Top Secret GIS

Presentation Type: Presentation (30 minutes)

Skill Level: Beginner, Intermediate

Intended Audience: GIS User, GIS Instructor, Student, Management

Abstract

Come to this presentation and you’ll go on a wild ride of firsthand stories from the front lines of a little-known geospatial dogfight that has gone on since 9/11. From big planes flying into big buildings, to the National Military Command Center that sits in a highly classified space beneath the Pentagon, you’ll come to understand what’s hype, and what’s the real deal when it comes the importance of sharing geospatial data you might otherwise think is of marginal value. Toss into this mix the August 2025 termination of the Homeland Infrastructure Foundation-Level Data (HIFLD) Open Data program and you’re off on a one-time good deal adventure presented by a retired Navy Captain who brashly claims to know where all the bodies are buried.

Presenter(s)

Stephen Swazee

Executive Director, SharedGeo

Steve Swazee is the Executive Director of SharedGeo, a St. Paul based research and development nonprofit which creates innovative geospatial technologies. He is a former Department of Defense Liaison Officer to Minnesota government and subsequently to national programs. During hurricane season of 2005 (Katrina, Ophelia, Rita, and Wilma), he served as the senior liaison officer at the Pentagon’s Joint Directorate of Military Support - the organization which managed the federal response after FEMA was overwhelmed by the extent of the Gulf coast destruction. Subsequent to Katrina, he was appointed to serve on the federal government’s interagency GIS coordination work group.