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Geospatial Projects

South Carolina National Guard COVID-19 Geospatial Response

Role: Environmental GIS Manager
Organization: South Carolina Military Department, Office of the Adjutant General
Duration: March 2020 – February 2022


Overview

Led geospatial analysis and dashboard development for South Carolina's unified COVID-19 response, providing situational awareness to state leadership coordinating emergency operations across multiple agencies. The work directly supported resource allocation decisions affecting $200M+ in emergency resources.


Challenge

When the pandemic began, South Carolina had no systems or processes for sharing dynamic health data between agencies. Hospital capacity data existed in a state emergency database but wasn't in a format suitable for analysis. Leadership needed answers immediately: Where are cases emerging? Which hospitals are reaching capacity? Where should we deploy National Guard medics and resources?


Solution

Working alongside GIS Program Manager Christy Jacobs, I developed an ArcGIS dashboard that evolved from basic case tracking to a comprehensive operational tool integrating:

  • Hospital bed capacity and ventilator usage updated twice daily

  • COVID-19 case trends at regional and county levels

  • Emergency room visit patterns and staffing shortage indicators

  • Vaccine distribution and utilization rates

  • National Guard mission status and troop deployment


We partnered with Esri's Disaster Response Program to automate data pipelines from the state's Palmetto database and later the federal Teletracking system. This required writing scripts to clean, transform, and calculate new fields from raw hospital data—converting multiple data points per hospital into single feature classes with bed types as attributes.


Impact

  • Dashboard used "almost hourly for more than 300 days" by the Assistant Adjutant General overseeing all COVID-19 response

  • Supported deployment decisions for 800+ testing site missions

  • Enabled site suitability analysis for community testing and vaccination locations using ArcGIS Business Analyst

  • Space-time pattern analysis identified emerging hotspots, presented weekly in medical command briefings

  • Informed decisions on when to deploy and withdraw medics from hospitals during surge periods


Coordination & Policy Development

Participated in weekly data coordination meetings between DHEC, SC Emergency Management Division, and the National Guard. This collaboration led to the SC COVID-19 Response Plan, which established formal data sharing agreements and created an ArcGIS Hub for distributing dynamic feature services across partner agencies—ensuring all agencies reported consistent numbers from the same source.


Recognition

Featured in Esri's official coverage of state COVID-19 response efforts. Co-presented "Geospatial Decision Making: The SC National Guard Data-Driven COVID-19 Response" at the 2021 Esri User Conference.

Gamecock Geospatial Initiative

Role: Geospatial Information Officer / Founder
Organization: University of South Carolina
Duration: February 2024 – Present


Overview

Conceived, designed, and launched a university-wide initiative to integrate geospatial intelligence into both campus operations and academic programs. Gamecock Geospatial bridges administration and academics under a unified vision: operational excellence and educational innovation managed together through enterprise GIS.


Challenge

USC's GIS capabilities were fragmented—housed within the Department of Geography with limited connection to operational units that could benefit most from spatial analysis. Facilities, campus planning, public safety, and emergency management all made decisions without access to integrated geospatial data. Meanwhile, students learned GIS theory without exposure to real institutional applications.


Solution

Developed a comprehensive strategic framework repositioning GIS as a cross-functional capability serving the entire university system. Key components include:


Organizational Transformation

  • Created the Geospatial Information Officer role within Planning, Design, and Construction, reporting to the University Architect

  • Established a Geospatial Governance Council with representatives from facilities, public safety, business intelligence, geography, public health, and research administration

  • Designed central model with Administration and Finance to sustainably fund the program


Enterprise Infrastructure

  • Led procurement of ArcGIS Enterprise system through professional services RFP

  • Implemented Single Sign-On integration providing campus-wide access to geospatial tools

  • Built centralized geodatabase tracking campus assets from buildings to utilities


Academic Integration

  • Maintained dual offices in Planning, Design & Construction and the Department of Geography to bridge operations and instruction

  • Created internship and graduate assistantship pipeline connecting students to live campus projects

  • Developed workshops and faculty curriculum support for integrating GIS across disciplines


Community Building

  • Launched Geospatial Communities of Practice connecting 300+ faculty, staff, and students

  • Established Gamecock Geospatial mailing list and resource hub

  • Organized GIS Day events and cross-campus collaboration opportunities


Impact

  • Positioned USC as a regional leader in applied geospatial intelligence

  • Created direct talent pipeline preparing graduates for South Carolina's growing geospatial workforce

  • Unified previously siloed data streams into a common operating picture for campus decision-making

  • Enabled data-driven planning for facilities services, emergency management, and infrastructure optimization


Deliverables

  • Gamecock Geospatial Strategic Plan with governance charter, job descriptions, and implementation roadmap

  • Executive briefings demonstrating measurable ROI from GIS initiatives

  • USC GIS Portal providing access to geospatial data, tools, and educational materials

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