"Any day that I can make a map is a good day."


I generate understanding and meaning through mapping and visualization and I motivate projects forward through mapping, visualization, and communication.

If I can produce a map at the end of a workflow I am tremendously happy. Even if the map is a rough draft or a one-off, some mapping is better than no mapping.

My favorite days involve my ideal workflow: producing a map from an undifferentiated mass of data.

I enjoy - and prefer - using a suite of open source tools to accomplish these tasks. My favorite tools to accomplish these tasks are R and RStudio, Python, SQLite, and QGIS.

unstructured data → database → analysis → map → narrative

I have over 20 years of experience of working with unstructured and undifferentiated data, leveraging the power and utility of relational databases, conducting analyses, visualizing results, and reporting findings.

Previously, I have worked for the United States Census Bureau and several Seattle-based companies such as Zillow, Community Attributes, and Integral GIS. Most recently, at the University of Washington, I was a consulting data scientist with the Center for Social Science Computation and Research, a cartography and spatial analysis instructor with the Department of Geography, and a research scientist with the e-Science Institute and the Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology.

I'm best known as the guy with the Autobots jacket. Maybe you've seen me?
I've also been known to wear a Navy blue sport coat. How about that one?