women in war effort Bea McPherson, One of First Women Map Makers in WWII By Joe Gunderman • Nov 10, 2018 Joe Gunderman (left), archive photo (right) Bea McPherson was in geology class at Kent in 1943 when her professor asked if a few of the women would like to be trained in map making to help the war effort. In 2010 she was recognized by the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency.