Guest Blogger: 2011 DECO Service Awards Breakfast

June 27, 2011

Cindy Knight

Once again DECO gathered together on June 22, 2011(in fine fashion I might add) to participate in one of our favorite activities together…Eating.  However this meeting of the minds and stomachs served a very special purpose; to honor and celebrate our colleagues who had reached their longevity milestones of five and ten years of service to the Division of Economic and Community Outreach and Towson University.

The day started bright and early in the Minnegan room.  Daraius Irani got the program started with a rousing, engaging, and extremely funny welcome, and then we dined on a delicious breakfast and enjoyed each other’s company.  After breakfast, Dan Leonard our keynote speaker captured our attention with his encouraging and thoughtful words regarding the contributions DECO has provided to the University.  Dan congratulated everyone because the phrase “That’s not my job” does not reside in the DECO vocabulary.

DECO Staff in the Breakfast Line

Next we heard from Vice President Dyan Brasington who motivated and congratulated the honorees on reaching this significant milestone in their careers.  After the speakers we were onto the fun part, the Service Awards.  The following staff members were recognized:

5 years

George Edmonds, Raquel Frye, Lance Konig, Robert Telewicz, Carol Williams

10 Years

Michael Bentivegna, Marina Gendlina, Ruslana Kachay, Sharyn Grove, Linda Natale, Erin Nueslein

After we completed the Service Awards we transitioned into The Annual Awards.  This was the first year DECO has had the Annual Awards.   There are two categories of Awards:  the Who’s Who awards and the Excellence Award.

The Who’s Who awards are peer nominated and peer elected :

Rising Star Award- recognizes a DECO employee with 2 years or less of service who their peers feels is a great addition to the team and sees great things in their future with DECO.

  • Anna Orfanidis, Budget Analyst, DECO Administration and Finance

You Make a World of Difference Award- recognizes the person who embraces the DECO culture, goes above and beyond to be friendly and increases morale, the person people most enjoy working with on a daily basis.

  • Linda Natale, Administrative Assistant, DECO Administration and Finance

The DECO Essential Piece Award- recognizes the person who exemplifies extraordinary customer service by consistently making superior contributions both to clients and to DECO by going above and beyond their day to day responsibilities.

  • Susan Wooden, Manager of Writing, Editing, and Technical Communications, Center for GIS

The 2011 Who’s Who Award Recipients:

After we concluded with the Who’s Who awards it was on to the Showstopper Award, The Excellence Award.

The Excellence Award is The Deco “crème de la crème” annual award.  This prestigious honor recognizes an individual who surpasses their current responsibilities and consistently excels in the following areas: innovation, developing new business opportunities, superior customer service, leadership potential, and valued by peers.    The nominees for these awards are nominated by Managers (however Staff are allowed to recommend a nominee to the manager) and the recipients are selected by a VP appointed panel of Directors;

The selection committee was unable to select one individual so we had two Excellence Award Winners for this year.

The 2011 Excellence Award Winners:

  • Sharon Seybold, Administrative Business Analyst, DECO Administration and Finance
  • Bobbie Laur, Manager of External Affairs and Strategic Communications, DECO Vice President’s Office

Overall this was a great time of reflection and acknowledgement.  DECO is proud of its employee’s longevity and achievements and recognizes that without their invaluable service and dedication, our division success would not be possible.  Congratulations to all our 2011 Service Award and Annual Awards Recipients!

2011 DECO Service Award & Annual Award Winners

For individual award photos as well as other photos from this event, please visit our Flickr Photostream.

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Guest Bloggers: How to get Active with GIS in Maryland

April 21, 2011

Ashley Buzzeo & Erin Lesh

If you are interested in getting involved with GIS in Maryland, there are several avenues you can pursue, including statewide committees and initiatives as well as local user groups and conferences.

MSGIC
You can start by becoming a member of the Maryland State Geographic Information Committee (MSGIC).  This volunteer organization is made up of members from all levels of government, academia, regional organizations, and private industry.  There is an Executive Committee that meets the second Wednesday of every month in Columbia at 9am.  While this meeting is open to all, there is a larger quarterly meeting that is held on the second Wednesday of January, April, July and October.  This venue is perfect for networking with fellow GISers and keeping up with statewide coordinated activities. The next quarterly meeting is April 27th at the Caroline County Health and Public Services Building in Denton MD.  MSGIC has a group on LinkedIn: MSGIC

MD iMap
Another great resource is Maryland’s Internet Map (MD iMap), which provides a wide variety of products and services to the citizens and government employees in Maryland at no charge. It represents a centralized collection of the most commonly used, best available GIS data and applications in the State.  Take a look at the MD iMap Portal.  This website details the current MD iMap initiatives in Maryland.  You can also get involved with the MD iMap initiative by joining the MD iMap Technical Committee, which meets the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month at MDE from 1 – 3 pm.  Follow MDiMap on Twitter: @MDiMap

MD iMap Portal

Local User Groups & Conferences
There are also several regional users groups in Maryland – central, western, and eastern.

