About the Board

The USGIF Academic Advisory Board exists to advance geospatial education and connect an expanding geospatial talent pool with professional opportunities in the GEOINT community. Support for USGIF accreditation of university geospatial intelligence certificate programs is primary among board responsibilities, including service on evaluation panels and maintenance of accreditation guidelines. Further, the Academic Advisory Board serves a growing academic presence within the GEOINT community, shaping academic forums at fall GEOINT Symposia and spring Tech Days events. Finally, the board guides development of scholarly GEOINT publications, as well as internship and fellowship initiatives that promote workforce development. Geospatial professionals from government, industry, and academia comprise the USGIF Academic Advisory Board.

Members

Dr. Todd S. Bacastow
Professor of Practice for Geospatial Intelligence, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, Dutton e-Education Institute, Penn State World Campus
Dr. Todd S. Bacastow is a Professor of Practice for Geospatial Intelligence in Penn State’s College of Earth and Mineral Sciences Dutton e-Education Institute. Dr. Bacastow is the director of the Graduate Certificate in Geospatial Intelligence which is offered as an option within both Penn State’s Master of Geographic Information Systems and the Professional Master of Homeland Security. Before joining the Penn State University, Dr. Bacastow served in the US Army in a variety of combat arms and combat support positions. He was previously an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography and Computer Science and an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering at the United States Military Academy.

Stewart Bruce
GIS Program Coordinator, Washington College
Stewart Bruce is GIS Program Coordinator at Washington College, where he teaches Introduction to GIS and Intermediate GIS courses each semester and involves the students in project based learning by focusing on the local issues within the Chester River Watershed. With the help of four professional GIS staff and twenty-five student assistants, Stewart manages numerous funded projects. One such project is the Maryland Crime Mapping and Analysis Program (CMAP). CMAP is currently in its third year of funding from the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention in Maryland. One of the key elements of CMAP is the Maryland Offender Management System which allows for the sharing of offender spatial data throughout Maryland. Another valuable project is the Geospatial Education Technology Initiative (WCGetIT), a Moodle based virtual learning environment that is being used in K-12 schools in Maryland and Pennsylvania and is also utilized to provide professional development training for adults. Stewart previously worked as a Senior Extension Associate at The Pennsylvania State University where he provided GIS technical support and extension education to organizations throughout Pennsylvania. Prior to working at Penn State, he was the IT/GIS Director of Mifflin County, PA, where he helped the county implement a local Justice NET (JNET) project to share data between county level criminal justice organizations. Stewart has a B.A in Geography from California State University, Long Beach, and a M.S. in Geography from The Pennsylvania State University.

Edward Cope
Functional Executive, NSG Research and Development Functional Management, NGA
Mr. Edward T. Cope, DISL-01, is the Functional Executive for NSG Research and Development Functional Management. He has been serving in this position at NGA Headquarters in Bethesda since November 2007 directly reporting to the Functional Manager for NSG R&D. Retired from the USAF after 32 years of service, Mr. Cope was appointed as a Defense Intelligence Senior Leader on 17 Oct 2005 by former NGA Director, Gen James R. Clapper. He was initially assigned in a dual capacity as Deputy Director of the Advanced Radar GEOINT (also known as Space Radar) Integrated Program Office (SR IPO) simultaneously reporting to the USAF two-star SR IPO Director and the NGA Director of InnoVision while concurrently was serving as the NGA Source Directorate Senior leading IOC-SW operational activities until 31 Dec 2006. Space Radar System Program Director in formulating and implementing the acquisition strategy to build and deploy the Nation’s future National Technical Means Radar capability designed to meet the NSG Radar GEOINT requirements. Mr. Cope previously served in NGA InnoVision while in the United States Air Force (USAF) as an active duty Colonel guiding the evolution and innovation of new Advanced Geospatial-Intelligence (AGI) products and services in partnership with NRO and the NSG. Over twenty years of his USAF career were served in the NRO primarily focused on acquisition and operations of cutting-edge space Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities. He has served in numerous NRO and USAF leadership positions such as the NRO Deputy Chief Information Officer (DCIO), Deputy Director of IMINT Systems Engineering, and leading Mission Performance Enhancement acquisition initiatives for the Secretary of the Air Force Special Projects at Los Angeles Air Force Base, El Segundo, California. His awards include Defense Superior Service Medal and multiple Joint Service and USAF Commendation Medals. Mr. Cope has a B.S Degree in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Science degree in Operations Research from the Air Force Institute of Technology in Dayton, Ohio. His professional education includes Squadron Officer School, Armed Forces Staff College, and the USAF Air War College.

