GIS Certificate Program - Alumni
Are you an alumnus of the GIS Certificate Program? Send updates to kstuerk@wisc.edu. We'd love to hear from you!
James Alberts (2005)
Jagwire Global Marketing Manager Quality Bicycle Products, Bloomington, MN
Undergraduate Degree:
Marketing, University of Iowa
First job out of program: GIS Analyst, Patrick Engineering, Inc., Madison, WI. James performed GIS analysis tasks for clients in a wide range of industries. He also served as a key cartographic-design staff member; he was responsible for the look and feel of many of Patrick Engineering’s map products.
Current Position: After going back to school and receiving his MBA from the University of Iowa, James became the Global Marketing Manager for Quality Bicycle Products.
Althea Archer (2008)
Environmental/GIS Technician
Natural Resources Consulting, Inc.
Cottage Grove, WI
Undergraduate Degree: Biology Honors,
Gustavus Adolphus College
Current Position: Althea works as a cartographer for an environmental consulting agency near Madison. Her work involves a wide range of mapping services for a variety of clientele needs. She also supplements the desktop-based cartography with occasional field surveys, and has found a good balance for her main interests; science and art.
Felipe Avila (2002)
GIS Specialist, City of Fitchburg - Public Works, Fitchburg, WI
Undergraduate Degree:
Political Science, Ohio State
Current Position: As GIS Specialist for the City of Fitchburg, Felipe is charged with collecting infrastructure data in the field (water, sanitary and storm water utilities) and integrating it into the city's GIS database.
Felipe is a regular participant in the GIS Day Expo at the UW-Madison.
Heidi Banfi (2008)
Geographic Specialist
US Census Bureau, Chicago, IL
Undergraduate Degree:
Human Geography, UW-Madison
Current Position: Heidi is in charge of all GIS mapping and analysis for the Partnership Branch of the Chicago Regional Census Center, covering Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. She produces maps and support documents using cutting edge Census data for a variety of audiences to support all of our Census 2010 efforts.
Mitch Bergeson (2001)
GIS Specialist
US Fish and Wildlife Service, Madison, WI
Previous Degrees:
B.S. in Biology, UW-Stevens Point, M.S. in Wildlife Ecology UW-Madison
First jobs out of program:
Cartographer, USGS, Madison, WI.
Current Position: Mitch is the GIS lead and Analyst for the US Fish and Wildlife Service's National Wetlands Database and Wetlands Status and Trends Projects. This involves database design, software implementation, data analysis, process development, training and web-based mapping.
Andrea Bohn (2005)
GIS Coordinator, Toth and Associates
Springfield, MO
Undergraduate Degree:
Geography, UW-Madison
First jobs out of program:
Cartographer/Assistant Planner, Winnebago County, Rockford, IL.
Current Position: Andrea took this newly created GIS position within a company of 45 employees. She creates electric geodatabases and geometric networks from GPS data for rural electric co-op clients. She also provides other GIS support to these clients including creating maps from their existing GIS data and recommending GIS consultants. She work within the planning division of the electrical engineering department where she helps complete construction work plans and long range plans for clients.
Jennifer Borlick (2000)
GIS Manager, Rock County Planning
Janesville, WI
Undergraduate Degree:
Wildlife Ecology, UW-Madison
First job out of program: GIS Outreach Specialist, UW-Madison Land Information Computer Graphics Facility. At LICGF Jennifer developed GIS workshops, conducted GIS training and collaborated on outside research and education projects.
Current Position: (since 2007) GIS Manager for the Rock County Planning & Development Office in Janesville, WI.
Jennifer is a regular participant in the GIS Day Expo at the UW-Madison.
Emily Champagne (2000)
GIS Analyst, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD)
Milwaukee, WI
Undergraduate Degree:
Natural Resources & Environmental Studies, University of MN
First job out of program: GIS Coordinator, City of Muskego, WI . Emily was appointed the first ever GIS Coordinator for the City. She was responsible for implementing digital mapping and GIS databases, training City employees on their use, and community outreach.
Current Position: As a GIS Analyst at AECOM, Emily works on projects dealing with environmental, water resources, sewer services, and transportation GIS.
Emily is also a volunteer organizer with the ESRI Wisconsin User Group (EWUG, www.ewug.org) and on the Board of Directors of the WI Land Information Association (WLIA, www.wlia.com).
