Our Programs

 Anna Rios, RPLS is the Owner of Aerios Geo LLC, the Founder of the Women Surveyors Summit, Member of both the National and Texas Society of Professional Surveyors, Former Texas Young Surveyor State Representative and recently served as an Adjunct Professor for Austin Community College. She remains active on many committees to promote the Land Surveying and Geospatial profession. Anna has been in the surveying profession since 2001 and her background includes experience in a wide variety of surveying services encompassing commercial, residential, and municipal projects. She is licensed in Texas and received the Texas Young Surveyor of the Year award in 2019. Anna earned her Associate Degree of Land Surveying/Geomatics from Austin Community College and her Bachelor Degree of Science in Business Administration from LeTourneau University.

Heather Sides, RPLS is the Vice President at LJA Surveying, Inc. with offices in ten locations around Texas. She is a member of the National (NSPS) and Texas (TSPS) Society of Professional Surveyors, the North Dakota State Professional Land Surveyors, and the Woman Pipeliners Association. Heather is a Past President of TSPS at the State level, a Past President of the Gulf Coast Chapter, and serves on numerous committees. She has been working in the Houston surveying field since 2002. Heather has experience working for land development engineering firms, pipeline surveying firms, and upstream surveying firms.  Heather holds survey licenses in Texas, North Dakota, and is a Certified Federal Surveyor. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Architectural Engineering from Kansas State University in 1996.

 Virginia Winberg, PLS is a Survey Project Manager and the Survey Leader for the Minneapolis power division survey team at Westwood Professional Services. She has also served as a Board Director for the Minnesota Society of Professional Surveyors (MSPS), participating in both MSPS’s YP group and local chapters. Virginia has 16 years of experience in the land surveying profession. Her professional background includes preparing surveys for utility scale solar and wind farms, power delivery, and substations in both PLSS and metes/bounds states. 

Virginia holds survey licenses in Minnesota, Virginia, and Kentucky. She earned her Certificate of Land Surveying from St. Cloud University in 2008 and her Bachelor of Science in Geography from Bemidji State University in 2001.

Alicia Tabachnick is a Licensed Land Surveyor in New York and North Carolina with over 24 years of experience in the industry. She specializes in ALTA/NSPS Land Title Surveys, providing critical support for real estate and development projects. Alicia also brings her expertise to Boundary and Topographic Surveying supporting a wide range of engineering and development projects.

Beyond her professional work, Alicia is passionate about fostering the next generation of surveyors. As a board member of the Future Surveyors Foundation, she is dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion in Surveying and Geospatial Engineering, helping to create opportunities for underrepresented groups in the field.

Alicia has lived in North Carolina for the past six years and is active in several networking organizations related to her professional industry, local community, and women in leadership. She is also a second-year mentor with Wake Invests in Women (WIiW), supporting career growth and leadership development for women in the workforce.

When not immersed in surveying or mentoring, Alicia enjoys cooking, gardening and, reading fiction, fantasy, and sci-fi books, often accompanied by a good cup of tea. At home, she shares her life with her spouse and two beloved cats, embracing both professional fulfillment and personal passions.

Jose A. Pedraza, RPLS has 13 years of experience and has worked across the world on a variety of projects. He began surveying through the Texas Army National Guard, with missions taking him across the State of Texas, to the Chilean Patagonia, and to the various countries in the Middle East. He has worked in various roles throughout the Greater Houston Area and is currently the Survey Director at Stuart Consulting Group, Inc. Jose is also an Adjunct Instructor teaching various Land Surveying courses at Lone Star College – Montgomery.   

Jose has been and continues to be a volunteer educator for those taking the Fundamentals of Surveying Exam through the Houston RPLS/SIT Study Groups. He is also still enlisted in the National Guard, through which he has participated in various community relief efforts, civil disturbance operations, and disaster recovery missions throughout the State.

Jose has a Master of Business Administration, from The University of Texas at Tyler, 2020, a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, from The University of Texas at Tyler, 2019 and an Associate of Applied Science, Land Surveying and Mapping Technology, Lone Star College – Montgomery, 2015.

Trent's surveying career started when he was 19 and now spans over thirty (30) years, including ten (10) years in the public sector working for a large utility company and twenty (20) years in the private sector, with 17+ of the 20 years being the President / Founder of Diamondback Land Surveying. He has served through all officer positions of both the Southern Chapter and State Association of NALS (Nevada Association of Land Surveyors), received the Meritorious Service Award for NALS in 2013, and was honored as the NALS Surveyor of the Year (2015) as well as receiving the Von Schmidt Award for 2021, Presidential Citation from NSPS for his work on the NSPS Workforce Development Committee in 2023 and received the inaugural Humanitarian of the Year Award for a local charity (Mondays Dark) in 2023. He is a past-President of NALS (2015), Current Editor of The Nevada Traverse Publication (NALS), Current Chair-Elect for the WestFed (The Western Federation of Professional Surveyors ) Board, current Director from NALS, Current Secretary of The Nevada Land Surveyors Education Foundation Board (NLSEF), Current Chair of NSPS Workforce Development Committee, Board member on the NSPS Trig-Star Board, Moderator/ Facilitator/ Founder of Mentoring Mondays & Wisdom Wednesdays for the Land Surveying Profession, Moderator/ Facilitator for Round Table Tuesdays,  and a proud sponsor and brand ambassador for Get Kids Into Survey (GKiS) as well as President for the West Coast Get Kids Into Survey Franchise.  He is currently licensed in 6 Western States (Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah & Washington). He is also a Certified Federal Surveyor and a Nevada Water Rights Surveyor. He has been an active board member of NALS since 2007 and a regular member since 1997.