Geographer, (GIS Specialist)
(GS-0150-12)

September 3, 2019 – June 21, 2022 40hrs per week
USDA - APHIS Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ)
Building B
2150 Centre Ave
Fort Collins, CO 80526
Lisa Kennaway
National GIS Coordinator
970.494.7546
lisa.f.kennaway@usda.gov


DUTIES

• Provide high quality, data driven solutions for plant and animal health programs using ArcGIS Pro Model builder, business analyst, spatial analyst, 3d analyst, network analyst and AGOL/Portal, SQL server management studio, and Python.
• Play a lead role in designing, evolving, and presenting ESRI Web map Applications, and Operations Dashboards for use in AGOL, and a secure PPQ portal environment.
• Lead GIS support for Box Tree Moth, Ralstonia & Tomato Virus emergency response Incident Management Teams (IMT).
• I worked with complex growing degree day map data as it related to insect and plant life cycles to prioritize field work during emergency operations.
• I develop and maintain workflows within (web based), ESRI Business Analyst to acquire locations relevant to plant & animal health risk models. Results of these queries are typically consumed within a Web map, or dashboard that I develop for a client.
• Using ESRI Network Analyst in desktop ArcGIS Pro, I engage in extensive drive time and distance-based analysis to support a wide range of critical needs within USDA.
• Lead subject matter expert for developing and maintaining Geocoding workflows within ArcGIS Pro model builder. Typically, this involves developing a model in ESRI Model Builder that sources from an SQL database, runs geocoding and other analysis, then publishes to AGOL, or Portal for consumption in a dashboard that I developed.
• I securely manage sensitive personal, and business information within the PPQ ESRI Portal, SQL databases using SQL Server Management Studio, and ArcGIS Pro.

PROJECTS

• Network Analyst – Using ESRI ArcGIS Pro Model Builder and Network Analyst (desktop version), I grouped and consolidated 300 distinct APHIS office locations into 150 strategically placed nodes that could access any of the 500 nationwide agricultural ports of entry within a 3-hour drive time. Office grouping was based on a network analyst derived clustering method that assigned a common ID to all offices within a 25-mile drive distance from each other. Once grouped a centralized node was assigned or created for each office cluster and snapped to the nearest road network. Drive time service areas (three hour) from each node were computed and used to associate ports of entry with the centralized node. This analysis resulted in bringing consistency, validity and transparency to employee travel times. My analysis results were published into ESRI portal and consumed within an operations dashboard that I demonstrated to, among others, the APHIS administrator. My operations dashboard allowed users to rapidly ascertain connections between ports of entry and the APHIS offices that could most efficiently service them. Furthermore, this dashboard and supporting data allowed for HR, employee, and client to have a transparent view of costs involved per site visit.

• Business Analyst – I played a lead role in developing and maintaining workflows that utilized web-based Business analyst to support pest and disease tracking. Frequently, I research new food markets, find markets by SIC, or NAICS codes, seek out all shipping companies, or those associated with wood material. My role as the national GIS support was to advertise this service and make the resultant data available to APHIS clients to assist with tracking and risk analysis models.

• LiDAR – I provided the Science and Technology department of APHIS with a lidar derived tree cover raster to remove landsat based shadows from a large neighbourhood scale risk analysis. Using ArcPro model builder, and python I acquired .las files for the area of study, converted them using the LAS Dataset To Raster tool, then compared the min and max results to compute a ‘canopy’ height between bare earth minimum and maximum of the full earth raster file. Building footprints were erased, and all pixels under 6ft in height were removed to erase any presence of shrub, car, or remaining infrastructure. The resulting raster contained tree canopy and height and convinced them that lidar would improve their analysis.

• SITC – Worked with senior staff and leadership while developing novel methods for >100 staff to engage with CBP, International Mail Seizure, and Port Seizure databases. I developed an ESRI operations dashboard for SITC leadership that became a new standard for efficiency and data visualization of numerous data points related to international smuggling of plant and animal products by mail. - see LINK

• Quarantines – Developed a procedure to integrate 16 separate plant and animal federal quarantines into one database that was kept in synch with code of federal regulations and conveyed to public via AGOL web application. Updates were processed in an ArcPro model that updated the published map layer for each regulated plant or animal in conjunction with the appropriate National Policy Manager, and National Operations Manager.

• Geocoding – Using geocoding tools in ArcPro models, I routinely produced geocoded results for very large datasets that contained private, or sensitive business information. At my suggestion, I was able to geocode >100,000 backlog records for SITC by using the ESRI geocoder to align a properly formatted USPS quality address with a poorly formatted address sent to us by Customs and Border protection. SITC was unable to act on data that lacked a proper address, name, and other criteria, my geocoding skills, models, and data management between ESRI desktop, Portal and SQL databases was able to bring this program inline with their mission goals.

• Airport – I developed a large model in ArcPro model builder to compute an array of key data products and maps for use during quarterly and yearly wildlife strikes, and sightings at over 300 airports across the world, for the USDA Wildlife Services program.