Charting the Future
Officers - Executive Committee
Chair: Stephen Swazee Sr., CAPT USNR (Ret.), Eagan, Minnesota
Term Ends: December 31, 2028
Steve is a retired Navy Captain and retired Delta Air Lines pilot who chairs the Emergency Preparedness Committee of the Minnesota Geospatial Advisory Council (MGAC). He also currently serves on the Public X Y Mapping Project Board of Directors - originator of the U.S. National Grid (USNG) geospatial standard - and was previously a member of the Minnesota Statewide Geospatial Advisory Council, and the Geospatial Information and Technology Association (GITA) Board of Directors. During Hurricanes Katrina, Ophelia, Rita and Wilma in 2005, he was recalled to active duty to serve as the senior Department of Defense (DoD) Emergency Preparedness Liaison Officer at the Pentagon. He was subsequently a by-name appointment to the DHS-DoD post-Katrina data work group charged with developing a national Common Operating Picture (COP) which can be used by all levels of responders and decision makers. Through these diverse experiences, Steve became convinced of the need for a nationally standardized way of communicating location in emergencies and disasters through use of USNG.
Contact: chair@usngi.org
Secretary: Randy Knippel, Retired GIS Manager, Dakota County, Minnesota
Term Ends: December 31, 2026
Randy is the retired GIS Manager of Dakota County, Minnesota where he worked from 1994 to 2024. During that time he was involved in a variety of activities related to implementing the U.S. National Grid. He also served on several committees for MetroGIS and Minnesota Geospatial Advisory Council, including the Emergency Preparedness Committee. He has over 35 years of experience in geographic information science including cartography, photogrammetry, database design, programming, GIS analysis, and project management. He is a well-known USNG instructor in the Upper Midwest for the significant number of presentations he has given over the past 15 years to personnel in the GIS and Emergency Services Sector communities of the region.
Treasurer: Dr. Georgianna Strode, Special Projects Director, FREAC, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida
Term Ends: December 31, 2027
Dr. Georgianna Strode is a special projects director, application designer, and computer programmer for the Florida Resources and Environmental Analysis (FREAC) at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. In our time of ubiquitous information, Georgianna values minimalism, efficiency, and clarity. These principles are evident in her GIS map-making, where she has developed innovative techniques for bivariate and multivariate mapping, earning an international cartographic award. For Georgianna, creating a map is not the ultimate goal—making the map clear, accessible, and easy to understand is the true objective. One of her mapping pet peeves is the use of coarse-scale maps (e.g., census tract) that obscure data patterns and introduce confusion for the reader.
Her accomplishments include developing a statewide Florida database of population estimates at the property parcel scale, a statewide walkability database/map at the 1-km scale, and fine-scale visualizations of a state database of septic/sewer usage. She has also visualized multiple CDC social vulnerability indices simultaneously to better communicate vulnerability patterns to support disaster planning and response. Additionally, she manages a website that distributes over 500,000 aerial images and other survey data, contributes to cartographic journal articles, and pairs visual analytics with GIS to solve complex problems.
Currently, Georgianna is exploring the potential of using the US National Grid (USNG) in a more prominent role within GIS as a data science and geovisualization tool. Her work reflects her passion for innovation, precision, and making data not only comprehensible but also actionable.
Finance Committee Chair
At-Large Board Members
Cole Brown, Senior Safety Management Specialist, Selective Insurance, Hampstead, Maryland
Term Ends: December 31, 2028
In addition to his indepth understanding of risk management in the insurance industry, Cole Brown's experience in the Emergency Services Sector is both expansive and unique. His background includes service to the nation in the following capacities:
- Volunteer firefighter/EMT,
- Search Manager, Maryland State Police Special Operations Division,
- Captain, Civil Air Patrol (CAP), Maryland Wing,
- Member, CAP National Geographic Information Systems Team,
- Search and Rescue Instructor, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and
- Adjunct Facility - Emergency Health Services, University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
From this viewpoint of experience, Cole is a passionate supporter of the U.S. National Grid.
