summer studying the hyperspectral signature of subalpine meadows at the Rocky Mountain Biological Lab. After graduating, Rob worked for a pavement and asset management company assisting municipalities in using GIS to make capital improvement plans and spatially conscious spot repairs. Since joining the Town of Rockport, MA Department of Public Works, Rob has focused on updating the field mapping and reporting capabilities of the field crews and office staff using AGOL. Rob attended his first NEARC virtually in Fall 2021 and was excited to attend his first in-person event at the Mt Washington hotel for Fall NEARC 2022. He hopes that he can assist in growing the collaborative nature of NEARC and further the mission of users helping users.
William A. DiLibero, Esq., C.M. Legal Counsel Phone: 401.474.2904
William “Bill” DiLibero is the Legal Secretary and Legal Counsel for NEARC. He presently serves as the Executive Director of the Washington County Community Development Corporation in Wakefield, Rhode Island. He has previously served as the City Manager in Port Lavaca, Beeville and South Padre Island, Texas, the Town Administrator and Town Manager in Charlestown and Hopkinton, Rhode Island.
Bill was trained in GIS in 1987using ArcView Version 3.0. He became the first GIS Administrator for the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. He formed the 501 (c ) (3) for NEARC in 1995 and established the organization as a non-profit in the State of Rhode Island during that same time period. He has served as Legal Counsel for NEARC since it became a non-profit organization.
Bill holds a JD from New England School of Law and is admitted to the Texas, Massachusetts and Rhode Island Bars. He has a Masters in Geography from Clark University and Masters in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Miami. He received a Bachelor’s of Science from Worcester State College.