Meet Ethan Poole, GIS Technician

Where are you from and where do you live now?

I was born and raised in Berkeley, California, but now live in scenic St. Johns, Portland, Oregon. It’s nice to be close to the water.

What do you do at FLO?

The quick answer is, I make maps! I also assist with data preparation, visualization, and analysis as well as meeting facilitation, mostly for our school district clients.

What’s rewarding about your job?

On a personal level: I get to make maps, which is something I’ve done since I was a kid (ask me about my super cool, overly thought-out D&D campaigns!). On a larger level, I enjoy encountering different communities and empowering them with the tools they need to make decisions for themselves.

Why is what you do important?

Many people lack the time or resources to be experts on how their communities are growing and changing. While I focus on numbers, community members are freed up to bring their lived experiences to a decision-making process. Our expertise can help them fill in and craft narratives around how and why changes are made.

What skills do you bring to your work?

Creativity and the ability to understand what people want before they do. I also have an interest in design and like to make visualizations and maps as aesthetically pleasing as possible.

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

Listen; don’t worry.

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

I spent a good portion of my earlier years studying Latin and Ancient Greek—I’d love to get paid (well) to learn and write about dead languages and grammars.

What’s on your bucket list?

Ethan Poole sailing his boat on the Columbia River.

Living abroad. I love learning new languages and different cultures. It’d be wonderful to spend a few years sailing around the world, meeting people, and drinking in strange places before retiring somewhere quiet with a big house and a nice garden.

What was your favorite childhood movie/TV show?

Movie: The Lord of the Rings trilogy

TV Show: Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Hands down, no ifs, ands or buts.