William Ceelen (2000)
GIS Analyst, WDNR, GIS Services Section
Madison, WI
Undergraduate Degree:
Geography, UW-Madison
Current Position: Bill works for GIS Services Section of WDNR doing contracted GIS work for the Bureau of Wildlife Management and the Bureau of Watershed Management. Projects include Deer CWD data development and analysis and Prairie Chicken grassland restoration habitat analysis for Wildlife Management, and 1:24,000 scale Hydrography maintenance for Bureau of Watershed Management. Tasks include cartography, spatial analysis, data modeling, VB tool production, & database design.
Bill is a regular participant in the annual GIS Day Expo at the UW-Madison.
Robert Costanza (2004)
Avian Specialist/GIS Technician
Natural Resources Consulting, Inc., Cottage Grove, WI
Undergraduate Degree:
Wildlife Biology, University of Montana
Further education after program:
M.S. Environmental Monitoring, UW-Madison, 2005
Former Position: Bob worked for the U.S. Forest Service in Rhinelander, WI where he created GIS fire behavior models. (Landis II, for one) The models are paramaterized with weather, insect outbreak, wind, and fuel data.
Current Position: In 2008, Bob took his current position at Natural Resources Consulting Inc. where he divides his time between cartography and avian bird surveys, especially for monitoring the impact of wind generators in the driftless area.
John Edwards (2008)
Disaster Assistance GIS Specialist
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA),Bothell, WA
Undergraduate Degree:
Information Systems Management,
Auburn University
Current Position: John provides pre-disaster and post-disaster assistance to minimize the loss of life, and reduce damage from natural and technological hazards using GIS technologies for areas throughout the northwest.
Sarah Eichhorst (2005)
GIS Analyst, The Nature Conservancy - Central US Region, Minneapolis, MN
Undergraduate Degree:
Wildlife Ecology, UW-Madison
Current Position: GIS Analyst for the Central US Conservation region of The Natural Conservancy (TNC). Sarah works closely with the TNC Great Lakes Program, continuing work that she began in Wisconsin as a TNC GIS Intern, modeling potential stopover habitat for migratory birds. She also serves as GIS support for the Upper Mississippi River project, part of the TNC Great Rivers Program.
Eric Erdmann (2006)
Research Scientist
WI Department of Natural Resources (Buerau of Science Services), Madison, WI
Undergraduate Degree:
Wildlife Ecology, UW-Madison
Eric's GIS internship was with the UW Department of Forest and Wildlife Ecology where he developed GIS data layers for the Western Antarctic Peninsula and used GIS to investigate winter movements of satellite-tagged Adelie Penguins on Anvers Island. After completing the certificate, he continued research on these seabirds as a Master's student in the Forest and Wildlife Ecology Department under Dr. Chris Ribic.
Further education after program: M.S. in Forest and Wildlife Ecology, UW-Madison
Current Position: As a research scientist at the DNR, Eric uses GIS and satellite imagery to evaluate lake water clarity throughout WI. He conducts research into the application of remote sensing data and GIS to model future impacts on lakes and streams in WI in response to various climate change scenarios and investigates how the WDNR can expand it's use of remote sensing and GIS to monitor and conduct research on aquatic resources in WI.
Sarah Bell Ferrare (2009)
Cartographer, Alpinkart Design and Cartography, Bellingham, WA
Undergraduate Degree:
Anthropology, Western WA University
Current Position: After moving back west, Sarah landed a position as a cartographer at a Bellingham-based cartography and graphic design company. At last communication she was working on 14 inset maps, one regional map, and one thematic regional map for the National Trails week, for trails in the Astoria, Oregon area.
See Sarah's award-winning interactive map (NACIS Student Map Competition, 2009): www.mtrainierincidents.com
Nick Fisher (2003)
Market Analyst, Harley Davidson Milwaukee, WI
Undergraduate Degree:
Geography, UW-Madison
Current Position: Nick works in the marketing department of Harley-Davidson in Milwaukee. He uses GIS with spatial, demographic, sales and financial data to locate new opportunities and manages the relationship between Harley-Davidson and its network of independent dealers.
Derrick Frese (2010)
GIS Analyst, Western Area Power Administration, Denver, CO
Undergraduate Degree:
Geography, UW-Madison
Current Position: As a GIS analyst for the Western Area Power Administration, Derrick will help maintain their GIS database and also use GIS analysis tools to answer questions like: where should a new transmission line go based on land types, elevation changes, sensitive cultural sites?
Sean Gutknecht (2003)
GIS Specialist, LFR, Inc, Marina, CA
Undergrad Degree:
Economics, UW-Madison
First job out of program: Cartographer/GIS Specialist, Mapping Specialists, Ltd., Madison, WI
Current Position: As a GIS Specialist for LFR, Sean is in charge of spatial data management and mapping for the Fort Ord Reuse Authority (FORA) Environmental Services Cooperative Agreement (ESCA) Remediation Program Team. This groundbreaking program involves the privatization of clean-up efforts addressing residual munitions and explosives of concern found on 3,500 acres of the former Fort Ord, located on California's Monterey Bay.
