Development Seed

Robert is the senior GIS developer at Development Seed where he leads the development of our major data projects. One recent example of his work is AfghanistanElectionData.org, a data browser used to visualize voting irregularities in Afghanistan's 2009 presidential election by allowing users to browse the raw vote count and see this data on a map alongside additional contextual information such as security thread levels, ethnicity breakdown, and socioeconomic factors. With his background in international development, participatory mapping, and vulnerability analysis and technical expertise in GIS, mapping software, and web technologies like Drupal, Robert brings a unique skillset to our projects that helps him guide them from their initial strategy to their final execution.

In addition to his work on data projects, Robert plays a key role in the development of MapBox, our suite of open source tools that make it easier to create data powered custom maps and host them in the cloud, and is behind an effort to improve access to basic GIS data in several African countries by extending the dataset in OpenStreetMap. He's also an experienced Drupal programmer, most recently focusing his time on building tools like Slingshot SMS, Managing News, and the OpenLayers module.

Robert is a regular presenter on data collection and new mapping technologies, having spoken at conferences including the International Crisis Mappers Conference, the State of the Map, Innovations in Mobile Data Collection for Social Action, DrupalCon, and the International Studies Association Conference.

Robert holds dual master's degrees in International Affairs and Natural Resources and Sustainable Development from American University and the United Nations University for Peace, and has extensive work experience in the GIS and data analysis fields.