FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot | Geospatial Professional
My background is in GIS. I got into it while studying geology and natural hazards at Central Washington University - what started as making maps for geology coursework gradually became the thing I was most interested in. I earned a GIS Certificate alongside my geology degree and headed in that direction after graduating.
I started with a GIS internship at the City of Wenatchee, then moved to Franklin County as an Engineering Technician / GIS, where I spent about two years. At the County I worked across the full Esri stack in a production environment - ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Enterprise, Field Maps, Dashboards, and Experience Builder. Most of the work involved maintaining GIS data, developing web maps and public-facing applications, supporting field crews, and managing infrastructure-related datasets. I also got involved with the Franklin County Regional Information System (FRIS) and the Tri-Cities Local GIS Network.
In 2026, I earned my FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate. The interest in drones grew naturally out of the GIS work - particularly around aerial imagery and the ability to collect spatial data from the air that can go directly into a GIS workflow. A georeferenced nadir image is a lot more useful when you already know what to do with it on the other end.
I'm still building the aerial side of things. The Part 107 is active, I'm flying, and I'm working through photogrammetry workflows - currently using WebODM for orthomosaic generation and bringing the results into QGIS. The goal is to develop into a role that combines aerial data collection with geospatial analysis and mapping, whether that's survey support, mapping, infrastructure inspection, environmental work, or something similar.
The GIS skills reflect professional experience in a county government production environment. The UAS and photogrammetry skills reflect active, developing experience - I'm not overstating where I am on that side.