Our Team.

David Saah

President

David Saah, PhD, is an esteemed environmental scientist and a recognized global leader in geospatial analysis, remote sensing, landscape ecology, wildfire science, and natural hazard modeling. Dr. Saah is the Professor and Director of the Geospatial Analysis Lab at the University of San Francisco, the Co-founder and Managing Principal of the Spatial Informatics Group, and the Principal Investigator for Pyregence. His commitment to high-quality research and the dissemination of results through innovative presentations, publications, and workshops has made significant contributions to the field of geospatial technology.

Rick Kos

Education Director

As BayGeo's Education Director, Rick manages our GIS Education Center and its many short-term workshops for beginning and mid-career professionals and students. Rick Kos also serves on the faculty in the Masters of Urban Planning program at San Jose State University and as a Lecturer in Stanford's Urban Studies program. Rick was as Assistant Town Planner for the Town of Apex, NC where he served as webmaster, land use planner, and GIS coordinator. Rick also served as Senior Town Planner and GIS Manager for the Town of Huntersville, NC.

Fernanda Lopez Ornelas

Board Member

Fernanda Lopez Ornelas serves as the Lab Manager of the Geospatial Analysis Lab at the University of San Francisco (USF). Her passion for geospatial technologies and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) led her to be part of the first group to earn the GIS Certificate from USF’s Geospatial Analysis Lab (GsAL). Fernanda has a keen interest in remote sensing techniques and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technologies. One of her notable contributions to the field is her work on a project that utilized LiDAR technology to measure aboveground biomass.

Cam Denney

Assistant Education Director, Board Member

Cam is an unabashed map nerd, cartographer, and GIS professional. In addition to serving as BayGeo’s Assistant Education Director, Cam works for the World Health Organization's GIS Centre for Health. He has also done GIS work for the Alameda County Community Food Bank, and the Spatial Computing Team at Facebook. Cam is an enthusiastic teacher, having taught courses in GIS, Geography, outdoor education,  high school math/science, and ESL. He has a master's in Geography from UC Davis and an Engineering degree from the University of Illinois. Cam can often be found shopping at his favorite grocery store located at: 37.8133886, -122.2682824

Liam Maier

Board Member

Liam Maier began his career with the U.S. Forest Service as a founding member and lead sawyer of the Truckee Hotshots, a Type-1 wildland fire crew in Tahoe National Forest. In this role, he recognized how crucial maps are for emergency responders and incident commanders to coordinate efforts, share hazard information, and make tactical decisions. This experience inspired him to study the data, technologies, and cartography behind maps, leading him to attend City College of San Francisco and later UC Berkeley, where he earned a B.S. in Forestry and Natural Resource Management with a GIS minor, followed by a Master of Forestry and a Graduate Certificate in Geospatial Information Science. After grad school, Liam joined UC Berkeley’s Center for Catastrophic Risk Management as a geospatial scientist, producing a statewide assessment of California’s transportation fuel sector's vulnerability to future extreme weather events. He has also held roles at remote sensing and geospatial technology startups in the Bay Area, including Green Valley International and Quanergy, where he contributed to the development of 3D laser scanning systems and LiDAR-based hardware technologies. Liam now serves as Senior Solutions Engineer at Earth Force Technologies and leads his consulting firm, Lidar Liam Consulting LLC. His life-long approach to learning is centered on removing asynchronous data collection + data entry + data processing + decision making workflows that stewardship entities are stifled by and replacing them with new approaches and tools that will increase the pace and scale at which forestry projects can be implemented at. 

Ian Morales

Board Member

Drawing on his passion for cartography, GIS, and effective communication, he strives to cut past the complexities and make geospatial thinking accessible to geonerds and non-geonerds alike. This is evident in his teaching style and the GIS deliverables produced throughout his career. Ian particularly loves old maps and is enthusiastic about infrastructure, its importance to functional modern systems, and geospatial technology's role in its effective planning, maintenance, and operations. He is a geospatial software and consulting company founder and currently serves as its CEO.

Jessica Sandoval

Board Member

Jessica Sandoval is a senior transportation planner for Fehr & Peers in the San Francisco office. Jess has worked on a variety of transportation and planning projects focused on Visualization, Big Data and GIS analysis tasks. She has worked with all types of communities throughout Northern California and is a creative resource for complex and controversial projects requiring a thoughtful communication strategy throughout the region. Jess is passionate about the use of data analytics and visualization to inform decision-making in transportation.

Garrett Bradford

Board Member

Garrett Bradford directs the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) work for the Property and Casualty Practice at Milliman’s San Francisco office. Garrett is an expert in data visualization and produces maps and charts that enable insurers to understand their data across a range of geographic scales so they can make sound business decisions. Through the use of GIS and mapping at every step of an analysis, Garrett helps clients identify unique spatial patterns that can drive pricing and underwriting strategies.

Paul Nesbit

Board Member

Paul is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Science at University of San Francisco. He teaches Introduction and Applications of GIS, Python for GIS, and various Remote Sensing courses. His research focuses on comprehensive 2D and 3D geospatial workflows to tackle environmental, geologic, and geomorphologic challenges. Currently, Paul uses drone-based photogrammetry, remote sensing, deep learning image analysis, and 3D geovisualization, employing video game engines and web-based methods for education and science communication.

Worlasie Djameh

Board Member

Worlasie is a passionate advocate for the power of geospatial data, especially in solving complex energy challenges. Her journey with GIS began in the solar industry, where she leveraged solar irradiance data obtained from satellites to optimize the placement of solar panels on Google Earth imagery. This sparked a deeper interest, which she pursued during her master's degree at the University of San Francisco. There, Worlasie used geospatial analysis to tackle energy problems, uncovering innovative solutions that highlighted the crucial role GIS plays in the energy sector.

Now, as an active member of the Bay Area geospatial community, Worlasie is thrilled to stay at the forefront of GIS advancements and to connect with fellow enthusiasts in the solar and energy fields.