David DiBiase
Director of Education, Industry Solutions, Esri
David leads the Education Team within Industry Solutions, a unit of Esri’s Marketing Division. The team promotes and supports GIS use and spatial thinking in higher education, primary and secondary education, and museums and libraries worldwide. Prior to joining Esri in 2011, David founded and led the Penn State Online certificate and master’s degree programs in GIS. He was lead editor of the GIS&T Body of Knowledge and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Geospatial Technology Competency Model. From 1998-2003 David helped define the criteria by which “GIS Professional” certification has been awarded to over 5,000 individuals, and is a past-president of the GIS Certification Institute. His interests include geospatial workforce development, learning design, e-learning, and professional ethics. He continues to lead workshops in responsible scholarship and professional practice for Penn State Online.

COL Steven D. Fleming
Academy Professor, Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering, United States Military Academy
COL Fleming is an Academy Professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York. Prior to arriving at West Point, he was an air defense artillery (ADA) officer with command and staff experience in short-range air defense operations at the battalion, brigade and division levels. Academically, COL Fleming specializes in geospatial information sciences with research focused on large-scale mapping of coastal regions, terrestrial image data collection and applications of new geospatial technologies for homeland security and military operations. He has taught Physical Geography, Remote Sensing, Cartography, Photogrammetry, Surveying, Advanced Topics in Geography and Military Geospatial Operations.

Dr. Kitty Hancock
Co-director, Center for Geospatial Information Technology and Associate Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech
Dr. Hancock is the co-director for the Center for Geospatial Information Technology and an Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She received her B.S. in Civil Engineering from Colorado State University in 1982 and her M.S.C.E. and Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University in 1991 and 1994, respectively. Dr. Hancock has nearly 20 years of experience as a researcher and educator in geospatial solutions for engineering problems and 25 years of experience in transportation engineering including freight planning and operations, highway safety, crash analysis, and roadside safety. Dr. Hancock began applying geographic information systems to transportation problems and expanded to hazardous materials response and recently into using graph theory and network analysis for research into complex human-infrastructure interactions. At Virginia Tech, she currently coordinates the Master of Engineering program for geospatial engineering within the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and teaches introductory and advanced geospatial analysis to graduate students.

Shawn Kalis
Research Director, Education and Training Directorate, Riverside Research
Shawn A. Kalis currently provides leadership and vision for the Education and Training (E&T) Directorate of Riverside Research, a not-for-profit, scientific-research institution. Mr. Kalis directs the company’s cadre of E&T professionals committed to supporting and enhancing the security of our nation, by providing high-level technical advisory and engineering support to government entities, public agencies, and private subcontractors in the national-security and intelligence sectors. He has been a member of the professional intelligence community (IC) for over 30 years and has extensive experience in multiple disciplines of operational and strategic intelligence, from the unit to the Agency level, to include a 21-year career with the U.S. Air Force, two years with the U.S. Department of State, and 10 years as an Advisory and Assistance Services (A&AS) contractor directly supporting DOD and IC missions. His experience with GEOINT and Full Spectrum GEOINT includes directly supporting the Air Force and the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency mission goals by participating as a key member of combined government and A&AS support teams. In addition to possessing broad intelligence expertise, Mr. Kalis has extensive experience in the academic arena, to include providing support to the Air Force Institute of Technology and the NGA College. He has served as an AF Trainer, Course Director at the USAF Special Operations School, and Crisis Management Trainer for the U.S. Foreign Service Institute’s National Foreign Affairs Training Center. Mr. Kalis currently serves as an adjunct faculty member teaching intelligence, terrorism, and regional studies-related courses at Community Colleges, Universities, and other government institutions and organizations. He holds a Bachelor’s in Communications from the University of Nebraska, a MA in Middle East studies from the University of Texas, and is currently an active PhD Candidate (ABD) focusing on the Philosophy of Technology and Remote Sensing at Salve Regina University, Newport, Rhode Island.

