Anne Hale Miglarese, president of Fugro EarthData, Inc., was appointed by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne to serve as chairperson of the newly created National Geospatial Advisory Committee. Comprising experts from government, the private sector, and academia, Miglarese, along with other committee members, will provide advice and guidance on the direction of geospatial policy at the national level.

“Serving as chair of this group is a tremendous honor,” Miglarese said. “My fellow committee members are among the best and brightest in the geospatial community. By working together, we have a unique opportunity to share our different perspectives, experiences, and expertise to the benefit of federal geospatial programs.”

Miglarese will share committee leadership responsibilities with Vice-Chair Steven Wallach of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and will report to the chair of the Federal Geographic Data Committee. Meeting three to four times a year, one of the group’s primary focuses will be to provide advice to further develop the National Spatial Data Infrastructure for increased availability of geospatial data to all potential users.

“Better coordination of existing and proposed geospatial resources is something I am very passionate about. If our committee can help federal decision-makers manage and leverage existing programs that maximize investment by serving the greatest number of users, then we will have made real strides toward enabling spatial decision support for hundreds of programs across all sectors of our economy and as a result more efficient and effective use of taxpayer dollars,” Miglarese said.

Miglarese offers the committee both public- and private-sector experience. Serving as president of Fugro EarthData since 2004, she previously was in charge of coastal information services at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Coastal Services Center, and the natural resource and planning section at the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

About Fugro EarthData
Fugro EarthData, Inc., provides a full range of mapping and GIS services to support customer needs in a wide variety of natural resource management, urban planning, economic development, defense, and engineering activities.

Fugro EarthData is a member of the international Fugro group of companies. Fugro is listed on Euronext N.V. in Amsterdam and is included in the Amsterdam Midkap index. Fugro has over 275 offices, more than 11,000 staff and a permanent presence in over 50 countries.