Summary
James Whitacre is a GIS leader and hands-on cartographer with over 18 years working across the ArcGIS platform, currently serving as GIS Services Division Chief at the Pennsylvania Game Commission. He directs an enterprise GIS program, supervising a team of nine, developing governance and metadata workflows, and producing research-grade spatial analyses for wildlife, habitat, and natural resources projects. His background spans museum research (Carnegie Museum of Natural History), academic GIS support, and consulting, blending field data collection (GPS, UAV), Python automation, and both print and web cartography. James is skilled at translating researcher and agency needs into reproducible geospatial workflows and data products used for conservation, planning, and recreation. He pairs technical depth in raster/vector analysis and enterprise architecture with practical experience training users and building applied maps and web apps. An ecologist by undergraduate training turned geospatial scientist, he brings a rare mix of domain knowledge and operational GIS leadership at the state level.
10 years of coding experience
6 years of employment as a software developer
MS, Geography - GIS/Cartography and Environmental Planning, MS, Geography - GIS/Cartography and Environmental Planning at Indiana University of Pennsylvania
BA, Zoology, BA, Zoology at Ohio Wesleyan University