Finance Committee Member
Bernard Catalinotto, President, MyMapBook, LLC, Mill Valley, California
Term Ends: December 31, 2028
Bernard Catalinotto is a GIS data conversion manager and map publisher. He has converted road, hydro and other map data for Thomas Brothers Maps and the U.S. Census Bureau, and for many state agencies and major utilities. He published dozens of detail-level map atlases for Thomas Brothers Maps and their government and real estate clients, including the first U.S. Atlas for GPS for Trimble Navigation. He has published dozens of community map books based on the U.S. National Grid for the various communities in his home state of California. Bernard came to mapping from urban planning, including master planning, site selection and site analysis for US and overseas public agencies and the private sector. He has degrees in math from Columbia, regional planning from Cornell and a Fulbright fellowship in Italy.
Finance Committee Member
Michael Core, Application Developer Designer, Florida Resources and Environmental Analysis Center (FREAC), Flordia State University, Tallahassee, Florida
Term Ends: December 31, 2027
Michael Core is a Ph.D. student at Florida State University (FSU), Department of Earth, Oceans, and Atmospheric Sciences. He holds a Geographic Information Science (GIS) Administration, M.S., from the University of West Florida, a B.A. in Geography, and a minor in Geology from the University of Colorado. He has extensive knowledge of GIS, geography, geology, remote sensing, utility energy modeling, cadastral records, storm-impact modeling, change detection, and land classification. His community activities include environmental cleanup initiatives, community outreach and education concerning sustainability, and coaching youth sports. Michael also has extensive working knowledge of the Esri products.
Rich McCrea, Retired BIA National Fire Planner at NIFC, Boise, Idaho
Term Ends: December 31, 2028
During his career, Rich worked 32 years in wildland fire management and forestry with the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs. Outfitted with a degree in Forestry from the University of Montana, he started his career as a seasonal employee with the Forest Service as a forestry technician and member of the Helena Interagency Hotshot Crew, then moved on to permanent positions with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, as a Forester and Fire Management Officer at three different field locations and at the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. NWCG wildland fire qualifications included Incident Commander, Burn Boss, Division Supervisor, and Fire Behavior Analyst.
Rich is currently retired and volunteers with the International Association of Wildland Fire and services on the Communications Committee and writes and edits articles for Wildfire magazine. He also serves as a board member for the Gulf of Alaska Keepers, an environmental group that conducts marine debris cleanup on the ocean beaches in Alaska.
After learning about the 2013 Yarnell Hill wildland fire disaster, Rich realized the wildland fire service needed a better system for monitoring fire spread and tracking crews, engines, and aircraft, which led him to the US National Grid. In his free time, Rich enjoys hiking, skiing, camping, reading good books, and researching and writing about historical wildfires.
Fennis Reed, Research Specialist, Demographic Research Unit, California Department of Finance, Sacramento, California
Term Ends: December 31, 2027
Fennis Reed (they / them) received their MSc in Applied Geography from the University of Louisville while working in geospatial roles for WorldPop and Public Utilities. Currently, they are invested in expanding the use of the U.S. National Grid within the state of California, which often relies on multiple geographic projections for different parts of the state. Their continued work on small area human population estimates features the USNG to deliver spatially consistent estimates and introduce USNG to State and local industries.
Lieutenant Al Studt, Communications & Structures Specialist, Florida Task Force 4 Urban Search & Rescue Team, Winter Park, Florida
Term Ends: December 31, 2026
Al Studt, CFPS, CET, StS-1, is an instructor, author, integrator and promoter of USNG since 2007 when tornadoes were sweeping across Florida. While readying for deployment with FL-TF4 Urban Search & Rescue Team, he discovered that the State of Florida Fire Marshal's office was recommending USNG. There was nothing to use at that time; no maps, applications, policies, tools, etc. Since then Al has assisted in the creation of USNG applications, mapping software and training programs in the realm of emergency services in Florida to include holding the first series of USNG Implementation meetings annually at the Fire-Rescue East convention for multiple years. He has instructed USNG courses in multiple states, for various agencies or organizations as well as at home in Brevard County, Florida. He was awarded funds to place Emergency Location Markers on Kennedy Space Center where he is a Lead Engineer in Fire & Protective Systems. Most recently he facilitated USNG maps for Canaveral Fire Rescue where he is a Lieutenant/EMT. As of 2023, Al will have 40 years in the volunteer fire service in two states.