M.S. Library and Information Science, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 2007-2009

My library studies were guided by the UIUC data curation curriculum, with the support of a Data Curation Education Program graduate fellowship. This fellowship enabled me to complete a practicum at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) where I authored deaccessioning guidelines for scientific digital data collections.

M.S. Geology, University of Minnesota Duluth, 1991-1993

I studied the impacts of geologic processes on archaeological site formation and preservation. Thesis title: "Reconstruction of the Late Glacial and Holocene Paleoenvironmental Setting at 20SA596, and the Saginaw Basin, Michigan."

B.A., Geology and Anthropology, Miami University, 1988-1991

Illinois Experts Profile

My perspective as a creator, user, and provider of digital data enables me to bring a uniquely relevant skill set to long-term stewardship of digital data collections.

My professional roles have included: program manager, grant writer, GIS professional, metadata specialist, map application developer, web content manager, usability specialist, and outreach presenter.

Program Manager, Illinois Height Modernization

Our program has improved elevation data for Illinois by acquiring, and enabling on-line access to, airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) elevation data and also by establishing a statewide network of land survey monuments as part of the National Spatial Reference System database.

As Program Manager, I have:

• Secured $23 million dollars in grants from federal, state, and county and university partners.
• Directed programmatic spending for an annual budget of $3.5 million dollars.
• Supervised teams of academic professional staff, hourly workers, and student interns.
• Managed contract schedules, staffing, meeting agendas, reports, and deliverables.
• Implemented open bid contracts to acquire LiDAR data and install land survey benchmarks.
• Enabled access to LiDAR data for 95 counties, including Terabytes of data and millions of files.
• Conducted outreach via conference presentations, information booths, and poster displays.

Previously, I guided the development, administration, and promotion of the Illinois Natural Resources Geospatial Data Clearinghouse for its first 15 years. On-line at http://clearinghouse.isgs.illinois.edu/, this data repository provides access to airborne LiDAR data, GIS vector data, statewide orthoimagery, historic aerial photography, metadata, and map applications.