IMAGIN Board of Directors

Jon Merrick

IMAGIN Vice President

GIS Administrator, Eaton County Term Expires 2026 911 Courthouse Dr Charlotte, MI 48813 P: 517.543.4734

My name is Jon Merrick and I am a native Michigander from the small city of Hastings located in beautiful Barry County in Southwest Michigan where I live with my girlfriend and two children. I received my bachelor’s degree from Central Michigan University with majors in Geographic Information Sciences and Meteorology and minors in Geography and Mathematics in 2006. While at CMU, I was President and Treasurer of the CMU chapter of the American Meteorological Society and was an active member of the CMU Judo Club. I started my professional career as an Environmental Meteorologist where I conducted air dispersion modeling analyses for clients that ran the gamut in size from small Michigan-based startups to Fortune 500 companies with offices around the world. These analyses were used to demonstrate compliance with State and Federal Air Quality Standards. GIS was used as the connection point between my specialized analyses and the presentation of results to my clients. After validating the power of GIS on the air side of environmental consulting, my GIS skills were extended to soil, water, and environmental engineering-based projects. In 2010, I moved out of environmental consulting and started as a GIS Specialist with the City of Battle Creek. During those six years I spent with the City of Battle Creek, I worked on a multitude of GIS projects for various departments, neighboring municipalities, local private companies, citizens, and non-profit organizations. The project that publicly defined my work at Battle Creek was my Street Light Inventory project which I presented at the 2011 IMAGIN Conference and again in 2012 at the ESRI User Conference in San Diego. In early 2016 I left the City of Battle Creek and accepted a GIS Administrator position with Eaton County Technology Services. My work now is focused on leveraging modern GIS technology in the way of, ArcGIS Online, Collector, and ArcGIS for Server to make our organizational work more efficient, accurate, and valuable.

I have served on the IMAGIN board for two terms and in that time I have helped create IMAGIN Meetups, helped plan and implement IMAGIN Workshops as well as presenting in two, and assisting in conference social planning and silent auction donations. I have also presented at the annual conference a few times. I am currently on the Conference and Communications committees as well as co-chairing the professional Development committee. My interest in being a continued part of IMAGIN is simple. I believe that there is wealth of valuable professional GIS experience across all sectors of our region’s economy. By engaging regular discussion, maintaining a community of professionals, and creating a center point for networking, professional development, and socialization, we can each better attain the objectives of the organizations in which we serve as well as realize our own personal career goals. It is through a community of professionals in which experience economies of scale is realized. IMAGIN is that venue for discussion, the community, and the network center point and I would be honored to be elected to serve another term.

Chad Misiuk

IMAGIN Treasurer

GIS Coordinator, Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) Term Expires 2025 1001 Woodward Ave, Ste 1400 Detroit, MI 48226 P: 313.407.9996

I live in Royal Oak, MI with my wife, Sarah, and our young two children, Harrison and Everett. I spend my free time running around the neighborhood, taking my kids to local parks, and working on projects around the house. I also enjoy playing drums, and lately, I have been recording music with my dad, who plays the bass. I have been in the GIS field for nearly ten years, the last five of which have been at SEMCOG. During that time, I have been involved with a wide array of projects, ranging from building custom spatial web applications, standing up Enterprise systems (ArcGIS and PostGIS), implementing a data collection program for asset management data, and designing custom data processing workflows to ensure that our staff can get the most out of the data they are working with. I enjoy the challenge of approaching problems through a spatial lens and using GIS to answer questions and find solutions.

Through my work at SEMCOG hosting the Southeast Michigan GIS Users Group, I have witnessed firsthand the benefits that a community of GIS professionals offers. Whether it is asking questions about a new technology or making sense of a difficult dataset, tapping into each other’s areas of expertise leads to progress that would not be possible working alone. With the skills that I have developed during my career as a GIS professional, I hope to lead this collaborative effort to move the profession forward. I will work hard to ensure that the traditions of relationship building and professional development continue. IMAGIN is a strong network of professionals, and we all benefit from working together and learning from each other.

