Bryan Kelley, PMP

I became lost often as a child and have been trying to find my way back ever since. I started college studying civil engineering, which evolved into an interest in surveying, cartography, and GIS technologies. Since then, I have been involved in the art and science of map making – location referencing business data and visually presenting it.

I joined GeoDecisions in early 2019 but had previously worked with many team members. The opportunity to partner with these individuals attracted me to GeoDecisions. GeoDecisions is a family where everyone is respected, works as a team, and strives for innovation in GIS. Working alongside dedicated professionals provides a sense of community where everyone is valued.

As a senior project manager, I work with business analysts, data scientists, application developers, technical architects, system engineers, and quality control professionals. Together, we partner with our clients to identify and resolve their issues. I focus on transportation and department of transportation (DOT) business processes, linear referencing systems (LRS), LRS networks, data integration, GIS, and application development and configuration.

I spent 10 years at VDOT in multiple GIS-centric roles. These experiences were foundational to obtaining technical knowledge of transportation systems and how business processes and data flows operate. While each DOT performs similar duties for building, operating, and maintaining highway networks, how they conduct these responsibilities differs.

Having internal insight into how the multilayer transactional processes, agency policies, and regulatory procedures work helps me guide technical solutions and change management recommendations. A one-size-fits-most approach will not work with the DOT complexities.

I admit a mapping and geospatial data bias. The analytical power of location referencing business data (e.g., pavement, traffic, crashes, bridges, functional classification, etc., available in event layers) to analyze, translate coordinate information, and visualize it in a spatial context fundamentally changes how a DOT performs. Obtaining the capability to harness that power is not easy, but the Esri software and tools, namely ArcGIS Roads and Highways, reduce barriers for DOTs to achieve impactful operational advancements.

ArcGIS Roads and Highways extends the ability to fully leverage linear referencing capability and multiple linear referencing methods (LRM) to integrate data for a comprehensive view of road networks. It connects GIS data with disparate enterprise systems for real-time, unified data and workflow management.

Management always encourages me to grow through obtaining certifications, completing training, and tackling new projects. These opportunities allow me to gain additional experience and perspectives. I serve as the moderator chair of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) GIS for Transportation (GIS-T) planning committee and am a member of the North American Cartographic Information Society, Project Management Institute, and Virginia Association of Mapping & Land Information Systems.

The solutions I work on require innovative approaches to identify the problem and develop a process or configure an application. We help our clients become more effective in using their most significant asset – their data – to become more efficient in using resources to build, maintain, and operate critical transportation infrastructure that is more sustainable and resilient.

While I did not directly receive this, I refer to this quote, often attributed to Mark Twain quote often, “Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So, throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, and catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Instead of long walks on the beach, I enjoy diving in and swimming out to the buoy, kayaking on the James River, running in the early morning, biking along rural roads, paddleboarding (sometimes even successfully), and exploring.