Michael Commons Email & Phone Number

Oakland, California, United States

Oakland, California, United States

Washington, District Of Columbia

Provide broad geographic research, analysis, standardization, and support for US Census bureau operations using ArcGIS Pro, QGIS, Oracle Spatial, SQL, Python, and other technologies.• Analyze, identify, and resolve data issues for In-Office Address Canvassing Operations using SQL and Python code to extract, process, and review spatial and non-spatial data in Oracle databases.• Conduct spatial and non-spatial statistical analyses on built and populated landscapes using complex demographic, structural, political, and land cover variables across a range of spatio-temporal scales.• Plan, design, conduct, and document geospatial analyses and methodology supporting the 2020 Urban Areas delineation criteria including managing complex geospatial workflows to automate urban delineation process.• Co-author multiple Federal Register notices describing the criteria for the Urban Areas for the 2020 Census. • Conduct geostatistical analyses comparing European Commission “Degrees of Urbanisation” model to US Census Urban Area model for presentation to United Nations for global standard definitions of urban types.• Develop and test gridded data products for Open Geospatial Consortium Sprint application. • Assess the impacts of complex geographic data transformations on spatial products.• Develop IFAC viewer, TEA viewer, and Urban Areas Demonstration viewer data products for web publishing.• Prepare daily, weekly, and monthly geographic operations reports integrating maps, graphs, and narrative summaries to communicate complex operations and data to a wide audience.• Present complex geographic concepts to government partners, data researchers, Census State Data Centers, and academic and professional conferences.• Plan and conduct workshops and webinars with stakeholders and Congressional committees to facilitate open dialog around sensitive topics and data products.

Taught four geography courses per semester including Introduction to Geographic Information Systems, Applied Geographic Information Systems, World Regional Geography, Physical Geography, and Environmental Geography.• Designed curriculum, lectures, readings, assignments, exams, quizzes, study guides, and digital media.• Managed GIS research laboratory technologies and hardware.• Hired and supervised course assistants and student tutors.• Supported faculty and student research, including data analysis and development of cartographic products for publication in scientific journals.

Collected, organized, processed, and analyzed geospatial data for fire ecology and vegetation dynamics research projects.• Digitized analog datasets into Geodatabases and developed tools for automating geospatial analyses.• Conducted deterministic and geostatistical analyses of 100+ years of fire occurrences across California.• Analyzed remotely sensed fire severity data to assess accuracy of fire boundaries.• Planned and conducted vegetation and geomorphological field data collections and analyses.Taught four semesters of The Natural Environment and one semester of Global Environmental Change.• Designed curriculum, lectures, readings, assignments, exams, quizzes, study guides, and digital media.

Coordinated and managed projects for community groups. Applied GIS, CAD, remote sensing, and GPS technologies to acquire, process, analyze, and communicate data. Maintained all metadata standards. Supervised student GIS interns.Set up, calibrated, and maintained weather station facilities and data collection operations. Led four Physical Geography Lab sections and assisted with teaching Introduction to ArcGIS, Advanced Cartography, and Field Techniques.Managed GIS and Cartography lab facilities, including basic maintenance of computers, printers, plotter, and scanner. Provided technical assistance and tutoring to GIS and Cartography students.

Conducted field work, data collection, and program management for Natural Resources Management Division.• Developed and maintained GIS databases for the invasive plant management program• Conducted extensive field mapping of vegetation using GPS and post-processing.• Planned, implemented, and documented invasive plant removal projects that followed a response-based regime of mechanical and chemical treatments.• Conducted wildland fire management operations, including suppression, prescribed fire, and mechanical fuels reduction.

Doctor Of Philosophy Candidate, Geography, Geography

ABD, 2014

Master Of Arts, Geography

Graduated with Distinction, 2012

Bachelor Of Arts, Geography

Graduated with Honors, 2008

Associate Of Applied Science, Recreation And Wildlife Management

Activities and Societies: Graduated, 2000