  • The Central Maryland User’s Group (CMUG) is the largest local user’s group, focusing on GIS activities in Central Maryland.  A meeting was just held on April 15th, and the next meeting will be in the mid-August timeframe.  Be sure to check out the blog for more details.
  • The Western Maryland GIS User’s Group (WMUG) meets 3 times a year – the third Friday of May, August, and November. The next meeting is scheduled for Friday, May 20 at Frederick City Hall.  Contact Elizabeth Stahlman at Allegany County for more details.
  • The Midshore Regional GIS committee (MSRGC) meeting is April 20 from 9 to 11:30 at the Public Safety Building in Easton, and the next meeting is October 26 in the morning, location TBD. Contact Lauren McDermott at Salisbury University for more details.

The ESRI Mid-Atlantic User Group (ESRI-MUG) is an organization of GIS users in PA, DE, NJ, MD, DC, VA and WV.  This group helps to identify and educate users regarding GIS trends, ESRI product development, local/regional applications, and events of interest.  They also have an annual conference for all users, which is a great place to see what how GIS is being applied in the mid-Atlantic region.  Follow ESRI-MUG on Twitter: @Esri_MUG.

The TUgis conference is held by the Department of Geography and Environmental Planning at Towson University.  This conference has some excellent presentations and is a great place to network with GIS users from all over Maryland.  The 25th annual conference will be held in March, 2012.

GIS Day Events
Another option to be more active or to learn more about GIS in Maryland is to attend a GIS Day event on November 16, 2011.  GIS Day is intended to promote GIS and Geography awareness.  You can find a GIS Day event near you by searching on ESRI’s GIS Day website.

Ashley Buzzeo works at Towson University Center for GIS (CGIS) as a project manager.
Erin Lesh works at Maryland Environmental Service (MES) as a GIS specialist IV.

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Guest Blogger: Three Things Mike Schroder Can’t Live Without

February 17, 2011

Mike Schroder

Three things, wow, that is tough…besides the basics for life (water, food, family, friends) I had to think deep and hard.  Well maybe not that deep, since it only took about 60 seconds to come up with:

Mobile Devices – Droid and iPad
It is hard to believe just a short time ago we operated with paper calendars. I don’t know where I would be without my mobile devices. Actually I do – I would be lost!  The calendar feature is something I rely on daily to know where I need to be and what needs to be done such as reports and budgets. Even tracking basics like am I picking up the kids today or is my wife and when is our next date night.  In today’s multi-function/multi-task work environment, these devices have truly become essential for me. From using these devices as my computer substitute when traveling to recording notes at a meeting so you don’t have transcribe notes when you get office time.

The Team: Extended Education – Osher Institute – CISCO Academy
A wise man once told me that one of the best things a person can do is to surround themselves with good people.  I follow this advise wholeheartedly.  I consider myself extremely fortunate to be surrounded by the present and past team (several have moved on due to promotions and graduations) .  Extended Education and Online Learning, the institutes and academies in the unit have blossomed, prospered and helped to fulfill the TU mission for outreach and lifelong learning in the community, region and nation because of the people I am blessed with on a daily basis. A special thanks to the team (past and present) for making a difference and “doing it right” for “One Towson”!

Sports – I am not a coffee drinker – sports are my caffeine
I learned from my parents that a person can easily get used to just 5 hours of sleep a day and the importance of work and life balance.  That gives 19 hours a day for work, family, friends, spirituality and sports!   Sports are my morning coffee and my evening night-cap.  I enjoy watching, visiting and cheering on many sports – especially the Towson Tigers (Women’s and Men’s basketball, Football, Baseball, etc.), Orioles, Capitals, Ravens and Redskins, Virginia Tech Hokies and many more. I especially love playing soccer, golf and a good game of catch with my kids Caleb and Abigail. And soon coaching will help keep my life in balance.  Some people need yoga or meditation; I just need my daily fix of sports in almost any form.

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Guest Blogger: At CGIS, GISP certification matters

January 13, 2011

Mark Helmken

Last November Jimmy Bayne blogged about various educational paths people can take to enter the IT workplace. I want to talk about another facet of professional development—certification. Many professions strongly suggest or require that practitioners acquire certain levels of certification. Having those certifications, usually awarded by the professional’s peers, is one way to say “Hey, I didn’t stop learning… growing… (fill in the blank…) after I finished my formal education.” Specifically, I want to focus this blog post on the value of certification as a GISP—a geographic information systems (GIS) Professional.

What’s so special about GISP?

