PanGIS

PanGIS is a San Diego consulting firm that puts archaeologists on big construction projects. Before a utility replaces a power line, a developer builds a solar field in the desert, or a rail agency moves track back from an eroding coastal bluff, someone has to search the records, walk the ground, and watch the digging for anything of historical or tribal significance. PanGIS does that work, mostly as a subcontractor on the teams that serve California's large electric utilities, transportation agencies, and military bases. A core staff of about ten is backed by dozens of on-call field archaeologists, and every survey, field log, and report runs through the mapping software the firm was founded on. Nearly all of the work is in California, with projects in Arizona and Nevada as well.

Alice Brewster, the founder, is a geographer, not an archaeologist. She grew up on a cattle ranch in Northern California, came to San Diego for graduate school in 1992, and spent her early career mapping wetlands and kelp beds. She started PanGIS in 1998 as a mapping firm, and the archaeology grew around it until it became most of the business. Twenty-eight years later she was still writing the proposals and keeping the books herself, because it kept her close to every project's budget. She was ready to retire and travel, and she wanted a buyer who knew the field and would keep the team together. She talked to brokers and hired none.

The profile went live on Rejigg in August 2025 and drew 14 buyer conversations over the next year. Rejigg screened out four before they reached Alice. She took calls with several buyers that fall and the following spring. They liked the firm, but none of those talks went the distance.

Spheros opened a conversation on March 30, 2026. A month later Alice and Spheros's deal lead spent their first call comparing notes on a company they both knew and liked. Spheros had already heard PanGIS recommended by that partner, and the profile on Rejigg gave them a direct way in. The two sides agreed terms by May 20, about three weeks after the call. Diligence ran through the summer, and the deal closed on October 1, 2026, six months after the first message.

The buyer is Spheros Environmental, a nationwide environmental consulting firm based in Denver, built around science: air quality, water, and biology. It had no archaeologists of its own, and adding them was already on its plan. One of the Spheros companies works alongside PanGIS on California projects, so Spheros could judge the firm's work and its future in a way few outsiders could. “PanGIS marks Spheros’ first step into specialized cultural resources,” said Andra Kidd, CEO of Spheros Environmental. Alice's longtime number two, who runs the cultural resources work day to day, stays on with the team.