Emma Smith
Owner, (Corporate) Manager
Emma Smith, co-founder and majority owner of Elevate, holds a BSc in Economics and a BA in International Studies, both earned in 2008. As the Operations Manager, Mrs. Smith shapes the strategic direction and vision of the company. Her role involves making crucial decisions, including setting goals, managing financial stability, defining company culture, and ensuring compliance with regulations and laws.
Beyond these responsibilities, Mrs. Smith oversees the Elevate team and maintains strong relationships with clients, partners, and other stakeholders. Her extensive experience spans various business management roles, including business analytics and O&M management. Notably, she has handled analysis for SAP business-oriented firms with multi-million dollar annual budgets. Additionally, Mrs. Smith has designed and managed programs aimed at alleviating poverty and promoting financial stability both in the United States, with a focus on youth in the foster care system, and in Uganda and Senegal.
Cole Smith
Senior Project Manager (SPM), Owner
Cole Smith, co-founder of Elevate, holds both a BSc in Geology (2009) and an MSc in Geology (2014). In his role as Senior Project Manager, Mr. Smith draws on his extensive background in geology, geomorphology, GIS, and remote sensing. His responsibilities encompass the planning, execution, and completion of projects, where he leads the team, assigns tasks, and manages resources to ensure all objectives are achieved.
In addition to his project management duties, Mr. Smith has a strong track record in creating and managing large GIS databases, as well as performing data mining and QA/QC for geospatial projects. His role also involves direct participation in strategic planning and resource allocation. Through his continuous improvement efforts, he plays a key part in advancing Elevate’s overall success.
Adam McAlpin
Principal Pilot and sUAS Flight Leader
Adam McAlpin has served as the Principal Pilot and sUAS Flight Leader at Elevate since 2021. Along with being a commercial drone pilot since 2017, Mr. McAlpin holds three technical assistance degrees in entertainment media, interactive design, and unoccupied aerial systems (UAS).
Mr. McAlpin’s career spans a diverse range of UAS applications, including emergency telemedicine services, electrical infrastructure inspections, TV and film production, and large-scale aerial mapping. With over 1,500 commercial flight hours, Mr. McAlpin is proficient with DJI and Harris drones, VTOL drones, camera equipment, LiDAR sensors, multispectral sensors, videography, and photogrammetry.
Mr. McAlpin’s extensive experience and technical expertise make him a key asset to Elevate’s operations.
Tom Goodwin
P.L.S.: Data and GIS Technical Expert
Tom Goodwin, a licensed professional surveyor (NY, 2015) and GIS specialist, brings a wealth of expertise to Elevate as the primary GIS technical expert. He holds a BA in Environmental Science with a concentration in GIS (2005) and a MSc in Geographic Information Science (2019). Additionally, Mr. Goodwin is certified as a commercial UAS pilot under FAA Part 107.
Mr. Goodwin’s extensive experience includes mapping various types of projects, such as boundary retracement, subdivision, utility, topographic, infrastructure, and environmental mapping, for residential, commercial, and municipal applications. Specializing in integrating conventional survey methods with GIS, photogrammetry, and 3D point cloud data, Mr. Goodwin adeptly addresses diverse project requirements.
Mr. Goodwin is proficient in a range of software and tools, including AutoCAD Civil 3D, ESRI ArcGIS, Leica Cyclone, Agisoft, Python, SQL, QGIS, and PostGIS.
Robert Hendricks, PhD
Senior Geophysical & Spatial Analyst (SGSA)
Robert Hendricks, who holds a BSc in Geology (2008), an MSc in Geology and Geological Engineering (2011), and a PhD in Earth Science (2015), serves as both the Business Development Manager and Senior Geophysical and Spatial Analyst (SGSA) at Elevate. His diverse expertise encompasses geology, radiometric geochronology, geomorphology (both fluvial and marine), geophysics, and remote sensing.
In his role, Dr. Hendricks manages projects related to geophysical studies, reality capture, and other evaluations. His responsibilities include client liaison, project design, team coordination, and result evaluation. Dr. Hendricks also handles report detailing, budgeting, invoicing, and risk assessment for proposals and projects.
Dr. Hendricks is skilled in the theory, collection, interpretation, and communication of various geophysical data, such as ground penetrating radar, sonic echo tomography, bathymetry, ultrasonic echo tomography, electrical resistivity tomography, vibration seismology, sonar, and electromagnetic field variation. These skills are applied to environmental and engineering applications. Additionally, he contributes to Elevate’s long-term goal of integrating machine learning technology into geospatial analysis.
Andy Dietrick
Principal Pilot and sUAS Flight Leader
Andy Dietrick has been a vital member of the Elevate team since 2020, specializing in project management, field data collection, and piloting. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering (2003) and has an active FAA remote pilot certificate (2016). With 10 years of experience operating unoccupied aircraft throughout Alaska, Mr. Dietrick brings extensive expertise in complex logistics, operational weather forecasting, and data collection in challenging environments.
Andy has nearly 2,000 flight hours using small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) across various regions of Alaska, in which he has achieved several notable milestones. He conducted the first high-resolution drone mapping of an Alaskan city (Unalaska, 2018) and was part of the first successful drone-assisted marine mammal disentanglement operation in the United States (Unalaska Bay, 2018). Additionally, Andy has pioneered drone applications for counting salmon in anadromous streams of the Aleutian Islands, assisted in search and rescue missions, and operated a variety of payloads for remote sensing data collection.
Andy’s diverse skill set and experience make him an invaluable asset throughout all stages of the project life cycle.