Soon, the number of GISPs at CGIS is likely to double. Since GISP status is recognition of a certain level of achievement in the GIS professions, as well as commitment to a high ethical standard, that’s special—for Maryland’s GIS resource base, and for Towson University, DECO, and our clients. Even though we already regard all of these particular CGIS staff to be GIS professionals, the right to put GISP after their names must be earned from the GIS Certification Institute (GISCI) through a rigorous qualifying process.

Qualifying for GISP status

Through a portfolio that includes a 32-page points-based application plus submission of supporting documents, successful GISP applicants prove that they meet GISCI standards for ethical conduct and professional practice, educational achievement, professional experience, and the manner in which they contribute back to the profession. Certification is based on a range of benchmarks.

GISP Code of Ethics

The GISP Code of Ethics includes the same ethical standards that many other professional societies regard as essential, as well as some that are unique to the GIS profession.

The Value of GISP Certification

The rewards and value of GISP certification are both personal and universal. In their own words,

CGIS professionals share their thoughts about the meaning of their own GISP certification.

I like being a part of a professional group that is focused on the specific challenges in the GIS field. The requirements for GISP include not only education and experience, but community outreach, contributions to the field, and willingness to learn new things. Melanie Ruff, GISP, GIS Specialist III

I believe that certification as a Professional in my chosen field will add value to any organization I am a part of. It’s also gratifying to know that my accomplishments in the classroom, experience in the field, and contributions to GIS in Maryland are recognized and valued by other members of the GIS industry. Tom Earp, Jr., GISP, Project Manager

The GIS Certification Institute’s mission, “to maintain the high standards and integrity of the GIS profession and promote ethical conduct within it”, is one that I believe in, and obtaining GISP Certification reinforces that belief. Ken Juengling, GISP, Project Manager

Obtaining the GISP certification as a GIS professional acknowledges to the industry and public that I value, support, and will abide by all standards and guidelines established, and that I am proficient in Geographic Information Systems and Science. The certification is one more step forward in professional development, which can lead to career advancement. As a GIS professional this certification informs me of what to expect from other GIS professionals.

Lionell Sewell, GIS Specialist II and GISP applicant

I’d like to repeat part of Lionell’s statement: “The certification is one more step forward in professional development…” I believe it’s important for any individual, regardless of his or her professional or trade, to seek opportunities for professional certification and to continually reach for the highest standard.

Click here to learn more about GISP certification.

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Guest Blogger: It’s the time of year….for staff retreats

December 13, 2010

Cindy Knight

Now let’s be honest with each other.  Would the following phrases “strategic planning”, “sales techniques”, and “12 trends that define the new normal” excite the average person?  Probably not, but DECO is not a division comprised of average people.   So when we all convened for DECO’s 2010 Annual Staff Retreat, we were positive and excited.

Steve Peck

Last Tuesday (December 7th) our team gathered for the annual retreat.  We kicked-off our day with a key-note address from Steve Peck.  Steve, a Senior Vice President with SAP, gave an energetic presentation on sales cycles.  The words of wisdom I walked away from his presentation with were “Never take No from someone that can’t say Yes to begin with…”   simple, but brilliant.

After Steve’s presentation we took time to learn about each other.  We participated in a fun and revealing exercise led by Joyce Hoebing which uncovered unique and unusual things about everyone.  We found out:

After this exercise we were ready to get down to business.  VP Brasington set the tone with her State of DECO address and charged each of us with staying a sharp course, building new partners and new relationships, embracing our entrepreneurial spirit, and of course business development. The Directors followed and gave their visions for their respective areas in 2011.

Dyan presents the State of DECO

Following a delicious lunch, we focused our afternoon on the new strategic plan: TU2016.  The new strategic plan, which will mark the 150th anniversary of the institution, was just launched and includes 5 themes and 22 goals to propel Towson forward.  Our task for the afternoon was to brainstorm action items to support those goals.   After an interactive and robust discussion we ended our day with celebrating our staff’s accomplishments during the year.

Click here to see the list of DECO’s marriages, births, graduations, and celebrations!

We walked away knowing that we are good at what we do, getting better is our goal, and the potential for new clients and partners is our future as we strive to reach out and expand opportunities.  Of course the day wouldn’t have been possible without lots of support, especially from our Executive Assistant Donna Guillott.

Cindy Knight is the newest addition to the Vice President’s Office.  As the Policy & Operations Manager, Cindy serves as a liaison with the Office of Human Resources, manages the DECO intranet, and develops internal and external reports for the Vice President.

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B-More Fiber: The Google Connection

July 13, 2010

Jimmy

Chances are that you are familiar with Google in some sense or another.  You may have run a query on the Google Search Engine to look up a recipe, find an address, or use Google as a business tool with Google Docs, Google Calendar, or Google Voice.   Beyond its presence in cyberspace, Google is also an advocate in the community, and Baltimore hopes to benefit!