Jerry Swanson

IMAGIN Secretary

GIS Coordinator, City of Traverse City Term Expires 2026 400 Boardman Ave Traverse City, MI 49684 P: 231.922.4410

I was raised in Traverse City and headed west for college. Starting in San Diego and then moving north to Humboldt County, I found my passion for the spatial sciences. An intro GIS class turned into four additional classes and a senior practicum working with a county planning department on park feasibility using GIS. After interning at Sequoia National Park in a GIS role, I set out across the country in 2013 for my first GIS job in Eastern North Carolina working for a consulting firm. Here I was exposed to field work, utility data QA/QC, GIS servers, database administration, and software solutions. I moved on to a GIS specialist role at an engineering firm in Raleigh, NC where we deployed an enterprise GIS and modernized the field collection process. After my wife and I got married and she landed a job back home in TC, I was able to pivot to a remote project manager working with clients across the US. Shortly after, I saw the GIS Coordinator job posted for the City of Traverse City and I have been in this role for almost four years. In my spare time, I enjoy being with my wife Ashley, our son Sully, and basset hound Gertie. I partake in cooking, boating, snowboarding, and home renovations. I love living Up North.

Anthony (Tony) Bedogne, GISP

 _{Board Director}  

Senior Application Specialist, City of Ann Arbor Term Expires 2025 301 E. Huron St Ann Arbor, MI 48107 P: 734.794.6550 

I am a working practitioner in GIS with a two decade long career spanning local government, nonprofit work, and educational practice.  I am currently the Senior GIS developer for the City of Ann Arbor.  I am also an elected member of the IMAGIN Board of Directors (a statewide consortium of digital mapping professionals who collaborate on research, education, and networking)

My career focus is on GIS application development, project management, and spatial modeling.  I have experience at every scale of a GIS implementation; from small personal systems to multi-user cloud hosted environments.  My current role as a developer includes systems integrations of disparate business applications into a spatial platform.  Outreach around city mapping initiatives.  Service as the strategic planning lead of the City’s spatial technology plan. Mobile web application development. Map server administration.  Spatial database administration including geodatabase designs, layer conversions, and hydrologic modeling. Big data visualizations through map dashboard design.  Also responsible for the City parcel management strategy.

I previously served as a City Planning Commissioner for the City of Ypsilanti from 2012 to 2018; focused on the fair application of policy, and improving the city’s non-motorized transportation network.

As a secondary career engagement, I teach undergraduate and graduate coursework in all things spatial at both the University of Michigan program in Urban Planning and at Eastern Michigan University’s Geography and Geology program.  I bring a practice approach to all coursework, I push students to be ready for the workforce building practical relevance into learning.  I have been teaching formally as an adjunct lecturer since 2010.

Kate Berg, GISP

Board Director

GIS Manager, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy Term Expires 2025

I discovered the awesome world of GIS a little over ten years ago in my undergrad. Since then, I’ve applied GIS to so many facets of my life. During master’s degree at the University of Michigan, I completed a GIS-based thesis and taught several GIS classes. I’ve worked across several sectors including private consulting firms, non-profit organizations, and, most recently, public service in my role as GIS Lead for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. I am currently the Outreach Chair ('21-'23) for URISA’s GIS Vanguard Cabinet, “an advisory board made up of passionate, young geospatial professionals”! I also organize and host "#GISchat”, a weekly and worldwide forum on Twitter and Mastodon for people all over the world to connect and network with other geospatial industry professionals and discuss topics of interest. This outlet averages thousands of interactions and reaches 800,000+ people per week. Because of my professional accomplishments and involvement in the GIS community, I was named one of xyHt Magazine's 22 Young Geospatial Pros To Watch In 2022. I signed up for my first IMAGIN membership in 2017, when I graduated with my Master’s and entered the GIS workforce. I was finally able to attend my first IMAGIN conference in 2022 and had a well-received presentation titled, “Streamlining Project Workflows that Involve Multiple Esri Applications”. I will be presenting at the 2023 IMAGIN conference next month. I have also thoroughly enjoyed connecting with colleagues through the regular IMAGIN meetups. Tangentially related – I’ve also participated in the MiCAMP conferences for the past two years, presenting in an official capacity as representative from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE).