For the FORA ESCA RP Team, Sean oversees the development of the spatial database structure and applications, coordinates project GIS and mapping needs, and performs day-to-day GIS tasks such as creating/modifying GIS datasets, integrating outside data into the project GIS, performing QC on incoming data, performing requested queries and analytical tasks, creating maps in support of field activities and presentations, and drafting figures for final reports.
Nicholas Hayden (2005)
Atlas GIS Specialist
NOAA Nat'l Marine Protected Areas Center
Monterey, CA
Undergraduate Degree:
Geology, UW-Madison
Further education after program:
M.S. Environmental Monitoring,
UW-Madison, 2006
Current Position: Nick leads GIS efforts for the MPA Center's Atlas projects, a series of participatory GIS workshops that collect human ocean use data from local experts and stakeholders. He also supports other GIS needs for NOAA and the MPA Center, including assistance during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Colleen Hermans (2002)
GIS Analyst
WI DNR, Floodplain Management Program Madison, WI
Undergraduate Degree:
Archeology, UW-Madison
Current Position: Colleen assists in the creation of Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps (DFIRMs) per FEMA standards through the WI Floodplain Management Program. This program is charged with updating floodplain maps for counties throughout the state. DFIRMs display digital floodplain data created by predictive modeling to determine thelikelihood of a major flooding event and the areas such an event would affect.
Adam Hill (2008)
Account Manager
Blue Marble Geographics, Gardiner, ME
Undergraduate Degree:
Economics, UW-Madison
Current Position: As an Account Manager in the Marketing and Sales department at Blue Marble, Adam is in charge of several strategic accounts with GIS Service, Oil and Gas and Mining/Exploration Firms worldwide. Blue Marble is a Geospatial Software company that specializes in Coordinate Conversion, Raster Data Manipulation and GIS File Translation Technologies. Using GIS to better understand Blue Marble's international market, Adam handles Application and Marketing-based presentations for clients utilizing Blue Marble's two flag-ship products, Geographic Calculator and Geographic Transformer (the Blue Marble Desktop). Adam is also a member of Maine's GIS User Group and is an up and coming Fooz Ball Champ at Blue Marble.
Eric Holbus (2006)
GIS Analyst/Developer, EPA - Region 5
Chicago, IL
Undergraduate Degree:
Geography, UW-Madison
Current Position: Eric's job at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency includes designing databases, providing GIS and mapping support, custom application development, and general IT services for our division's programs. The
division manages wastes, pesticides, and toxic materials by administering grants, doing inspections, and in some cases site cleanups. Upcoming projects include creating an ArcGIS Server or web application that would allow end-users to do a spatial query and view or download GIS datasets for an emergency response.
Where Our Alumni are Working:
James Kennedy (2002)
Geographer
US Geologic Survey, Middleton, WI
Undergraduate Degree:
BNatural Resources, UW-Madison
Current Position: Jim works in the in the Publications and Science Support Unit of the Water Resources Division of USGS. Among other responsibilities, he uses GIS to create maps for technical and scientific publications. Jim is a regular participant in the GIS Day Expo at the UW-Madison.
Rozalynn Klaas (2009)
Assistant Researcher
UW Applied Population Lab, Madison, WI
Undergraduate Degree:
Biological Aspects of Conservation,
UW-Madison
Current Position: Roz began working with APL while in the GIS Certificate Program. After completing her certificate, she was hired on as permanent staff and began to widen the range of projects in which she was involved. This includes working with census data, school district enrollment projections, regional analysis for the DNR, and other mapping/spatial analysis work.
Melissa Kruse (2007)
Petrophysicist/GIS Tech
Running Foxes Petroleum, Centenial, CO
Undergraduate Degree:
Geology, UW-Madison
Current Position: Melissa analyzes wireline log data after a well is drilled to determine if and/or how much oil/gas there is in certain rock formations. She also assists the GIS manager update and maintain lease maps for the company.
Mike Mejac (2008)
Project Sceintist/GIS Analyst
Weston Solutions, Inc., Vernon Hills, IL
Undergraduate Degree:
Natural Resource Management, Department of Forestry & Certificate Environmental Studies, UW-Madison
First job out of program: FIELDS Research Associate, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, Chicago. Working in the Superfund division of the EPA, Mike's duties included site analysis and spatial modeling of contamination to determine areas in need of remediation.
