ABOUT ME

As a kid growing up on the eastern plains of Colorado, maps always fascinated me. I could see the clouds over Kansas from my front porch, but maps let me see a whole lot more. From an early age, I was volunteering as the map holder and folder on family road trips. Then, I discovered fold out maps in my parents' collection of National Geographic magazines from the 50's and 60's. I soon learned to look for the thicker, less flexible editions, because there were glorious folded maps inside.

My passion for maps and map making has always been a part of my life even though I migrated into a career in motion pictures. Filmmaking was not unlike cartography, in its sharing of ideas and information (at least with documentaries.) After studying graphic design and film production at the University of Colorado in Boulder, I moved to California to find my place in the movie business. There were moments when I thought I would never find work beyond student films and I almost moved back to Colorado. But I soon found that if I didn't mind not getting paid, I could at least get started in Hollywood. The experience I gained in digital imaging did land me a good job at the world's largest visual effects facility, Industrial Light and Magic. During the time spent at ILM (nearly ten years) I met my lovely wife, Kelly and we started our family with our daughters, Maggie and Molly.

When the world changed in the fall of 2001, I was among many in the entertainment industry who began to change career focus. I wanted to enlighten rather than entertain. That was when I returned to maps, and my love of maps led me to California State University Northridge. There, I learned cartographic design, remote sensing, and GIS (Geographic Information Systems.) Now, I am setting out to enlighten the world with maps.



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