Magdalena DiFranco, GISP

Board Director

GIS Specialist, Charter Township of Clinton Term Expires 2026 40700 Romeo Plank Rd Clinton Township, MI 48038 P: 586.723.8073

I was born and raised in Poland. At 16 my family moved to the US and settled in southeastern Michigan. I finished high school and then attended Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo for my undergraduate studies. I was always interested in geography so a degree in the field seemed like a great fit. My sophomore year I took an Intro to GIS class and fell in love with it. I took every single GIS course available at Western, got a job as a GIS research assistant on multiple grants and as a GIS technician for Facilities Management. After graduation I decided to get my Master’s at University of Wisconsin-Madison in Cartography and GIS. While in school I was a teaching assistant, worked at the UW Cartography Lab and got a GIS internship for American Transmission Company. In 2012 I moved back to Michigan and for three years worked as GIS analyst for a consulting firm Atwell in Southfield until I took a job as GIS Specialist for Clinton Township in 2015. As a one-woman GIS team, I provide mapping support for all township’s departments including Water & Sewer, Public Works, Planning, Parks & Rec, Assessing, Building and Fire. I’m responsible for maintaining a variety of datasets, managing ArcGIS Online, and overseeing field collection activities. In 2021 I received the GISP certification. I have two kids, a husband and two parakeets. We live in Madison Heights and enjoy being outdoors. I like to travel, bike, swim, garden, read and do puzzles in my free time. I love old maps and get teased on the amount of globes I own. I’ve been an IMAGIN member since 2016. I have attended the conferences and events as well as presented multiple times. In 2018 I was part of the ArcGIS Online IMAGIN Workshop and currently I’m a Meetup Coordinator for Southeast region.

Doreen Groth

Board Director

GIS Manager, City of Rochester Hills Term Expires 2026 1000 Rochester Hills Dr Rochester Hills, MI 48309 P: .248.841.2483 

I am originally from Germany but have been living in Michigan for over 17 years. I am trying to visit my country once a year but call Lake Orion my home, because that’s where my family and friends are. I knew since 8th grade that I wanted to be a geographer. In Germany I worked at different Universities in research using GIS and remote sensing to determine river flood hazard areas and monitor hydrochemical parameters of lignite mining lakes. In 2015 I started working as a GIS Specialist at the Department of Public Works in Independence Township and was promoted 2 years later to the Township’s GIS Manager. Here I discovered my passion for local government and the public works sector. I proudly hold my Waterworks System Operator (D4, S3) Licenses. From 2019 to 2020 I worked for GISinc where I learned so much and met many people who LOVE GIS as much as I do. I also had a chance to work on very interesting projects with many different municipalities and organizations across the country. When I saw the GIS Manager position was open at the City of Rochester Hills, I decided to make the move from the private sector back to local government. I am proud to say that the City of Rochester Hills will be receiving a SAG Award at this year’s Esri UC. When I’m not creating innovative GIS solutions in the City, I like to travel, work in my garden, and annoy my significant other and my 2 kids with my projects and ideas around the house. When I received the first email from IMAGIN regarding Board of Directors nominations, I disregarded it because it is my first year being a member. I am involved in the Leadership RH program and recently had a conversation with our City’s Parks Manager who told me “as a professional you have to give back”. That stuck with me and when the second email came, I decided I didn't want to pass up the chance to help spread the word of GIS AWESOMENESS throughout the State of Michigan.