Current Position: As an employee of Weston Solutions, Mike continues to work with EPA Region 5 as a member of the EPA START team. He responds to emergency situations in the region and supports all GIS functions in the office.
John Meredith (2006)
GIS Analyst, Forster Electrical Engineering Oregon, WI
Undergraduate Degree:
Geography, Miami University of Ohio
First jobs out of program: Extract Systems LLC and the City of Madison: Engineering Division.
Current Position: John transforms field survey data of power-line distribution systems into as-designed maps and elevation profiles used for construction. Civil drafting methods determine the configuration of pole heights and depict placement of structural components. Reference mapping adjoins the process and helps integrate various information-sets for data validation. Other responsibilities encompass the migration of electric component data from atomized CAD drawings toward integrated GIS data-warehouses, researching right-of-way issues, and introducing Geospatial principles to Forster's CADD-Shop Team. John's long-term work objective is to use survey, drafting, GIS, and IT methods to develop Geo-Infomatic Solutions aimed at advancing the capacity of electric utilities to handle facility maintenance.
Aaron Mielke (2005)
GIS Analyst, Barr Engineering
Minneapolis, MN
Undergraduate Degree:
Forestry, UW-Madison
First job out of program: GIS Specialist, MN Dept. of Agriculture, Plant Protection Division.
Current Position: As a GIS Analyst for Barr Engineering, Water Resources Unit, Aaron's work ranges from floodplain mapping to analysis for the mining and oil industry. He works with many Minneapolis suburban and city planners developing water management strategies. He recently finished a large project to screen and prioritize possible locations for storm water storage basins in Scott County, MN.
Daniel Prasch (2006)
Senior Wetlands Scientist
VBH Pioneer, North Ferrisburgh, VT
Undergraduate Degree:
Biological Aspects of Conservation,
UW-Madison
First job out of program: Project Manager,
J.D. Knowles & Associates, Inc., Beaver Dam. While a student intern at JD Knowles, Daniel initialized the use of GIS at this private environmental consulting firm for wetlands delineation and mapping. His leadership led to a permanent project management position at the company.
Current Position: Since 2007 Daniel has been a Senior Wetlands Scientist at VBH Pioneer. Daniel's responsibilities include project management on wetland delineations and
conducting fieldwork, including GPS surveying of environmental field data, vegetation surveys, and soil analysis. His reporting of field investigation activities serves as a basis for permitting and receiving regulatory concurrence for wetland delineation submitted to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for presence/absence of cultural and archaeological sites and endangered species. Daniel also conducts wetland functional values assessments for practicable alternative analyses.
Matt Rehwald (2005)
Surface Water Data Analyst
WDNR, Watershed Management
Madison, WI
Undergraduate Degree:
Meteorology, Northern IL University
Current Position: As Surface Water Data Analyst at the WI Department of Natural Resources, Matt manages the Bureau's water quality spatial data infrastructure in the WATERS (Water Assessment Tracking and Electronic Reporting System)and SWIMS (Surface Water Integrated Monitoring System) data systems.
Matt provides technical expertise to the Impaired Waters and Outstanding and Exceptional Resource Waters programs within the Water Evaluation Section, as well as to other programs that seek to host datasets within the WATERS and SWIMS data systems. Matt is the technical lead for the Surface Water Data Viewers, the web-mapping applications that disseminate data from many of the Water Division's data systems to internal DNR customers and the public. Matt is also working with EPA's Water Quality Exchange (WQX) workgroup to develop automated spatial and tabular data transfer of macroinvertebrate and habitat monitoring data from UW-Stevens Point to the SWIMS data system and WQX, and to integrate the federal Hydrologic Unit (HUC) and National Hydrography (NHD)datasets into DNR's enterprise data systems.
Erik Rundell (2003)
Urban Planner, Policy & GIS Analyst
Berks and Associates, Seattle, WA
Geography, UW-Madison
While in the Certificate program, Erik worked for 1000 Friends of Wisconsin to develop GIS procedures that allowed them to evaluate the effects of new Smart Growth laws on land use in WI.
First jobs out of program: GIS intern for Vandewalle and Associates (urban planning firm in Madison) and as a Resource Assistance for Rural Environment (RARE) AmeriCorp program in The Dalles, Oregon.
Further education: M.S. in Urban and Regional Planning, Portland State University.
Current Position: Urban Planner and Policy & GIS Analyst for Berk and Associates, Seattle, WA.
