Hi. I thought you might want to get to know your blog author a bit better. Maybe you don't. If not, stop reading. No one's making you read this. If so...I'll answer a few questions below that I get asked a lot. Many of them build on one another. I'll update this with new info whenever I'm getting asked more questions. Which isn't that often these days.
Forward. In no particular order.
1. Where are you from?Wisconsin. Milwaukee, Wisconsin to be more specific. My parents still live there. I do not.
2. Where DO you live?
Currently I live in the greater Twin Cities metropolitan area. Which is actually freaking giant compared to Milwaukee. That's in Minnesota in case you're not familiar with the geography of the upper midwest. I wouldn't blame you if you weren't.
3. How old are you?
28 as of now.
4. What do you do?
I work for The Nature Conservancy. Before we start adding on to this question (4a, 4b, etc.) allow me to explain what that is. I won't give you the mission statement because even though I *should* know what it is, I don't. And because it would probably just confuse you anyway. The Nature Conservancy (hereby referred to as TNC) is a worldwide non-profit landtrust. What that means is that we're a gigantic worldwide organization that thinks about conservation, science, buying land, and partnering up to save the planet. That's right....I save the world.
5. Ok, but what do you do there?
My official title is GIS Analyst. Again, before you ask me what that is, let me try to put it into layman's terms. GIS stands for Geographic Information Systems. This is still very unclear. Those of us actually *doing* GIS like it that way as it means that no one has any idea what it is that we do all day. Basically, what I do is conservation science, only I'm aided by computer software that makes maps and deals with data tables and can answer all sorts of questions about what things are where in respect to other things. Still not clear...I know. I do science, ok. And I move numbers from one place in a spreadsheet to another place in a spreadsheet and then do some magic MS Excel handwaving and make numbers come out. Good enough.
6. (Generally only asked at TNC-wide conferences and meetings) Where do you work?
I'm glad you asked. I work half my time for the state of Illinois, and half my time for a large nationwide government-partnered program called LANDFIRE. Yes. I work for Illinois. From Minneapolis. And I'm from Wisconsin. What?
7. So, what did you study in school to end up doing that?
I did my undergraduate work in wildlife ecology and environmental studies. After that, I got a graduate certificate in GIS.
8. Where did you go to school?
THE University of Wisconsin
8a. (Generally heard only in Minnesota) Oh, which one? Eau Claire/LaCrosse/River Falls?
No. THE.
8b. Madison????
Yes. THE.
Forward. In no particular order.
1. Where are you from?Wisconsin. Milwaukee, Wisconsin to be more specific. My parents still live there. I do not.
2. Where DO you live?
Currently I live in the greater Twin Cities metropolitan area. Which is actually freaking giant compared to Milwaukee. That's in Minnesota in case you're not familiar with the geography of the upper midwest. I wouldn't blame you if you weren't.
3. How old are you?
28 as of now.
4. What do you do?
I work for The Nature Conservancy. Before we start adding on to this question (4a, 4b, etc.) allow me to explain what that is. I won't give you the mission statement because even though I *should* know what it is, I don't. And because it would probably just confuse you anyway. The Nature Conservancy (hereby referred to as TNC) is a worldwide non-profit landtrust. What that means is that we're a gigantic worldwide organization that thinks about conservation, science, buying land, and partnering up to save the planet. That's right....I save the world.
5. Ok, but what do you do there?
My official title is GIS Analyst. Again, before you ask me what that is, let me try to put it into layman's terms. GIS stands for Geographic Information Systems. This is still very unclear. Those of us actually *doing* GIS like it that way as it means that no one has any idea what it is that we do all day. Basically, what I do is conservation science, only I'm aided by computer software that makes maps and deals with data tables and can answer all sorts of questions about what things are where in respect to other things. Still not clear...I know. I do science, ok. And I move numbers from one place in a spreadsheet to another place in a spreadsheet and then do some magic MS Excel handwaving and make numbers come out. Good enough.
6. (Generally only asked at TNC-wide conferences and meetings) Where do you work?
I'm glad you asked. I work half my time for the state of Illinois, and half my time for a large nationwide government-partnered program called LANDFIRE. Yes. I work for Illinois. From Minneapolis. And I'm from Wisconsin. What?
7. So, what did you study in school to end up doing that?
I did my undergraduate work in wildlife ecology and environmental studies. After that, I got a graduate certificate in GIS.
8. Where did you go to school?
THE University of Wisconsin
8a. (Generally heard only in Minnesota) Oh, which one? Eau Claire/LaCrosse/River Falls?
No. THE.
8b. Madison????
Yes. THE.
