Education

Dartmouth College. B.A. Geography, 1982

Dartmouth stressed the discipline of good writing while providing opportunities to learn about a diverse set of humanities and science topics. Classes included:

  • Geography

  • U.S. and Asian history

  • Economics

  • Literature

  • Igor Stravinsky

  • Roman Archaeology

  • Biological Anthropology

  • Geology

Duke University, M.A., Liberal Studies, 2004

The Duke University Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS) program enabled me to further explore topics in the liberal education canon under notable Duke professors. My studies included:

  • The Pagan World of Dante’s Divine Comedy

  • Nationalism

  • Medieval Worlds

  • Opera History & Social Meaning

  • Russian Cultural History

  • The Marxist Century

My final project, “The Barrington Atlas and Caesar’s Commentaries on the Gallic Wars: Assessing Caesar’s Descriptive Geography Using Geographic Information Systems”, synthesized a major classic of ancient literature with modern geospatial technology to present a new understanding of the places and events from Caesar’s conquest of Gaul in 52 B.C.E.

Career

In my career as a geographer I applied geospatial tools and technologies to a wide array of problems in environmental and social sciences.

Environmental Science Research Institute (ESRI), 1983-1992

Instructor, Senior Instructor, and Manager of Domestic Teaching Programs for a dynamic, fast-paced technology company that develops Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software.

Research Triangle Institute (RTI International), 1993-2018

Research Geographer, Senior Research Geographer,  Director of Geospatial Science and Technology, and Senior Geospatial Scientist for a large non-profit contract research company.

Freelance Geospatial Consultant, 2018-2022

Led the geospatial technology aspects of a large NIH study of the Environmental Impacts of Children’s Health (ECHO) for the first four years of the grant (client: RTI International).

Developed a detailed, parcel-by-parcel atlas for the Drowning Creek Watershed (North Carolina) to support longleaf pine conservation (client: Sandhills Area Land Trust)

Developed an analysis methodology, performed analysis tasks, and created a final map of private land parcels between Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg) and the Uwharrie National Forest to be prioritized for longleaf pine conservation (client: Sandhills Prescribed Burning Association).