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Brian Coleman
Brian, a graduate of Purdue University, sold electronics components to manufacturers for 25 years – until the manufacturing went offshore. He bought a map publication and distribution business. The business boomed for a few years – until people starting looking online themselves. His research skills at the U.S. Geological Survey library still were in demand, but he knew he needed something else. The leap from map selling to GIS went through Front Range Community College. Today, Brian is an account manager for ESRI, the leading manufacturer of GIS software in the world. It is the software he learned in earning the GIS Fundamentals and GIS Certificate at FRCC. With his sales background and his still-developing knowledge of GIS, he was hired even before completing his certificates. He is proud that his company, as a public service, published maps of the Fourmile Canyon Fire near Boulder, Colo., that were geo-tagged with information about property and homes – published within eight hours of the fire’s start. “Governments have needs like public works and public health. They need to understand how GIS applies to their problems,” Brian says. “I’m in constant learning mode. My greatest joy professionally is spending time with my customers. They teach me more than I can learn.” Brian also takes to heart the public-service aspect within his company. In his spare time, he is producing GIS maps of the Boy Scout area of Fort A.P. Hill, the site of eight national jamborees.
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