🗺️ Geospatial Career
💼 Experience
Spatial Analyst - WDM USA (2025-Present)
- Developed statewide dashboards that help DOT stakeholders prioritize resurfacing projects to reduce wet weather, lane departure, and other crash types often caused by substandard pavement friction
- Analyzed historical crash data to quantify effectiveness of surface treatment interventions
- Built optimal route itineraries for survey vehicles to efficiently collect data across road networks
- Created visualizations to track real-time survey progress across multiple states
- Assessed survey data for geometric correctness with high-resolution digital elevation models
- Tools: QGIS, Marimo, Claude Code, Felt, GeoPandas, GeoParquet, Google Maps API
GIS Data Engineer - Torc Robotics (2020-2023)
- Created and maintained high-definition vector maps for self-driving Freightliner trucks
- Technical lead for closed-course mapping and project coordinator for public-roads mapping
- Subject matter expert in Java OpenStreetMap (JOSM) for editing semantic (vector) map data
- Built map health dashboards for highways in Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas
- Collaborated with forensics engineers to improve autonomous performance
- Coordinated mapping team efforts as Scrum Master, Product Owner, and Technical Product Manager
- Tools: JOSM, QGIS, Jira (Agile/Kanban), Confluence, Miro, Excel
Geospatial Analyst - Center for Geospatial Information Technology (2019-2020)
- Contributed 40 American Viticultural Area (AVA) boundary polygons to open source project
- Developed an improved method for digitizing boundaries using datasets from the US Geological Survey, US Forest Service, and other federal agencies
- Collaborated with UC Davis researchers using GitHub for version control and project coordination
- Tools: QGIS, ArcGIS Pro, GitHub
🏅 Education, Certifications, and Awards
Project Management Professional (PMP) - Project Management Institute (2023-Present)
- Requires 36 months (4,500 hours) of experience leading projects prior to certification
- Acknowledges candidates who are skilled at managing the people, processes, and business priorities of professional projects
Master of Science in Geography - Virginia Tech (2020)
- Coursework focused on ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, ArcPy/Python, web mapping, remote sensing, and statistics
- Graduate Teaching Assistant for Principles of GIS, Intro to Remote Sensing, and Geovisualization courses
- Research Project: The Digitization of American Viticultural Area Boundaries - An Efficient Method for Constructing GIS Polygons from Federal Government Data Sources
Esri Developer Center Student of the Year - Esri (2020)
- Virginia Tech’s recipient of an annual award for developing innovative applications with the ArcGIS platform
Sidman P. Poole Endowment - Virginia Tech (2019)
- Recipient of a funded grant to conduct trails-related fieldwork in Great Smoky Mountains National Park
🍎 Cider Career
💼 Experience
Founder - Cider Guide (2012-2024)
- Podcast host and guest, weekly newsletter publisher, freelance writer, conference speaker, and guided tasting expert
- Built and maintained the World Cider Map, the industry’s most accurate directory of cidermakers (see my ciderguide repository for details)
- Launched the Certified Cider Professional education and accreditation program for the American Cider Association
- Judged cider at the Royal Bath & West Show, Australian Cider Awards, Virginia Governor’s Cup, and other major competitions
Competition Director - Michigan Cider Association (2015-2023)
- Directed the Great Lakes International Cider & Perry Competition, the world’s largest cider judging
- Developed custom WordPress-based entry registration and payment system that handled nearly $100,000 in entry fees each year
- Recruited and coordinated the efforts of 100+ judges, stewards, and staff members over the three-day event
- Served as judge (2012) and assistant director (2013-2014) prior to assuming leadership of the competition
🏅 Education, Certifications, and Awards
Significant Contribution to the Cider Industry - American Cider Association (2017)
- Fourth recipient of the prestigious annual award conferred by the industry’s largest trade organization
Recognized Judge - Beer Judge Certification Program (2013)
Certified Cicerone - Cicerone Certification Program (2012)
🏫 Teaching Career
💼 Experience
Teacher - Various Schools (2007-2016)
- Middle school and high school math teacher and elementary school math remediation tutor
- Presented workshops at state and local conferences on standards-based grading and logic puzzles
- Developed curriculum for summer enrichment courses on Japanese logic puzzles and video game design
- Sponsored Chess Club at Blacksburg Middle School and MathCounts Team at Blacksburg New School
Teaching Assistant - Radford University (2013-2017)
- Developed curriculum and co-taught the graduate-level Educational Technology: Applications, Applied Research and Integration and Euclidean and Non-Euclidean Geometry courses for secondary mathematics teachers
🏅 Education, Certifications, and Awards
Teaching License - Virginia Department of Education (2008-Present)
- Endorsements: Mathematics (All), Social Science (Grades 6-8), English (Grades 6-8)
MCPS Star Grant - Montgomery County Public Schools (2009)
- Co-recipient of an internally funded grant to create an online repository of instructional resources for mathematics teachers across the district
Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy - Indiana University (2006)
- Broad liberal arts background with coursework in history, literature, cognitive science, and information science
⛰️ Personal Pursuits
Trail Maintenance (2024-Present)
- Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club maintainer from Bailey Gap Shelter (Mile 660.9) to VA 613 (Mile 664.6) and from Lone Pine Peak (Mile 667.0) to War Spur Connector Trail (Mile 668.0)
- Builds on past seasonal employment as Catawba Mountain Ridgerunner for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy in 2012 and 2015
- Rehabilitating the neglected Locust Knob Loop Trail in Jefferson National Forest. Outdoors legend Johnny Molloy writes that the hike “delivers everywhere-you-look beauty and a feeling of true wilderness”
Pickleball (2024-Present)
- Active intermediate-level player with multiple podium finishes in singles league play
Great Smoky Mountains 900 Miler Club (2019-2022)
- Successful completion of all official hiking trails in the Smokies (see my great-smokies-circuit repository for details)
Earthen Cottage Project (2008-2019)
- Built and maintained an off-grid cob cottage using solar panels for electricity and a wood-burning stove for heat
European Long-Distance Trails (2006)
- Self-supported backpacking trips on world-renowned hiking trails such as the Pennine Way (England), West Highland Way and Southern Upland Way (Scotland), GR20 (Corsica), and Tour du Mont Blanc (Switzerland, Italy, France)
Appalachian Trail Thru-Hike (2005)
- Self-supported AT thru-hike from Springer Mountain to Mount Katahdin (2,175 miles)
Southern Tier Route Bikepacking (2005)
- Self-supported bicycle tour from St. Augustine, Florida to Austin, Texas (1,467 miles)
Pacific Crest Trail Thru-Hike (2004)
- Self-supported PCT thru-hike from the Mexican Border to the Canadian Border (2,650 miles)