My Journey to GIS

It all started with a map.

But even better than that–it was a map that I didn’t have to make. Using instinct and a bit of Google magic, I whipped up a quick visualization to complement an analysis I was working on. The question was, “Would it be cost effective for the University of Minnesota to add a Coach Bus to the Fleet?” I thought, at the very least, it would add a piece of eye candy to an otherwise dull spreadsheet of columns and pivot tables.

And it did.

One strange request led to another and I found myself buried in maps; fleet fuel heat maps, transit route planning maps, and site selection maps for electric vehicles. Not only was I in a job that needed a mapping skill set, but it encouraged my growth.

It was exhilarating to be an active part of solving a problem and to use the impact of data analysis–spatial or otherwise–to find solutions to unknown problems. There is nothing I like more than illuminating a problem with data.

Outside of working with data, I work to tell stories and tease out that soul part. I am especially captivated by near-future science fiction, anything fantasy with paranormal influences, and poetry. Please check out my literary works.

I grew up in Columbia Heights, Minnesota. I hold a Master’s of Science in Geographic Information Science from the University of Minnesota and employed by the same university as a Business Analyst for Lions Gift of Sight.

You can find me plugging away at my keyboard exhaling magic into the mundane.