The business of the Network shall be managed by a Steering Committee consisting of nine members. Steering Committee members may serve for a maximum of two consecutive three-year terms. In any given year, one-third of the Steering Committee members shall be approved by acclamation at the Annual Meeting except when vacancies may require more than one-third be approved. Individual Steering Committee members shall be selected to represent the following groups: state government, regional planning organizations, municipal government, public utilities, nonprofit non-governmental organizations, academia, private businesses, and two members-at-large. View past steering committee members here.
To view subcommittee members click here.
Executive Committee
|
President City of Norwalk CT 203-854-3206 |
Vice President Cary Chadwick 860-345-5216
|
Secretary Connecticut MetroCOG |
Committee Members
| Cary Chadwick | Academia Representative | University of Connecticut, CLEAR |
| Aaron Nash | Municipal Representative | City of Hartford |
| Steve Perry | Non-profit Organization Representative | Granby Land Trust/Sperry Geospatial, LLC |
| Kristen LaBrie | Private Sector Representative | New England GeoSystems |
| Dan Czaja | State Government Representative | Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection |
| Carl Zimmerman | Regional Planning Organization Representative | Western Connecticut Council of Governments |
| Keith Anderson | Utility Representative | Connecticut Natural Gas Corporation |
| Mark Goetz | Past President | Connecticut Metropolitan Council of Governments |
| George Obeng | Member-at-large | Connecticut Metropolitan Council of Governments |
| Steven Birney | Member-at-large | City of Norwalk |
| Dan Bourret | Member-at-large | Lower CT River Valley Council of Governments |
| Jeff Nolan | Member-at-large | M5 Information Services |
| Jason Courter | Member-at-large | New England GeoSystems |
| Kevin Dunkin | Member-at-large | Town of Newtown |
| Thad Dymkowski | Member-at-large (3-year term) | Prime AE Group |
| Mark Hoover | Member-at-large | Connecticut Metropolitan Council of Governments |
| Meredith Metcalf | Member-at-large | Eastern Connecticut State University |
| Kristen Ponak | Member-at-large | GEI Consultants |
| Erik Snowden | Member-at-large | Capitol Region Council of Governments |
City of Norwalk
sbirney@norwalkct.org
Steven Birney is a GIS Analyst for the City of Norwalk, CT. Steven graduated with honors from Central Connecticut State University where he holds a BA in Geography, specializing in Geographic Information Systems. Initially he was introduced to GIS while working for the National Park Service at Haleakala National Park in Maui and Golden Gate National Recreation Area in San Francisco. Now he administers the enterprise geographic information system for the City of Norwalk. He specializes in municipal GIS, QAQC, cartography, and application development. When not climbing, biking, or hiking, he’s working on solving problems with GIS. He loves learning about new tools and features just as much as teaching about them, and is always excited to hear how others are using GIS.
Lower CT River Valley COG
DBourret@rivercog.org
Dan Bourret is the GIS Coordinator for the Lower CT River Valley COG. I have been in the position for 10 years. I am also the zoning enforcement officer in Portland, CT. I graduated from UConn in 2007 with a B.S. in Geography. I’ve done a little bit of everything in that time but some large projects include a regional parcel dataset with town boundary study, Grow Smart economic study, and the COG’s Regional Transit plan. Most of my work outside of COG projects involves working with smaller towns in our region providing them GIS services.
University of Connecticut, Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR)
cary.chadwick@uconn.edu
Cary Chadwick is the coordinator of the Geospatial Training Program at UConn’s Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR). She develops and teaches short courses using CT’s public domain data and geospatial technologies including desktop GIS, smartphone GPS, remote sensing and online mapping tools. As part of CLEAR’s geospatial team, she also helps to update and maintain the CT Environmental Conditions Online (CT ECO) website which provides a variety of online maps and tools for viewing Connecticut’s environmental and natural resource information and statewide orthophotography. CTECO is a partnership between CLEAR and the CT DEEP.
Connecticut Metropolitan Council of Governments
gobeng@ctmetro.org
George does wonderful things at MetroCOG. Once he submits his bio, it will be posted here.
New England GeoSystems
jason@ne-geo.com
Jason is a 2000 Graduate of Central Connecticut State University and is currently employed as a GIS Analyst at New England GeoSystems (NEGEO) where he has been since 2005. Jason has also served intermittently for the Connecticut Parcel Working Group on developing statewide parcel standards since the mid 2000’s. Jason’s experience is based on his 17 year journey from being a GIS intern to his current primary responsibility of managing municipal cadastral datasets for NEGEO’s 70+ municipal clients. Jason and the technicians under his watch are responsible for actively maintaining, updating and publishing datasets of multiple clients weekly and work to assure a high level of accuracy and adherence to the State of CT Parcel Standards. Jason is also responsible with working with management to complete these projects within tight budgets constraints and providing the quickest possible turnaround. Using the full suite of ESRI software products and AutoCAD as needed, Jason and team of technicians steward a municipality through the initial development of a cadastral dataset, through tax map design, implementation, annual maintenance and eventual hosting on NEGEO’s MapXpress online GIS application.