Susan Kalweit
Principal, Booz Allen Hamilton
Ms. Susan Kalweit is a Principal at Booz Allen Hamilton. She leads a team of geospatial professionals delivering spatial integration and analytic services in the intelligence and international development communities. Ms. Kalweit has been among the early leaders in the US Geospatial Intelligence Foundation. She led a team of industry, academia and government leaders to develop the initial USGIF GEOINT Certificate Accreditation Program. Ms. Kalweit also is a part time instructor at the University of Maryland Baltimore County teaching the Professional Seminar in Geospatial Intelligence. Prior to working at Booz Allen Hamilton, Ms. Kalweit worked for the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) for 17 years where she held various positions as an analytic operations division chief for homeland security, technology R&D program manager, and imagery analyst. Shortly after 9/11, Ms. Kalweit was temporarily assigned to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to lead an inter-agency team. This team, the Interagency Geospatial Preparedness Team, was tasked with developing a national strategy for geospatial preparedness. Ms. Kalweit is the recipient of the Distinguished Civilian Service Award, and a 2001 graduate of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University. Ms. Kalweit holds a master of science degree in National Resource Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University, a master of science degree in Information Management Systems from Marymount University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and German from Duke University.

Terrence A. Kanka
Software Systems Engineer, Principal Staff, The MITRE Corporation
Mr. Kanka (Terry) specializes in geographic information system (GIS) and related technologies. His experience ranges from GIS for military command and control to geospatial standards and IT standards policy and governance. In recent years he has focused on strategies for enterprise geospatial programs at Intelligence Community organizations. Currently, he is also involved in developing U.S. profiles to ISO/TC 211 geographic information standards. Terry joined MITRE in 1992 after a career in the United States Army as a communications officer and software engineer. MITRE is a not-for-profit organization that operates several fully funded research and development centers (FFRDCs), partnering with government sponsors to support their crucial operational missions. This affords Terry the opportunity to work with a variety of government organizations. Terry has a BS in general engineering from the United States Military Academy and a MS in Computer Studies from North Carolina State University.

Karen Kemp
University of Southern California
Karen Kemp was the founding Director of the International Masters Program in GIS at the University of Redlands in southern California, having held that position and Professor of Geographic Information Science until December 2005. Dr. Kemp holds geography degrees from the University of Calgary, Alberta (BSc 1976), the University of Victoria, British Columbia (MA 1982) and the University of California Santa Barbara (PhD 1992). In 1988 she joined the National Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (NCGIA) in Santa Barbara working as Coordinator of Education Programs and co-editor, with Dr. Michael Goodchild, of the internationally recognized NCGIA Core Curriculum in GIS. After completing her PhD at UCSB in 1992, she worked at the Technical University of Vienna, Austria, and with Longman GeoInformation in Cambridge, England on various international GIS education projects. She returned to the NCGIA in 1994 to work as Assistant Director and later Associate Director. In January 1999 she moved to the University of California Berkeley to become Executive Director of the Geographic Information Science Center where she helped build the foundation for an innovative campus-wide GIScience initiative. In September 2000, she was invited to join the faculty at the University of Redlands to create and direct their new MS GIS program. Dr. Kemp was a founding member of the Board of Directors of the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS) and acted as senior editor of the UCGIS Education Priorities. She was also a founding member of the Board of Directors of the GIS Certification Institute (GISCI) and a member of the Editorial Team for the UCGIS GI Science and Technology Body of Knowledge. In recognition for these and other contributions, in October 2004 she was named Educator of the Year by the UCGIS.