Lisa Schultz (2007)
PACE Program Manager, WI Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
Undergraduate Degree:
Zoology, UW-Madison
First job out of program: Planning and Information Specialist, WI DATCP, Bureau of Land and Water Resources. Assisted county conservation departments update their Land and Water Resource Management plans and maintained various databases related to state regulatory programs.
Current Position: Still with DATCP, Lisa now managaer the state's Purchase of Agricultural Conservation Easement (PACE) program as part of the Working Lands Initiative. The PACE program works with farmers, communities, and non-profit organizations to permanently protect prime farmland in Wisconsin. Lisa also works with the WI DNR managing a joint nonpoint source agricultural runoff abatement program. She performs GIS and mapping work for these programs as needed.
Amanda Schwoegler (2001)
WI Cooperating Technical Partner (CTP)
Project Lead
WI DNR, Floodplain Management Program Madison, WI
Undergraduate Degree:
Geography, UW-Madison
First jobs out of program:
GIS Analyst, WDNR
Further education:
M.S. Environmental Monitoring, UW-Madison, 2005
Current Position: Amanda is the leader of a project with guidance and funding provided by FEMA to update our statewide inventory of floodplain maps. Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) are used to make zoning decisions at the local level and insurance decisions at the national level. She is currently using more project management skills than GIS skills, but still gets to dabble in GIS occasionally. Amanda now supervises other GIS Certificate Program graduates.
Matt Taran (2007)
Utilities Program Planner
City of Boulder, Boulder, CO
Undergraduate Degree:
Journalism, UW-Madison
First job out of program: WI Dept of Natural Resources, Floodplain Modernization Project, GIS Analyst.
Current Position: Matt is manager of The City of Boulder's water, wastewater, storm water and flood control GIS data. In this role, he GPS's various utilities assets and incorporates that field work into the city's SDE GIS repository. He also administers and assists in development of the city's utilities maintenance database where all utilities related maintenance activities are tracked. Finally, in addition to may other smaller GIS related tasks, he also designs and implements mobile computing solutions for field workers on the software and hardware ends, including the full deployment of ArcIMS, ArcServer and ArcPad solutions accessed via ruggedized laptops and handheld Trimble GPS devices.
Karen Tuerk (2002)
GIS Certificate Program Manager
UW Department of Geography, Madison, WI
Undergraduate Degree:
Biology, University of Delaware
First job out of program: GIS Technician for the WI Department of Natural Resources. Karen worked for the WDNR throughout the program creating a GIS for a long-term grassland bird study in the Military Ridge Prairie Heritage Area in southwest WI. This included creating a 130 square-mile vector landcover layer for the region from "windshield surveys". This data was used to regress bird viability data against surrounding landcover and landuse.
Further education after program:
M.S. Environmental Monitoring, UW-Madison, 2003
Current Position: Since 2003 Karen has been managing the GIS Certificate Program where she combines her knowledge of GIS with her past experience in organizing. Some of her many varied duties include program administration, student recruitment and advising, teaching GIS workshops, organizing outreach activities including annual GIS Day events and staying on top of the always evolving field of GIS.
Alison Werberg (2005)
Cartographer/GIS Specialist
NY-NJ Trails Conference, Mahwah, NJ
Undergraduate major:
Zoology & Biological Aspects of Conservation, UW-Madison
Master's degree: Museum and Field Studies, University of CO
Current Position: As cartographer for the NY-NJ Trails Conference, Allison is creating digital versions of the organization's traditional paper map series. The Trails Conference, a federation of hiking and environmental organizations, maintains over 1,600 miles of trails on public land in the bi-state region. Allison was recently featured in (201) Magazine (the magazine of Bergan County , NJ ) for her work. Read More: Link to Article --- Link to Issue Cover
Alison moved to Sweden in August 2007 for a few years with her husband who is working there for Volvo. She continues to do freelance cartography work for the NY/NJ Trails Conference, including for an upcoming book entitled, "Walkable Westchester".
Jennifer Zeisloft (2004)
GIS Analyst, UW TOPS Lab
Madison, WI
Undergraduate Degree:
Anthropology, UW-Madison
Further education after program:
M.S. Environmental Monitoring,
UW-Madison, 2005
First positions out of program: GIS Analyst at GeoDecisions, Inc., Web Systems Developer at EarthIT, Inc. Both in Madison, WI
Current Position: After 5 years as a GIS analyst and developer in the private sector, Jennifer returns to the UW-Madison as an academic staff member in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department. She does transportation GIS analysis in the Department's Trasportation Operations and Safety (TOPS) Lab.
Jennifer is a regular participant in the GIS Day Expo at the UW-Madison.