What is your position
in your company?
I am the editor
of GIS Lounge, a portal for all things GIS. I am also the GIS Coordinator
for the City of Santa Clarita (northern Los Angeles County).
What is your background?
Both my bachelors
and masters degrees are in Geography.I started learning about GIS as an
undergraduate when "Hand Cartography" was a class offering! My first map
was programmed in QBasic.I got hooked and started taking all of the mapping
and GIS courses available at UCLA. My first hands-on experience in
GIS was as an intern with the National Park Service.I stayed in the Natural
Resource field until about four years ago, moving into local government.
How did you get involved
with the GIS Lounge? Who started the portal?
I originally
started out as the Guide at About.com for GIS back in May of 2000.Matt
Rosenberg, the Geography Guide at About.com felt GIS deserved more attention
than he could provide and recruited me the run the new GIS site.I was
responsible for creating a place where people looking for GIS related resources
on the Internet could come to for guidance.Last September, I had the opportunity
the move the site to its own address.GIS Lounge went live last October.
What is the most
difficult thing about being in the ".com" business?
With any subject,
there is an overwhelming amount of information out there. Since the
focus of my site is to help direct people to relevant resources on the
web, I spend a significant amount of time reviewing other sites.
GIS is a rapidly growing and dynamic industry.Keeping on top of what is
new and relevant is a key priority.
What does your typical
day or week look like?
At the City,
we have an Enterprise GIS, which means our group provides GIS services
to all of the departments and divisions.We work on a range of projects
from GPSing trails to developing EOC mapping applications. As the
GIS manager, I coordinate efforts between City staff, consultants and other
agencies on GIS related issues. I also supervise and direct the GIS
staff; providing technical guidance when necessary.
As the editor of GIS Lounge, I get many emails from students and people working in GIS asking for help, so a good portion of time is spent responding.I also visit sites suggested as potential GIS resources.My main focus is to understand what information people are searching for in GIS in order to best present the related resources.
What involvement
do you have with GIS professional groups or organizations?
I am involved
with a local GIS users group that specializes in local government issues.
Every other month, the meeting is hosted at a city or government agency
and usually features a presentation by the host as well as a roundtable
opportunity for everyone to talk about current issues affecting local government.
I also participate in some of the ESRI sponsored special interest meetings
that happen locally.
What is the most
important "next thing" that will happen in GIS?
Accessibility
to low-cost yet quality data is increasing. With the spread of GIS
into the various levels of government, the amount of public data is on
the rise. I am also seeing a trend with data derived from image analysis.
I am seeing more and more companies get into the aerial and satellite imagery
business, which is lowering the costs while increasing the resolution.
What is the accomplishment
of which you are most proud?
I am most proud of
what I have been able to accomplish with GIS Lounge.It is the culmination
of two years worth of researching and exploring GIS. Being the editor
of the site has been a great vehicle to network with other GISers around
the world and to stay abreast of the developments in GIS.
Before you came to
GIS, what did you think your career would be?
Both my degrees are
in Biogeography so my initial leanings were towards the Natural Resource
Management field.As a geography major, I had taken some computer cartography
courses that I found fascinating.While I was in graduate school, I did
an internship with the National Park Service and that is where I really
got hooked on the field of GIS.
Would you recommend
GIS to other women?
Most definitely!
Since GIS is relatively new to mainstream industries, GIS presents dynamic
and exciting opportunities to all, regardless of gender. With solid
GIS skills, the potential to enter a wide variety of industries from law
enforcement to geology is enormous.
Why is GIS an exciting
industry in which to participate?
GIS takes decision
making to a completely new level.It is fascinating to be able to visualize
information for people so they can have an increased understanding of their
environment in order to make better decisions. My favorite GIS quote
from Jack Dangermond sums it up: "Knowing where things are, and why, is
essential to rational decision making."