Gary Potts Email & Phone Number

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Responsible for managing online web content, providing geospatial technology support, supporting Research in reporting, and managing official social media accounts.Spearheaded the State and Private Forestry Forest Health program’s move to field data collection with tablets and ArcGIS Online. Managed multiple field tablets and external GPS units, created ArcGIS Collector and Survey 123 databases, online web maps, base maps, and provided training and support for forest health assessments across Puerto Rico, urban tree assessments in San Juan and the Dominican Republic, and research projects in the Luquillo Experimental Forest.I became the Research lead for preparing research and geospatial data with FGDC standard metadata for submission to the Forest Service Research Data Archive for online publication. Also tasked with adding Research publications and science delivery activities in the RITS (Research Information and Tracking System) adding 100s of publications, data products, presentations and talks for reporting. Early 2019 I redesigned and translated the Caribbean Climate Hub website to a fully functioning bilingual (English and Spanish) website in WordPress.Other tasks include:- Continued work with the Institute's public and employee websites. Adding 100s of new pages and improving employee productivity.- Continued work with the Caribbean Climate Hub's Drupal and Wordpress websites.- CRIS Coordinator for the IITF.- Assessed post-hurricane satellite image availability and quality after Hurricane Maria.- Added Facebook to the Institute's social media presence.- Photographing Institute meetings and events. Many photos now feature in IITF publications.- Remote Sensing consultancy in the Remote Sensing and GIS Laboratory.

Puerto Rico

In 2014 I became the IITF's Web Content Manager. I worked with the Portal CMS platform and the IITF 's Research team to create, manage, and publish content. New content includes; events, new publications, products, videos, research, projects, and geospatial data. I add links to IITF news and external collaborators and partners.Since June 2014, I have managed the IITF's Twitter account. Expanded the IITF's online presense with a Flickr and Vimeo account which I both manage.Successes included populating an empty Portal CMS web template within 3 weeks to launch ready for the Institute's 75th Anniversary in 2014. Adding over 300+ new web pages to the Institute's website between 2014-2017. Uploading custom HTML, CSS and JavaScript to improve web design and accessibility within Portal CMS. Generating a greater online presence for the IITF, with the IITF's Twitter account going from an average of 12 new followers each month to around 100, expanding the Institute’s social media platforms, reach and follower base to over 3000 followers in more than 100 countries on Twitter.In 2016 I helped update and improve the design of the Institute's intranet/employee website that was last updated in 2011 using HTML, CSS and PHP. Other tasks include:- Reports and recommendations to management teams based on the IITF's internet and intranet websites.- Understanding Forest Service Policy on web content and digital media, and the Plain Writing Act of 2010 for communication.- Knowledge and implementation of Section 508 law and standards for web content.- Continued work with the Caribbean Landscape Conservation Cooperative iMap, adding 88 climate projection layers in 2016.- Photographing Institute meetings and events.- Working with Adobe Professional, Photoshop, Lightroom and InDesign.- Track and report on Google Analytics and Twitter Analytics.- Write and update strategic plans for the IITF's Social Media.- Remote Sensing consultancy in the Remote Sensing and GIS Laboratory.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

I supported and helped populate an Interactive Map (iMap) for the delivery of geospatial data for the Caribbean Landscape Conservation Cooperative.I managed and processed the Institute's and other agency's geospatial data in ArcGIS, uploaded layers to GeoServer, created download files in Amazon S3 to serve data online. I also created layer descriptions, created and maintained Metadata records for data to FGDC standards and worked on interactive pop-ups for layers.I learned HTML, CSS and JavaScript, web design and development to improve the CLCC's iMap and helped make over 200+ geospatial layers available.Government Contractor - Data Manager - at the International Institute of Tropical Forestry, San Juan, Puerto Rico.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

Working with a small team I was responsible for the collection, processing, and classification of Earth Observing-1 Advanced Land Imager (EO-1 ALI) satellite imagery to create a land cover map of the U.S. Virgin Islands.Issues included dealing with acquisition delays missing the dry season and a potential low cloud cover period. Replacing missing cloud and cloud shadow data with ASTER and Landsat 7 ETM+, and the evaluation and use of ancillary data e.g. geology, topography, and LiDAR, to create a forty-nine class land cover product and 10-meter spatial resolution using an unsupervised neural network classification. Other tasks included creating species richness maps using models in ArcGIS and a 10,000-word report on the mapping process.I also wrote an MSc Thesis on cloud and cloud shadow masking in EO-1 ALI satellite imagery using Principal Component Analysis. Cartographic Technician and Remote Sensing Analyst STEP position at the International Institute of Tropical Forestry, San Juan, Puerto Rico, working on the U.S. Virgin Islands GAP Analysis project.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

I evaluated available satellite platforms and imagery in the Caribbean for the creation of a land cover map of the U.S. Virgin Islands as one component of the U.S. Virgin Islands GAP Analysis project.A detailed project report outlined the issues with Landsat 7 ETM+ due to 2003 SLC error and the Long-Term-Acquisition-Plan (LTAP-7) limiting data collection in the tropics. For small island land cover mapping I wrote a proposal supporting the use EO-1 ALI during the dry season to limit cloud cover issues. I planned and submitted three Data Acquisition Requests to the USGS to start mapping the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2007.Remote Sensing Analyst at the International Institute of Tropical Forestry, San Juan, Puerto Rico, working on the U.S. Virgin Islands GAP Analysis project.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

To gain valuable experience in Remote Sensing I volunteered to work on the Puerto Rico GAP Analysis Project.I helped in finishing a 2000 land cover map of Puerto Rico, based on Landsat 7 ETM+ imagery from 1999-2003. Tasks included:- Mapping emergent and non-emergent wetlands using spectral analysis of Landsat 7 ETM+ imagery. - The creation of an agriculture class based on visual interpretation of Aerial photography.- Filling in missing data due to cloud and cloud shadows through the manual interpretation of IKONOS imagery and Aerial photography.- An accuracy assessment and report on the final land cover product based on IKONOS imagery- Additionally, I ran models to create a range of species richness maps for 202 vertebrate species modeled as part of the PRGAP analysis project.Remote Sensing Analyst at the International Institute of Tropical Forestry, San Juan, Puerto Rico, working on the Puerto Rico GAP Analysis project.

Master Of Science (Msc), Remote Sensing, Image Processing And Applications

Bachelor Of Science (Bsc), Physical Geography