Surveying and mapping professionals, since 1998
The people who measure and map the ground we build on, meeting as one profession.
Commonfield brings together 4,800 land surveyors, survey technicians, and mapping and GIS professionals, in the field and in the office, across public agencies, private firms and utilities. Members meet in their regional chapter, follow the sections that match their work, and keep their practice current through our courses, journal and annual conference.
- 4,800 members
- 9 regional chapters
- 4 professional sections
- Annual conference each October
Chapters
Nine regional chapters, each with its own meetings and its own chair.
Every member has a home chapter, set by region when they join, and is welcome at any chapter's meetings. Chapters meet monthly for a technical talk, a site visit or a workshop.
- Regional chapter
Northern Tier Chapter
Rural counties and small municipalities; strong on boundary retracement and farmland surveys.
- Regional chapter
Capital ChapterFlagship
The largest chapter: state and county survey offices and the firms around them. Meets the second Thursday.
- Regional chapter
Riverbend Chapter
Floodplain mapping, river crossings and utility corridors.
- Regional chapter
Lakeshore Chapter
Shoreline and hydrographic work alongside construction staking.
- Regional chapter
High Plains Chapter
Meetings alternate between two host firms. Known for its annual field-methods day.
- Regional chapter
Southern Reach Chapter
Transportation surveys and a large student group from two technical programs.
- Regional chapter
Coastal Chapter
Coastal monitoring, storm-season surveys and harbor projects.
- Regional chapter
Midlands Chapter
Private firms and utility mapping teams side by side.
- Regional chapter
West Valley Chapter
Chartered in 2023. Growing on the strength of its mentoring circles.
Chapter chairs are elected by their chapter for two-year terms and sit together on the Chapter Council.
About Commonfield
Started by eleven people comparing notes on the same work.
In 1998, eleven surveyors and mapping staff from a county survey office, two private firms and a utility started meeting to compare notes on the problems they shared: records that didn't agree, control that had drifted, new equipment nobody had trained on. Commonfield grew out of those evenings.
Today we run chapters and professional sections, a four-stage professional development pathway, a quarterly practice journal and an annual conference, for members who work in the field, in the office, or both. Licensing and certification stay with the bodies responsible for them; Commonfield is where practitioners learn from one another.
- 4,800
- members in public agencies, private firms and utilities
- 9
- regional chapters
- 4
- issues of the practice journal each year
Membership
Three ways in. One profession.
Membership runs on a calendar year. Every tier includes the practice journal, chapter meetings, the member directory and member rates for courses and the conference.
- Individual
Individual
For practitioners at any stage, in the field or the office. Voting rights, member rates, a home chapter and any sections you choose.
- Organization
Organization
For a survey office, firm or utility enrolling five or more staff. One invoice, and each person joins as a member in their own right, with their own chapter and sections.
- Student
Student
For anyone enrolled in a surveying, geomatics, GIS or civil engineering technology program. Includes the mentor match program.
Dues are set each year by the board and published to members in November.
Professional sections
Four sections, each run by members who do that work.
Members join the sections that match their practice, as many as they like. Each section has a convener and runs its own sessions, workshops and discussions through the year.
Mapping Section
Mapping, GIS and geospatial data: evening sessions on data standards, drone survey workflows and map production.
Boundary & Cadastral Section
Boundary evidence, retracement and records research, with case discussions led by experienced practitioners.
Construction Survey Section
Layout, staking and as-built work, with site visits hosted by member firms.
Control & Measurement Section
Control networks, GNSS practice and equipment calibration, including an annual field day.
Professional development
A pathway, not a pile of webinars.
Our own professional development program is built in four stages. Each stage stands alone, and most members complete the pathway over two to four years alongside their day jobs.
Foundations of survey practice
Six sessions on records research, field procedures, data handling, client communication and project documentation. A new cohort starts each spring and each fall.
Practice intensives
Single-subject courses: field methods, boundary evidence, control networks, drone data processing, mapping standards. Choose four from a catalog of fourteen.
Peer case review
Cohorts of eight meet monthly for a year, each bringing a live problem from their own work. Facilitated by a pathway graduate.
Capstone and portfolio
An improvement project in the member's own workplace, reviewed by two peers and presented at a chapter meeting. Completing it earns the Commonfield Practitioner designation within our program.
The pathway is Commonfield's own program and is recognized within our membership. It is not a license, a certification or a substitute for either.
Events
Coming up across the association
Chapter meetings and section sessions are posted by each chapter and section. These are the association-wide dates.