Prime AE Group
tdymkowski@prime3sg.com
Thad Dymkowski is a certified GIS professional working for Prime AE Group with experience successfully completing GIS projects for a multitude of organizations in government, private sector, and academia. He has comprehensive knowledge of data creation and analysis, GIS server management, application design, database administration, web mapping, and 3D digital model creation. He earned Master’s and Bachelor’s Degrees in Geography from CCSU. He developed an original curriculum for a GIS certificate program and is currently teaching it at Central Connecticut State University for its seventh successful year. He is a founding member and facilitator of the annual GIS Day Event for State of Connecticut. He currently serves as the treasurer for the New England chapter of URISA and is a past President of the Connecticut GIS User to User Steering Committee.
Town of Newtown
kevin.dunkin@newtown-ct.gov
Kevin Dunkin is the GIS Specialist for the Town of Newtown. Kevin graduated from Fairfield University where he holds a BA in Sociology and Anthropology and minor in Environmental Studies and Communications. He was initially introduced to GIS through his statistical analysis research with his professor at Fairfield where he provided support in the advocacy of local non-profit initiatives for legislative reform. His passion for both people and the natural world has led him to continue exploring the relationship between the two with the use of GIS. Since Fairfield, he now has direct municipal GIS experience with the cities of Bridgeport and Norwalk. He has worked extensively on planning, public works, and IT projects and looks forward to becoming more involved with and participate in the GIS
community.
Connecticut Metropolitan Council of Governments
mgoetz@ctmetro.org
Mark Goetz is the GIS Director for the Connecticut Metropolitan Council of Governments. He has been active in the GIS community for over the past decade including leading the development of the State of Connecticut Cadastral (Parcel) Standard as well as a prior stint on the CT GIS User to User Steering Committee. Mark has extensive work experience helping municipalities, regional organizations and utilities in being successful in utilizing GIS technology.
Connecticut Metropolitan Council of Governments
mhoover@ctmetro.org
Mark have been a GIS professional for the past 9 years. Currently, he is a GIS Analyst with the Connecticut Metropolitan Council of Governments where he works on a variety of transportation, conservation and municipal projects. Before that he was involved in academia, first as a Research Specialist with CLEAR, where he modeled salt marsh migration from sea level rise and then as a Research Associate at Yale where he worked on modeling CO2 evasion from streams. Mark graduated from UConn with a BS in Environmental Science and a MS in Natural Resources.
New England GeoSystems
Kristen@ne-geo.com
I have been working in the GIS field now for approximately 13 years, the past five as a Municipal Project Manager for Applied Geographics, Inc. Prior to my work with AppGeo, I worked as a GIS Specialist/Analyst for the Virginia National Guard in Blackstone, Virginia. My duties there included time in Operations, Real Property, and Environmental. Although originally trained as an archaeologist, during undergraduate (UNC-Charlotte) and graduate (USC-Columbia) coursework, I was introduced to GIS and I was hooked. My current position involves serving as Project Manager to over 20 municipalities, primarily in CT, but also in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Maine. I have also worked on State- and Agency- level projects, but my passion is working with Towns.
I love my work. One of the things I love best is solving problems…using GIS as a tool to help other people do their job better. Advocacy and mentoring are two ways in which we can reach out and give back to our profession. I would like to be a member of the Steering Committee to promote both, and to help shape the vision of GIS in Connecticut.
Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection
Daniel.Czaja@ct.gov
Dan does wonderful things at DESPP. Once he submits his bio, it will be posted here.
M5 Information Services
jefferygnolan@m5is.com
Jeff Nolan is a management consultant focused on improving the performance of supply chains through applied analytics. His work has been featured in BusinessWeek and Aviation Week & Space Technology and has been noted in the Harvard Business Review. He has taught statistics and was involved in what Forbes Magazine reported as the first industry-academic collaborative MOOC (massive open online course) that enabled 13,000 students to run web-based statistical analysis live. He believes that though GIS we can do what Buckminster Fuller advised: “To change something, build a new model that makes the old model obsolete.”