Eric Kerney

Board Director

Geospatial Solutions Engineer, Airspace Link Term Expires 2026 1250 Library St, Unit 61 Detroit, MI 48226 P: 269.598.2883

Lifetime Michigan resident, a lover of lakes, snow, bikes, gardening, hiking, playing jazz, and anything that can be mapped! Transplanted east-sider, been stuck over in Kalamazoo now for upwards of 20 years. Spent summers traveling around the state as a kid, which cultivated my love of ecology, geography, and the diversity of habitats throughout both peninsulas. Discovering GIS in Grad school really brought together an interest in mapping and revived my waning enthusiasm for computer science. I have worked as a Geospatial professional for over 10 years, with the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi as a Senior Environmental Specialist since 2010. I have served on the IMAGIN board since 2018, and also on the Friends of the St. Joe River, NHBP Tribal Environmental Committee, and the City of Kalamazoo Complete Streets Committee. I have presented at both IMAGIN and MiCAMP, the Stewardship Network Conference, and conferences in Chicago, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.

I hope to bring a different perspective coming from a Tribal Government background. I was pleasantly surprised to be nominated and elected at the 2018 annual conference in Traverse City. Since then I have tried my best to contribute to the organization and profession, and presented at the 2018 conference and also at the IMAGIN Drone Day in October of 2019. I look forward to continuing work with this great group of folks from contrasting backgrounds and locations throughout the state.

April Kibby

Board Director

GIS Analyst, Wightman & Associates Term Expires 2025 433 E Ransom St Kalamazoo, MI 49007 P: 616.560.2340

Originally from northern Michigan. Graduated from GVSU, then moved to Three Rivers to work as their GIS Technician. I currently live in Hastings with my boyfriend and his children. I'm a GIS Analyst for Wightman, an engineering consulting firm in Kalamazoo. Most of my focus is on ArcGIS Online deployments, asset management, utilities, and other local government GIS solutions. I assist with planning the SW Michigan GIS User Group. I have been on the IMAGIN board since 2017. My primary contributions to the board are assisting with planning social activities at the annual conferences, the silent auction, and writing content for the newsletter. I have a plethora of passions and hobbies that I enjoy traveling, hiking, kayaking, cycling, gardening, drawing, photography, and baking. Really anything that gets me outside enjoying the sunshine and the water. I'm also a bit of a food and beverage enthusiast, so I never shy from checking out a new establishment.

Sarah Merz

Board Director

GIS Analyst, Wexford County GIS Term Expires 2025 437 E. Division St Cadillac, MI 49601 P: 231.779.9534 F: 231.779.9529

I enjoy working with GIS which provides me a wonderful creative outlet through map making and endless possibilities for doing geospatial analyses. I have had many wonderful and different opportunities to work with and be part of the GIS/Geospatial Technologies community. I have worked with GIS in a variety of fields and look forward to the changes and new technologies that GIS/Geospatial Technologies will provide in the future.

I would very much like to continue to serve on the IMAGIN Board of Directors, on the executive Team as Treasurer, or in whatever capacity the Board needs. I find IMAGIN to be a worthwhile organization that provides great educational and networking opportunities to geospatial professionals in the state. I would like to see IMAGIN be the driving force that leads our community and the state into new realms and a sustainable future for all GIS professionals. I have been an IMAGIN member since 2004 and on the Board Director's since 2008. I've served as the Vice President and currently serve as the IMAGIN Treasurer.

Mariah Modson

Board Director

Senior GIS Specialist, Giffels Webster Term Expires 2026 1025 E Maple Rd, Ste 100 Birmingham, MI 48009 P: 248.852.3100

I grew up watching my dad as a surveyor, going to work with him in the field or working on maps in the office. Once I was in college, I was drawn to studying environmental science, which included GIS courses. I have always found myself as a visual learner and what better way to represent environmental data than with maps! Whether I'm at a public or private sector job, the one thing in common is being able to create resources for valuable decision making to better our communities. As high-level of a description as it is, when I tell people I "make maps" they can quickly relate and appreciate the level of detail it can involve. Being part of an organization like IMAGIN only furthers those feel-good moments because you get to be surrounded by fellow mapmakers, working together to better the geospatial world in Michigan.