- Sep 10Practice journal, fall issue released to membersMember sitePublication
- Sep 18Foundations fall cohort begins (online, six Thursdays)OnlineEducation
- Oct 1Conference member rate endsMember siteConference
- Oct 22 to 24Annual Conference: three days, 48 sessions, all nine chaptersCapital Chapter host venueConference
- Oct 23Annual member meeting, during the conferenceConference venue and onlineGovernance
- Nov 6Board election opens for voting membersMember portal, two weeksGovernance
- Dec 4Chapter Council year-end sessionOnlineGovernance
Papers for the annual member meeting and the board election are published on the member site; voting takes place in the member portal.
Leadership and committees
Commonfield is run by members who still do the work.
The board of eleven is elected by the membership. Nine chapter chairs form the Chapter Council, and standing committees handle awards, education, the conference and the journal. A staff of six runs the office; the rest is done by members.
About 340 members hold a role each year: chapter and section leadership, committee seats, course facilitation, journal peer review, mentor matches. Chairs serve set terms and hand over to the next member, and the chapter or committee carries on with the same members.
- Board of 11, elected, three-year staggered terms
- Chapter Council of 9 chairs, two-year terms
- Standing committees: Awards, Education, Conference, Journal
- Nominations open every August
Member updates
You hear from Commonfield as a whole, and from your own part of it.
Commonfield sends member communication through DirectToMembers. A message for everyone goes to All Members; a chapter meeting, a section session or a committee's papers go only to the members they concern.
The membership office writes to all members. Chapter chairs, section conveners and committee chairs write to their own chapter, section or committee, and nobody else. The office puts each member in their home chapter from our membership records; the sections, Member Events, Programs & Learning and Get Involved are lists members choose for themselves on their preferences page.
Your membership record, dues, renewal, designation and voting all stay in the member portal, and our messages link there. Messages arrive by email at the address you gave us, with nothing to install. If you choose to connect on Blasts with that same email address, you get them there instead.
When a chair's term ends, the chapter's list stays with the chapter: the office hands the new chair the same list, and your replies reach whoever is chair now. We don't track who opened a message, and a reply always goes to a person.
- All Members
- Capital Chapter
- Coastal Chapter
- Mapping Section
- Awards Committee
- Member Events
- Programs & Learning
- Get Involved
- New Members
Power your Blasts with credits from BlastCredits.com.
Blasts is the direct communication platform at Blasts.app. Connecting is each member's choice, and members who don't connect keep getting our messages by email.
- Annual member meeting: October 23, at the conference
The annual member meeting is on October 23 at the conference, and online. It covers the year, member recognition and the incoming board members and chapter chairs. Papers are on the member site; the board election opens November 6 in the member portal.
From: Membership officeTo: All Members - Thursday's chapter meeting moves to the library annex
The county building is closed for floor work, so Thursday's meeting is at the library annex, same 6:30 start. Parking is behind the building. The talk on records research goes ahead as planned.
From: Capital Chapter chairTo: Capital Chapter - Section session: processing drone survey data
Next month's Mapping Section session is an evening workshop on processing drone survey data, led by two members who do it every week. Members only; sign-up is on the section page.
From: Mapping Section convenerTo: Mapping Section - Conference member rate ends October 1
Three days, 48 sessions, all nine chapters. The member rate holds through October 1; after that it's the standard rate. Registration is on the member site.
From: Conference teamTo: Member Events - Two seats open on the Awards Committee
The Awards Committee has two seats open for next year: reading nominations in the spring and choosing the honorees, about two hours a month. If you're interested, reply to this message and I'll get back to you with the details.
From: Awards Committee chairTo: Get Involved - A new chair for Capital Chapter
From January, Priya Raman takes over as Capital Chapter chair from Owen Castellano, following the chapter's election. Nothing changes about how you hear from the chapter: same list, and replies now go to Priya. The first meeting of the year is the second Thursday in January.
From: Membership officeTo: Capital Chapter
Examples only: none of these messages were sent.
Staff and board
Three of the people you will hear from most.
Helena Broussard
Executive Director
Ran the records and mapping section of a county survey office for fourteen years before joining Commonfield's staff in 2019. Still teaches one Foundations session a year.
Tomas Reinholt
Board Chair
Survey manager for a mid-sized county and a Northern Tier Chapter member since 2006. Chairs the board through 2027.
Anjali Deshpande
Education Director
Designed the four-stage pathway and the peer case review format. Previously led GIS training for a regional planning agency.
Membership
You already do the work. This is the profession.
Members pick a tier, are placed in their home chapter, choose their sections, and hear from their chapter chair before the first meeting.
Reach the association office
Staff answer membership, chapter placement and education questions. For chapter or section matters, your chair or convener is usually faster.
- Office hours Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 5:00
- Membership questions answered within two business days
- Chapter chairs and section conveners listed in the member directory
- Monday to Friday
- 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM
- Conference week
- Office closed, staff on site