It all started...

over a decade ago (2004 to be exact) when I decided to attend graduate school to pursue my interest in geography. Over the course of the next two years, my interest turned into a passion as I learned the tools, techniques, and technology to explain and reveal “where things happen” and why. I was eventually asked “so what are you going to do with a degree in geography” which prompted my exploration of fields that used geography and GIS. I learned of crime analysis and that the field used many geographic and mapping concepts and I eventually began an internship that lasted two years and eventually became my second career for the past 16 years. I have gained tremendous experience in this field and have been able to apply much of what I have learned to mapping where crime occurs and offering suggestions to curtail it.

I am now embarking on a career course by using my GIS and spatial analysis skills and interest for socially good and positive efforts. My focus is to help provide support and guidance primarily to non-profits to promote positive change at the community level. Interestingly, much of this work is driven by churches who are seeking to better understand the area surrounding their property in order to attract more visitors but also to serve the real needs in the community. Aside from helping improve the lives of people in local communities I am finding that my work has more impact and is generally “acted upon” rather than filed away or lost in a stack of papers. So this is where I am at now.

Some of my recent projects include:

• Caldwell, Idaho Community Analysis

• Grand Rapids Community Assessment

• Fox Valley Park Analysis

• Needs Assessment for Brown Memorial Park Avenue Church, Baltimore

The science of where

ESRI founder Jack Dangermond explained the Science of Where. From the beginning, GIS was applied to science, but it was not until 1993 when Dr. Michael Goodchild characterized geographic information science (GIScience) as an area of intellectual activity that addressed the fundamental issues raised by GIS that the world began to realize GIS is a science in its own right. GIScience incorporates geography, data science, modeling, analytics, visualization, computer science, decision support science, and many others and integrates these into a kind of metascience.

What is The Science of Where? “Simply stated, it is the science of geography and the technology of GIS,” according to Dangermond. "It is a framework for applying science to almost everything that lets us look at relationships and look at things as a whole so we can better solve problems and meet challenges. Using the power of where to integrate all kinds of data to foster better understanding and collaboration, it produces a system of insights."

 — ArcUser, Summer 2017