Benjamin Lewis is a geospatial technology leader with over two decades of experience designing collaborative mapping systems, large-scale spatial archives, and infrastructure for complex spatial analysis. He led platform development at Harvard’s Center for Geographic Analysis—building projects like WorldMap, AfricaMap, and the Billion Object Platform—and now serves as an Associate at the Hutchins Center while founding a nonprofit to create open, auditable geospatial infrastructure. His work blends engineering, research support, and applied use in climate, health, and global development, with a particular emphasis on data-sparse environments and integrating machine learning with structured spatial data. Earlier roles ranged from launching GIS groups in industry and government to teaching in China, giving him a rare mix of operational, managerial, and cross-cultural experience. Trained in planning and Asian studies, he is motivated by lowering barriers to technology access and making spatial tools more transparent and scalable. Notably, his career reflects a long-term commitment to open approaches in GIS long before they were mainstream.
11 years of coding experience
21 years of employment as a software developer
BA, Asian Studies, BA, Asian Studies at University of Wisconsin-Madison
MRP, Environmental Planning, MRP, Environmental Planning at University of Pennsylvania
Hypermap Registry, remote map services made easy for your SDI
Contributions:10 commits, 9 pushes, 10 comments in 1 year
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Benjamin Lewis - Founder at Non-profit initiative (in development)