3DGeo Executive Steering Team: Member Bios

See the team's webpage for more information about the team and member contact info.

Jennifer Corcoran is a Remote Sensing Program Consultant in the Resource Assessment Program in the Division of Forestry at the Department of Natural Resources and is based in St. Paul. Her work focuses on acquiring new aerial imagery and LiDAR, and proposing new and managing existing projects used to improve forest inventory, analyze forest disturbances, mapping and monitoring wetlands, among many other projects in support of the DNR’s mission. She received an M.S. in Soil Science from the University of Minnesota, with emphases in biometeorology and GIS in 2009; and in 2013 received a PhD in Natural Resource Science and Management from the University of Minnesota, with emphases in Water Resource Science and Remote Sensing.
Jack Kluempke is the Solar Business Advisor in the Division of Energy Resources at the Minnesota Department of Commerce. He also teaches Solar Site Assessment and Solar Finance courses at local colleges as well as for a number of solar industry organizations. Jack holds a B.S. Degree in Finance from St. John’s University and an A.A.S. Degree in Energy Technologies from St. Cloud Community College. In an advisory role, Jack worked with U of M students who developed the Solar Suitability App using LiDAR technology to calculate solar irradiance levels on residential and commercial buildings.
Colin Lee is a photogrammetrist at the Minnesota Department of Transportation. He received his undergraduate degree in geography from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. He is currently a provisional certified photogrammetrist with the American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. In his seven years with MnDOT he has worked with various types of remotely sensed data, including LiDAR. Colin has given presentations on his work in lidargrammetry and data fusion.
Clinton Little is a Coastal Program specialist with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Minnesota’s Lake Superior Coastal Program (MLSCP). In 1998, Clinton started as a GIS Support Specialist splitting his time between the MN DNR Division of Wildlife and MLSCP. In 2001, Clinton moved to the MLSCP full time to assist communities in applying GIS to Coastal Management and to implement the Section 309 portion of the MLSCP. During his time at MLSCP, Clinton has worked to coordinate data collection and distribution along Minnesota’s North Shore of Lake Superior. Working as technical staff under Dr. Ken Gilbertson, he taught GIS in Management for Recreation Professionals at University of Minnesota Duluth (2003-2005). Clinton has an A.A.S in Forestry from Itasca Community College (ICC). While attending ICC, Clinton worked with students to establish the first ArcView class at ICC. After graduating, he served on an advisory council to improve GIS class offerings.
Joel Nelson is a GIS specialist at the University of Minnesota, and manages activities in the Soil & Landscape Analysis Laboratory (SLAL) in the Department of Soil, Water, and Climate. Working with the SLAL and its director, Dr. Jay Bell, Joel has extensive experience in high resolution DEM applications, especially regarding the instruction and practical utilization of LiDAR-derived elevation data. Joel has been a member of the State Digital Elevation Committee for several years and hopes to provide useful guidance in developing training and education strategies regarding LiDAR and allied technologies.
Mark Reineke is a geographer with Widseth Smith Nolting Engineering (WSN) and works extensively with elevation data (GPS survey, LiDAR point-cloud, bathymetry). Much of his 3D experience revolves around engineering projects, over multiple regions/states, and specializes in hydrologic applications. Mark utilizes LiDAR point-cloud data for interference and visualization studies for cell phone companies and has taught GIS classes for ditch viewers at Ridgewater College in Willmar, MN. In anticipation of proper processing of LiDAR-derived DEMs and for flood control opportunities in the Red River Valley, Mark began culvert inventories using survey quality GPS in 2005 and has pushed statewide for proper conditioning efforts in hydrologic modeling. He has a B.S. in Geography from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, 1995.
Dan Ross is the State of Minnesota's Chief Geospatial Information Officer.
Chris Sanocki is a geographer and district GIS specialist with USGS. He has authored or co-authored reports relating to watershed characteristics, flood frequency, groundwater, and surface water. Chris has presented locally and nationally on GIS Data and Application Management, Web-based Watershed and Flood Frequency Applications, Watershed Storage, Groundwater, Stream Slope, and USGS StreamStats. Current work involves the production of LIDAR-based flood inundation maps.
Gerry Sjerven is a GIS specialist at Minnesota Power. He was a GIS specialist at the Natural Resources Research Institute at the University of Minnesota - Duluth from 1996-2012. Prior to joining NRRI, Gerry worked with the Land Management Information Center (now MnGeo) for six years. He has served on the MnGeo Standards Committee for a number of years. He has been involved with the MN GIS/LIS Consortium since 1997, including serving as the conference chair in 2001. Gerry has worked to help coordinate the local efforts for the LiDAR acquisition in the Arrowhead region of Minnesota.
Sean Vaughn is a GIS hydrologist with the Minnesota DNR, Division of Ecological and Water Resources. Sean has been with the Minnesota DNR since 1989. For the last twelve years, he has been the lead GIS specialist and project manager for the DNR Watershed Delineation Project. Sean has many years of experience working with raster data, developing statewide GIS datasets, and creating hydrologically conditioned Digital Elevation Models for Minnesota. He is particularly interested in the development of statewide LiDAR-derived products for utilization in watershed delineation, hydrography identification, and hydrologic analysis.