Col. Mike Krimmer, USAF (Ret.)
Assistant Professor and Program Head of Geospatial Studies, Northern Virginia Community College
Colonel (USAF, retired) Michael J. Krimmer, PhD, is Assistant Professor and Program Head of Geospatial Studies at Northern Virginia Community College. Dr. Krimmer retired from the Air Force after 25 years of service in 2003 and began teaching geographic information systems at NVCC in 2006. Since that time he has expanded the NVCC GIS program from a single course to a 29-hour Career Studies Certificate, with 6 different GIS offerings ranging from Introductory GIS to Remote Sensing. In addition to teaching, course and program development, Dr. Krimmer is the principal investigator for the Geospatial Career Pipeline Initiative, a $492,000 Department of Labor grant to NVCC to develop the next generation of geospatial employees. Dr. Krimmer is a member of the Association of American Geographers and the American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. He holds a BA in Environmental Conservation from the University of Colorado, a Masters of Public Administration from the University of Oklahoma, an MS in Acquisition Logistics from the US Air Force Institute of Technology, and a PhD in Environmental Science and Public Policy from George Mason University. He is a graduate of the Defense Systems Management College Program Managers Course and the US Air Force Air War College.

Dr. Marguerite Madden
Director of the Center for Remote Sensing and Mapping Science and Professor in Department of Geography, University of Georgia
Dr. Marguerite Madden is the Director of the Center for Remote Sensing and Mapping Science (CRMS) and Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Georgia (UGA). She received her B.A. and M.A. degrees in Biology from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh and her Ph.D. in Ecology in 1990 from the University ofGeorgia. Her research over the past 27 years at UGA has focused on geographic information science (GIScience) and landscape analysis with emphasis on remote sensing, GIS modeling and field data collection. Recent projects funded by federal agencies such as the National Park Service, National Science Foundation, U.S. Geological Survey and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration include analysis of native and exotic vegetation in nationalparks, human-environment interactions, low frequency climate effects on vegetation, wildlife behaviour and disease models, geovisualization and landscape/forest structure using LiDAR. Dr. Madden is Technical Commission President of the International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ISPRS) Commission IV “Geodatabases and Digital Mapping” (2008-2012) and served as Vice President, President-Elect, President and Past President of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) (2005-2009). She received the ISPRS Willem Schemerhorn Award (2004) and ASPRS SAIC Estes Memorial Teaching Award (2011), ASPRS Fellow Award (2010), ASPRS Outstanding Service Award (2010), ASPRS Presidential Citations (2005, 2009, 2011) and ASPRS Col. Claude H. Birdseye President’s Citation (2008). She served as Associate Editor for Wetlands Ecology and Management (2010 to present), ISPRS J. of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (2004-2008) and Wetlands (1997-2000), served on Editorial Boards of ISPRS Journal of Geo-Information (2011 to present), International Journal of Health Geographics (2010 to present) and ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (1992-2005) and is Editor of the 2009 ASPRS Manual of Geographic Information Systems.

Dr. Rakesh Malhotra
Assistant Professor of Geography, Department of Government and History, Fayetteville State University
Dr. Malhotra is an Assistant Professor of Geography in the Department of Government and History at Fayetteville State University where he teaching geospatial courses (GIS and remote sensing). Prior to joining Fayetteville State University, Dr. Malhotra worked at North Carolina Central University and Fugro EarthData. Dr. Malhotra has a diverse educational background with degrees in Mechanical Engineering (B.E.), Forest Resources (M.S.), Computer Science (M.S.) and a Graduate Certificate (Conservation and Sustainable Development). He completed his terminal degree in Geography from The University of Georgia. He is a Certified Mapping Scientist (ASPRS), GIS Professional (GISCI), a Certified Technical Trainer (CompTIA) and an Esri Certified Instructor. He is involved in promoting geospatial education and allied pedagogical issues (certification, accreditation, and workforce development) as related to Historically Black Colleges / Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs).

Dr. David Messinger
Director, Digital Imaging and Remote Sensing Laboratory, Rochester Institute of Technology

Dr. Messinger received a Bachelors degree in Physics from Clarkson University and a Ph.D. in Physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He has worked as an Analyst for XonTech Inc. and on the National Missile Defense Program for Northrop Grumman. Previously, he was an Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellow. He is currently an Associate Research Professor in the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science at the Rochester Institute of Technology where he is the Director of the Digital Imaging and Remote Sensing Laboratory. His personal research focuses on projects related to remotely sensed spectral image exploitation using physics-based approaches and advanced mathematical techniques with particular emphasis on the areas of large area search and target detection.

