ABOUT
GIS professional, cartographer, and graduate student.
I am a GIS professional and graduate student completing an M.S. in Cartography & Geographic Information Systems at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, with a focus in Geospatial Data Science. Before coming to UW–Madison, I studied both Geography and Finance at Augustana College and completed a minor in Geographic Information Systems.
That combination has shaped the way I approach my work more than it might seem at first. Geography taught me to think spatially about people, places, landscapes, and the relationships between them, while Finance gave me another way of working with data, quantitative problems, and real-world decision making. GIS eventually became the place where many of those interests came together, which led me to pursue it more deeply through graduate school and professional work.
My interest in geography also comes from a genuine curiosity about landscapes and how people interact with them. Growing up near Madison, agriculture and the rural Midwest were always close by. During college, that interest became more tangible through independent research using UAV and satellite imagery to study crop health and precision-agriculture applications.
Since 2023, working with the Wisconsin State Cartographer’s Office has given me the chance to see how broad GIS can actually be. My work has ranged from statewide production cartography and parcel data to research GIS, remote sensing, spatial analysis, and workflow automation. I have enjoyed being able to move between different kinds of problems while continuing to build a stronger technical and professional foundation.
What interests me most is work where the technical side of GIS connects to something practical. I enjoy working through complicated spatial data and building better workflows, but I also care about what comes out of that process—whether it is a map, dataset, analysis, research product, or tool that someone can actually understand and use.
Education
University of Wisconsin–Madison
M.S. Cartography & Geographic Information Systems
Geospatial Data Science Focus
Expected December 2026
Augustana College
B.A. Geography & Finance
Minor in Geographic Information Systems
May 2025
Skills & Tools
GIS & Mapping — ArcGIS Pro · ArcGIS Online · StoryMaps · ModelBuilder · Spatial Analysis · Geoprocessing · Georeferencing
Programming & Data — Python · R · SQL · Microsoft Excel · Statistical Analysis · Workflow Automation
Remote Sensing — UAV Mapping · Multispectral Imagery · Sentinel-2 · Pix4D · Raster Analysis · NDVI · Photogrammetry
Cartography & Design — Cartographic Generalization · Adobe Illustrator · Adobe Photoshop
What Draws Me to GIS
What has kept me interested in GIS is how many different directions it can go. The same basic tools and ways of thinking can be applied to agriculture, transportation, public lands, environmental questions, research, recreation, business, and plenty of problems I probably have not encountered yet. I like the technical side of working with spatial data, but I also like that the work usually connects back to a real place or real question. That combination is a big part of why I chose to keep pursuing GIS.
Outside of GIS
Outside of work and school, I spend a lot of my free time golfing, fishing, camping, and generally finding reasons to be outside. Those interests are separate from my professional work, but they probably also explain some of the curiosity I have always had about landscapes, natural resources, maps, and the places around me.