This month’s #staffprofile is on Program Director Dave Reed. Dave supports our Priority Issue Teams through meeting facilitation and tracking and reporting project progress. He started in November 2020. Scroll through our photos to learn more about Dave.
For starters
Dave is originally from Decatur, AL, and lived in Tennessee before moving to Florida. He attended Maryville College and Middle Tennessee State University. Dave previously worked for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Fish and Wildlife Research Institute in St. Petersburg, FL, and spent over 18 years within the Center for Spatial Analysis. He worked on numerous GIS projects over time including habitat suitability modeling, oyster coverage in Tampa Bay, land use and land cover using satellite imagery and multiple other smaller GIS research related projects. He currently lives in Bradenton, FL, with his family and pets.
What he loves about GOMA
I’ve been involved with GOMA for for a number of years both as a team member and team co-chair. I treasure the friendships I’ve made, both professionally and personally. Our annual meetings are the best, like really big family reunions.
What he loves most about the Gulf of Mexico?
Everyone working in the Gulf of Mexico has a real passion for the resources we have been entrusted to protect and preserve. Working for GOMA is like working with family.
Proudest moments
Being involved with developing Governors’ Action Plans III & IV, doing the ‘Tool Time with Dave’ webinar series, helping to develop a GOMA Shopping Catalog structure for project funding (still developing and improving), our open data platform GOMOD, and watching and being part of the growth of GOMA as we became authorized by the federal government and working on all of the BIL projects.
GOMA’s future
Continued growth as it relates to having a ‘go to’ list of experts in any given field around the Gulf, expanding our list of members (more family!), and continued funding from both public and private sources.