John Moeller
President, JJ Moeller & Associates LLC
Prior to his current position, John Moeller served as the Senior Principal Engineer with Northrop Grumman Information Technology. Mr. Moeller was a senior advisor for geospatial standards, interoperability, and strategic issues. He also serves as the Co-Chair of the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation’s Technical Committee, Co-Chair of the Spatial Ontology Community of Practice which was initially established as part of the Federal CIO Council’s Best Practices Committee, and is the USGIF representative on NGA’s Geospatial-Intelligence Standards Working Group. Mr. Moeller is Northrop Grumman’s representative for the Open Geospatial Consortium’s Planning Committee and Strategic Member Committee and for the Geographic Information Technical Committee of the International Committee for Information Technology Standards. He was a member of the Board of Directors for the Geospatial Information & Technology Association (GITA) from 2006 – 2008 and is now working with the Board as the Chair of GITA’s Federal Liaison Advisory Committee Mr. Moeller remains active in national and international level geospatial organizations along with being a participant in many ongoing SDI initiatives of the geospatial community. Mr. Moeller has a Bachelor of Science from the University of New Hampshire and a Master of Science Degree from the SUNY College of Environmental Sciences at Syracuse University.

Robert Slusar
Senior Principal Engineer, TASC
Mr. Slusar is a Senior Principal Engineer with TASC, Inc. He is responsible for the overarching management of program support to multiple Intelligence Community (IC) Agencies, the Department of Defense, State Goverments, and International customers. Mr. Slusar was one of the initial industry leaders supporting the academia and government leaders at the initial stand-up of the USGIF GEOINT Certificate Accreditation Program. Prior to joining industry, Mr. Slusar was a career Army officer serving for 30 years in a number of command and staff positions in support of military actions worldwide. His geospatial military background includes Commander 30th Engineer Battalion (Topographic) at Fort Bragg, Chief, Geospatial Intelligence officer, Headquarters U.S. European Command and Commandant of the National Geospatial-Intelligence School at Fort Belvoir, were he provided strategic direction to the organization and committed NGA resources to deliver imagery and geospatial intelligence production and exploitation training. Mr. Slusar has a Bachelor of Science from the University of Nebraska and a Master of Science Degree from the University of Southern California.

Dr. Anthony Stefanidis
Associate Professor, ESGS Department and Director, Center for Geospatial-Intelligence, George Mason University
Dr. Anthony Stefanidis is Associate Professor with the ESGS Department at George Mason University (GMU). Tony is also the director of the Center for Geospatial-Intelligence at GMU. He received is M.S. and Ph.D. from The Ohio State University, and his B.S. from National Technical University of Athens. Tony’s expertise is in the analysis of digital imagery and video, spatiotemporal analysis, sensor networks, and image-based geospatial information systems. His current research interests include the areas of image analysis and video processing for spatio-temporal applications, and are funded by NSF and the National Geospatial-Information Agency (NGA). Dr. Stefanidis has co-edited three books, one on image analysis for GIS applications, and another two on geosensor networks.

May Yuan
Edith Kinney Gaylord Presidential Professor; Brandt Professor of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences; Director, Geoinformatics Program; Director,Center for Spatial Analysis, University of Oklahoma
May Yuan (BS 1987 National Taiwan University; MS 1992 and Ph.D. 1994 State University of New York at Buffalo) is Edith Kinney Gaylord Presidential Professor and Brandt Professor of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences, the Director of Geoinformatics Program, and the Director of Center for Spatial Analysis at the University of Oklahoma. May’s research interest is in temporal GIS, geographic representation, spatiotemporal information modeling, and applications of geographic information and spatial thinking to dynamic systems. Her research projects center on representation models, algorithms for spatiotemporal analysis, and modeling of spatial dynamics in human-environment systems. She explores multiple perspectives of dynamics, examines the influences of space syntax on human activities, analyzes spatiotemporal patterns and behavioral structures of dynamic systems, and draws insights into the system development and evolution to derive an integrated understanding, interpretation, and prediction of activities, events, and processes. She is a member of Mapping Science Committee at the National Academy of Science, a member of American Association of Geographers Honors Committee, American Associate Editor of the International Journal of Geographical Information Science, member of the editorial boards of Annals of American Association of Geographers and Transaction in GIS, and President-Elect of University Consortium of Geographic Information Science.