Neal Sabin

Board Director

GIS Application Developer, Avineon Term Expires 2025 310 W. Front St, Suite 225 Traverse City, MI 49684 P: 231.674.5229

From a young age I developed an interest in maps. Years later when I learned that I could make maps for a living, my professional career was decided. Through attending Northern Michigan University, I was able to start building a strong GIS skillset and meet a lot of great people along the way. After graduation and entering the real-world, I was able to officially start my GIS career and get paid to make maps?? In the last couple years, I’ve pivoted to the development side of GIS, which led me to my current role as a GIS Application Developer at Avineon. Away from work, I enjoy spending time outdoors and learning new hobbies. With mixed results so far, I’m currently learning to fly fish. Through attending the annual conference and meetups, I have gained an appreciation for all IMAGIN has to offer. From developing professional connections to learning valuable insights on GIS topics, my experience has been tremendous. I would appreciate the opportunity to serve on the Board of Directors to help others gain a great experience like I have had.

Pete Schneider, GISP

Board Director

GIS System Analyst, Ottawa County GIS Term Expires 2026 12220 Fillmore St, Ste 320 West Olive, MI 49460 P: 616.738.4829

I have been on the IMAGIN Board of Directors for eight years and have spent the past six years on the Executive Team. I have served as Secretary, Treasurer, and now, Vice-President. In the past eight years, I have spent considerable time as chair of the Student Poster & Paper Competition, chair of the Membership Team, and co-chair of the Conference Team. I have been a part of IMAGIN By-Law review and helped modernize the organization. In the past eight years I have witnessed IMAGIN solidify their finances while still being able to provide a quality educational experience. I have 15 years of GIS experience and was certified as a GISP in 2011. The 2021 conference would have been my twelfth IMAGIN conference.

Thomas Van Bruggen, GISP

Board Director, IMAGIN Past President

GIS Administrator, Muskegon County GIS Term Expires 2025 141 E. Apple Ave Muskegon, MI 49442 P: 231.724.4458, F: 231.724.1129

My name is Thomas Van Bruggen, GIS Administrator for Muskegon County. I started my GIS career with Muskegon County in 1998 as the GIS Technician, then moved into a Property Information Analyst position in 2003 where I continued management of the GIS system. In October of 2012, I was promoted to GIS Administrator and moved from the Equalization Department into the Information Systems department. My responsibilities for Muskegon County include the planning, development, implantation, and maintenance of all enterprise GIS solutions for Muskegon County. I joined IMAGIN in 1999 and was appointed to the IMAGIN Board of Directors in January of 2008 to fill a vacancy. From May of 2008 until May of 2014 I served as the IMAGIN Secretary. Since May of 2014, I have been serving as your IMAGIN President. I have been privileged to serve you as President and together we have accomplished wonderful things in my three years as president, including; bylaws updates and revisions, increased membership involvement, stabilizing and improving the IMAGIN budget, growth in both membership and the conference attendance, and much more. IMAGIN is a wonderful organization that has truly benefited my professional career. From the educational tracks and user interaction at the conference, to the networking and contacts that I leverage every week for advice or tips, having a professional GIS organization that spans across the entire State gives us all a wealth of knowledge that we need to leverage more. To that end, if you choose to re-elect me to the Board of Directors, I hope to keep advancing several initiatives that I believe will strengthen IMAGIN and our GIS network across Michigan, including establishment of a comprehensive state-wide aerial imagery program, data sharing and exchange initiatives, increased connections with other professional organization, increasing membership value and interaction, and more. Please feel free to contact me to share your thoughts and ideas as we continue working together to build a stronger geospatial community in Michigan.