About Zachary
Zachary Vavra has been a GIS Specialist at U-Spatial since November 2017, based in Duluth. After earning a B.A. in Global Studies,he spent two years teaching English to more than 800 high school students in Japan. He then spent nearly a decade in international education administration.
He returned to graduate school to earn an M.S. in Geographic Information Science from IUPUI, magna cum laude, with a thesis comparing three hotspot mapping techniques for predictive policing, before joining UMD's International Student Services office and then moving into GIS full-time at U-Spatial.
At U-Spatial, he builds interactive web maps and applications, manages the flood loss analysis and Critical Infrastructure workflows for Hazard Mitigation Planning, and writes and maintains the Python and Arcade scripts that automate much of that geoprocessing work. He has also taught GIS II: Applied GIS at the University of Minnesota Duluth, covering automation, terrain analysis, watershed and viewshed analysis, and network analysis.
Key Projects and Initiatives
Flood Loss Analysis & Critical Infrastructure workflows
Zachary manages the core geoprocessing workflows behind U-Spatial's Hazard Mitigation Planning program, including the automated Python and Arcade scripts that process flood loss data and critical infrastructure information for county and Tribal hazard mitigation plans across Minnesota.
GIS II: Applied GIS instruction
As an instructor in UMD's Department of Geography, Urban, Environment & Sustainability Studies, Zachary taught a class of 15 students core GIS techniques including automation with ModelBuilder, terrain mapping, viewshed and watershed analysis, spatial interpolation, geocoding, and network analysis, using ArcGIS Pro, ArcGIS Online, and QGIS.
Showcasing UMD's Global Engagement Through the Use of Story Maps
Presented at the Minnesota GIS/LIS Consortium, this talk drew on Zachary's earlier career in international education, using ArcGIS StoryMaps to visualize and communicate the breadth of UMD's global partnerships and programs.
Areas of Expertise
- Managing specialized flood loss estimations and critical infrastructure data workflows for state and local disaster planning.
- Developing Python and Arcade scripts to automate geoprocessing, streamline data management, and enhance web mapping applications.
- Creating web maps and interactive dashboards using ArcGIS Online to communicate spatial metrics to diverse stakeholders.
- Delivering university-level GIS instruction in advanced spatial analysis, terrain modeling, network routing, and automation.
Work with Zachary
Reach out, consultations are free for the U of M community.