Meet Elliot Frank, GIS Analyst

Where are you from and where do you live now?

I grew up about an hour east of Portland, near Mt. Hood, in Welches, Oregon. Now I live in Edmonds, Washington.

What do you do at MFA?

I assist local governments, mostly as part of my work with the Association of Washington Cities GIS Consortium. We work with cities and utility districts, providing traditional GIS services such as digitizing features, creating maps, setting up web applications, creating data portals, managing data for clients, and organizing and cleaning up data. Our work makes it easier for clients to provide data to the public, and it helps cities manage their data and make them more accessible.

What’s rewarding about your job?

Because of the variety of the projects we work on, I get to figure out the most efficient ways to get the client what they need. I also enjoy working with people in the consortium. The work we do makes their lives easier, and they let us know that.

Why is what you do important?

Different kinds of regulations require local government entities to have things mapped and have public information available. The work we do with the consortium allows our clients to comply with regulations and improve what they provide, and how they provide it, to the public.

What skills do you bring to your work?

I bring my technical skills and knowledge to my work. This means I can choose the best program or programs for the task at hand. I also build automation into processes with Python. That reduces the amount of potential human error that might be added to the process. I enjoy making things easier for people.

What’s the best advice you’ve received from a work colleague?

Keep a good relationship with clients and keep in touch with them to help us make sure that we are getting them what they need and that they will continue to look to us for solutions.

If you were not a GIS analyst, what would you be?

I have a bachelor’s degree in biology, so maybe something to do with that. Or I might be an engineer. I didn’t know too much about engineering going into college, but there is a lot of overlap with GIS.

What’s on your bucket list?

I enjoy spending time with my family. My second child was born this year, joining his older sister, who is four. I want to be able to show my kids nature, especially the type of nature where I grew up.

What was your favorite childhood movie/TV show?

I enjoyed aliens and spaceships, and so Star Wars was my favorite childhood movie.

What’s your favorite restaurant/place to go in your area?

I like Salish Sea Brewing in Edmonds. It’s a good spot for meeting friends on the weekend. I’ve been visiting a lot of parks with my children. Edmonds City Park is a classic park, and Boeing Creek Park is a wooded park with a lot of trails. It’s good for easy hikes.

What do you like to do off the clock?

I’ve been looking at ways to be more creative in my free time, and I enjoy reading and gardening (I like to make our house look nice).