Coalition of Geospatial Organizations Selects Lead

25 March 2010, 7:11pm

March 24, 2010 (Des Plaines, IL) - The current Chair of the Coalition of Geospatial Organizations (COGO) announced today that the Coalition has selected as the 2011 Coalition Chair Ms. Geney Terry, GISP, the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association’s (URISA) Delegate to COGO. Curt Sumner, 2010 Chair of COGO and the Executive Director of the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping indicated that Ms. Terry’s selection was made by unanimous consent of the Coalition.

Ms. Terry was the URISA COGO Delegate for 2008 and 2009. She has been a GIS Analyst for El Dorado County, California since 1993. She will serve as Chair-Elect in 2010, with her duties as Chair commencing on January 1, 2011. Ms. Terry made the following statement after learning of her selection:

“As Chair-Elect of COGO for 2010, and Chair in 2011, I will work to increase the visibility of the Coalition and improve its recognition as a voice of consensus on issues facing the geospatial industry. COGO's members are organizations that represent various sectors of the geospatial industry with diverse agendas, each filling a niche for its own membership. The challenge for COGO is to bring these organizations together in a forum that will allow for the coordination of broader policy positions, and expressing a consensus of opinion and advocacy for issues that are important to all sectors of the geospatial industry, while at the same time not becoming a platform for the furtherance of any organization's, or group of organizations', specific agenda(s). I will work to facilitate more open communications between all member organizations to keep the entire geospatial community better informed of members’ activities and endeavors, encouraging partnerships in these activities, rather than duplication of efforts.”

Among her many accomplishments and service to the GIS community that led to her selection as COGO leader, Ms. Terry earned her Master's degree in GIS from Penn State last May (while working full-time and serving on the URISA Board). She received her undergraduate degree and introduction to GIS in the early ‘70s at Virginia Tech. She has been very active on the URISA Board and various committees for many years. She assisted with development of the GISP certification program. She helped form the NorCal URISA chapter and served as its first president. She has chaired the GIS Certification Institute’s (GISCI) Ethics Committee and is a member of the GISCI Working Group on Professional Competency, working in conjunction with the GeoTech Center and Penn State to define core competencies consistent with the new GIS occupations adopted recently by the US Department of Labor.

The Coalition of Geospatial Organizations (COGO) (www.urisa.org/cogo) is a recently formed coalition of 12 national professional societies, trade associations, and membership organizations in the geospatial field, representing more than 30,000 individual producers and users of geospatial data and technology. COGO has four advisory organizations for which geospatial issues are of critical importance, but not the primary focus.

The purpose of COGO is to provide a forum for organizations concerned with national geospatial issues that will 1) improve communications among the member organizations (and others), 2) provide educational information on relevant issues for their respective memberships, 3) align and strengthen their respective policy agendas, and 4) facilitate development of strategies to address national issues.

The objectives in carrying out its purpose are:

1. Developing programs of coordination and mutual action by member organizations that positively affect the interests of the membership from each of the Member and Advisory organizations. Subjects may include, without limitation, legislation, agency policies and regulations, publications (including a website), conferences and seminars.

2. Providing a framework for maintaining awareness and coordinating policy positions of the organizations comprising COGO, as such policy positions relate to issues at the federal, state and local levels.

COGO actions are taken only upon the unanimous approval of its member organizations.

The Member Organizations of COGO are:

· American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM)
· American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS)
· Association of American Geographers (AAG)
· Cartography and Geographic Information Society (CAGIS)
· Geospatial Information Technology Association (GITA)
· GIS Certification Institute (GISCI)
· International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO)
· Management Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors (MAPPS)
· National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC)
· United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF)
· University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS)
· Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA)

The Advisory Organizations are:

· National Association of Counties (NACo)
· National Emergency Number Association (NENA)
· Western Governors Association (WGA)
· American Planning Association (APA)

Geo: International