Eastern Connecticut State University
metcalfm@easternct.edu
Meredith Metcalf has a diverse background in the natural sciences with a bachelor’s degree in Geology from Colgate University and both a master’s degree in Geology and Geophysics and a Ph.D. in Natural Resources and the Environment (with a concentration in hydrogeology) from the University of Connecticut. Her research interests are in mapping and analyzing groundwater sustainability, ground water quality, and groundwater flow patterns in fractured rock. She is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Earth Science at Eastern Connecticut State University. She is responsible for teaching courses in introductory and advanced geographic information systems where the content is directed towards the application of GIS within the sciences.
City of Hartford
NASHA001@hartford.gov
Aaron Nash has served the public sector for close to 10 years. He is currently working as the GIS project leader for the Department of Public Works at the City of Hartford. His current duties include building mobile and web applications and managing all spatial data in the public right of way. Before his time at the City of Hartford, Aaron worked for the Town of Vernon as the GIS coordinator developing Vernon’s first GIS system. Aaron has earned his graduate degree in Geography from CCSU and has his GISP.
Capitol Region Council of Governments
esnowden@crcog.org
In the 19 years since working as an aerial mapping photographer in Colorado, Erik has been the GIS/IT Coordinator at the Capitol Region Council of Governments in Hartford. He’s managed many large scale regional data development projects including regional parcels and orthoimagery and is currently finishing up a statewide orthomimagery and lidar acquisition endeavor.
Granby Land Trust/Sperry Geospatial, LLC.
sperry325@gmail.com
Steve was first introduced to GIS during a college forestry careers class. He knew then and there his career path was laid out. Little did he know how much this field would evolve to what it has become today. Steve’s GIS career spans 20 years mostly with the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) and with Wayne County, MI. During his time with SEMCOG, he initiated the first ever multi agency regional orthophotography flight in Michigan covering over 5,000 square miles. While as the GIS Technical Manager at Wayne County, Steve oversaw the road network conflation initive as well as the conversion of over 800,000 parcels to the County GIS parcel fabric. However, the passion Steve has with GIS is how it can be adapted to so many disciplines to answer questions and build collaborative relationships. Six years ago Steve and his family moved to Connecticut for his wife’s job. While being a stay at home dad he volunteered his GIS services to the Granby Land Trust and just recently formed his own consulting company. Steve received his Bachelor of Science in Forestry from Michigan Technological University and his Masters in Geography/GIS from Eastern Michigan University. He is also a GISP.
GEI Consultants
KPonak@geiconsultants.com
Kristen Ponak is a GIS Professional (GISP) and GIS Analyst at GEI Consultants. She’s earned nearly a decade of experience in GIS design/analysis, Web-GIS deployment, mobile application development and 3D visualization for various environmental, water resources, ecological and geotechnical projects all over the northeast states. She graduated from the University of Connecticut, with a bachelor’s degree in GIS and Web-Technology. To round out her education, Kristen’s Master’s Degree from Central CT State University is in Ecology and Environmental Science. Kristen stepped into the consulting world after she was a GIS Technician for Northwest Conservation District, Candlewood Lake Authority, and a Resource Assistant for CT DEEP Wildlife. To feature her heart in her work, Kristen also volunteers as Vice-Chair for Connecticut Envirothon, an environmental educational program for high school students.
Connecticut Natural Gas Corporation
Keith has been working in the GIS field since 2000. Over the past seven years he have been the GIS Mapping and Records supervisor for Connecticut Natural Gas. His responsibilities include supervising CNG’s Mapping Technicians as they map our gas distribution facilities, customers and land base changes throughout our 26 town franchise area and the collection and scanning of CNG’s paper records into our record management system. He is also on the AvanGrid Gas GIS integration committee which is integrating GIS systems, standards and work flows between 6 different gas utility companies. Prior to his time at CNG, he worked at Close Jensen and Miller as their GIS Analyst and Environmental planner and various other engineering firms doing surveying, CAD drafting and GIS work. Keith is a 2002 graduate of CCSU, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Geography.
Western Connecticut Council of Governments
Carl Zimmerman manages data analysis, distribution, and mapping for WestCOG and is involved in state-level GIS planning in Connecticut. He is interested applying GIS to a variety of public service and regional problems. He has over 10 years experience in geospatial technology and GIS while working in consulting, academia (Tufts University and Coast Guard Academy), and state government (CT DEEP, Inland Wetlands Section). His professional practice areas include spatial analysis and remote sensing; transportation data and analysis; environmental planning; site planning and engineering, and water resource issues. He has a PhD in Geomatics from the University of Connecticut, a Masters of Landscape Architecture from Kansas State University, and a B.S. in Geologic Sciences from the University of Michigan.