Ansley Lester is an alum of the CHRM program, having received her master's degree in 2024. Her thesis is titled Using Geospatial Information Systems to Predict the Form of 'Roadbeds and Road Segments' Classifications for the Cherokee Trail of Tears in Missouri, 1837-1839.

Following below is an archived profile.

I started out my career in archaeology after I graduated with my BA at Piedmont University in 2019. I began working as an archaeological field technician on various surveys and excavations across the Southeastern United States. After about 2 years, I was accepted into the U.S. Forest Service’s internship program called the Resource Assistant’s Program to work as an archaeologist with the Francis Marion National Forest in South Carolina. I spent a year applying practices pertaining to various cultural resource laws that the federal government is subject to. I then transitioned into a full-time, permanent position for the Forest Service, where I am currently employed. My studies of interest include public archaeology, cultural resource laws, landscape archaeology, and the protohistoric and contact period in North America. I love working in the field and using GIS for cultural resource and heritage management purposes. This has allowed for me to be exposed to multiple subgroups of study within archaeology, which is perfect because I am always learning new things! I am excited to study for my master’s at the University of Maryland to help refine my knowledge of archaeological theory and methods to use throughout the rest of my career.