A few months ago, Google launched a plan to build an experimental high-speed fiber optic network in several communities within the United States for consumer use, research initiatives, and “open access.”  In response, communities across America responded to Google’s request for information (RFI) to select their area in which to build a fiber-optic network.

With a steadfast desire for Google, the city of Baltimore was no exception with the assembly of the RFI, a B-MORE Fiber website, an appealing presentation, and with support of the many local organizations including Towson University.  The Mayor of Baltimore, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, has even appointed Tom Loveland , president of Mind over Machines, as “Google Czar” to aid in the effort to give Baltimore a higher appeal to the folks at Google.

The potential benefits for the city of Baltimore and the surrounding community and businesses are limitless.  Google will announce the winner(s) by the end of the year.  Your voice for Google fiber can still be heard, so express your support at bmorefiber.com to tell Google to come to Baltimore!  Check out this endorsement video below from Governor O’Malley!

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Guest Blogger: Economist John Spears “Forecasting Challenges–Childcare Subsidy Example”

April 26, 2010

John

The typical thought of the general populace is that perception by the five senses is accurate and models are arcane, doubtful,  and probably wrong.  “Seeing is believing.”  But that is certainly oversimplified.  Frankly, most social science (indeed probably all knowledge, even of what we call common sense perception of the world) consists of modeling.

Recent brain scan research has shown, for example, that only some 10% of neurons in the visual cortex actually receive information from the ocular nerve. The rest of them receive information from elsewhere in the brain. What is the visual cortex doing?  Modeling, of course, fitting the current information into a pattern learned previously, and housed in the rest of the brain.

That is what we do in the social sciences, with the unfortunate exception that we are trying to decipher the behavior of the most naturally deceptive and suspicious creatures on the planet:  human beings.  So the task is proportionately harder.

So we’re all builders of models, constantly measuring what we can measure and comparing it with what we think is happening.  It so happens that I build models about welfare and education data for the purposes of forecasting enrollments and expenditures, and my current problem has to do with child care subsidy data (the program which helps families with especially low incomes pay for child care).  I’m asking how we can see the onset of the late recession in the lives of the State’s clients, and how we can tell when they are truly on the way to recovery. That challenging task is mine at the moment.

So I’m searching for some reasonable explanations.  But there are some indications. In fact, I believe I can see the tracks of the recession in people’s lives.  Consider the graph to the left.  It shows the frequency of extra hours care, the kind of care you need when you are doing overtime, or you’re running from job to education.  The big dip corresponds to the time period when the unemployment rate in Maryland increased from  4.1% to over 5% as the recession gain steam.

If I’m right in this, then we may have a way of measuring when child care subsidy users are getting back on their feet by seeing when that kind of extra care reappears.  They certainly aren’t as yet, as the stagnation of enrollments of working families shows in the most recent data.

Well, such insights don’t make for a certifiable model improvement, much less forecasting improvement, until you know better what they’re really showing.  And in this case, that no doubt means waiting and watching to see how well this frequency of extra hours care indicator works in helping to forecast demand for subsidized child care.

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President Caret on Social Media and What He Can’t Live Without

March 3, 2010

Dr. Caret

When it comes to technology, I have always been willing and excited to try something new. Back when I was Dean of Sciences and Mathematics, I set aside money in my budget to bring some of the first personal computers to Towson’s campus by helping set up our own facility to build and serve Towson University’s own brand—“Bullet Train” PC’s. Through the years I have owned and tested the gamut of personal devices and gadgets and today, I couldn’t live without my laptop, my Blackberry and my Kindle. For my busy lifestyle, technology isn’t a toy or something to do in my spare time, but rather it keeps me organized and connected. So quite naturally I was also an early-adopter of social media because I see it as a valuable professional and personal tool.

My approach to social media isn’t unlike my experience with gadgets. I have dabbled with everything from Second Life to Linked In to podcasts.  It didn’t take long to realize, however, the more time and energy you invest into social media, the greater your return. So, I narrowed my scope to those most relevant to my needs—Facebook and Twitter.  Everything I do, funnels back to my Facebook, whether I post a new blog or highlight a recent TU accomplishment.  I use Twitter to follow the latest news and events, and to occasionally check out what the FakePrezCaret aka “Bobby Carrot”–my unauthorized cyber troll–is doing.

To say that social media is becoming the new norm may be an understatement. I read in the NY Times this week about a university that is inviting its applicants to use YouTube for their optional essays.  If you are not involved with some kind of social medial tool right now, pick one to join today.  Without it you are missing a connection to an entire world of real-time information, breaking news, and interesting people.

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Season’s Greetings from DECO

December 21, 2009

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