Johnny Harley, GIS Analyst

About

I’m a GIS analyst at TREKK Design Group in Kansas City and a certified GIS Professional. I studied geography at Northwest Missouri State, where I also ran cross country and track for five years, and stayed for a master’s in GIS. Since then I’ve worked with cities, utilities and state agencies across the Midwest and beyond, from streetlights in Lincoln to sewer systems in Memphis.

The part of GIS I enjoy most is the people side: training field crews and city staff, running ArcGIS Online so a whole company can use it well, and speaking at conferences. I chair the conference committee for GPN’s Vanguard Cabinet and like spending time with students who are where I was not that long ago.

Outside of work you’ll find me running, on a golf course, or tasting something new as a Level 1 sommelier.

Johnny in a hard hat leaning on a Black & McDonald work truck in Kansas City

Career focus

Business development. Networking, presenting at GIS conferences and helping win the next project.
Relationship building. Staying close to clients and the wider GIS community.
Field data collection. Getting accurate data from the field into the map.
ArcGIS Online administration. Running an organization’s accounts, credits and hosted content so it stays clean and affordable.

Outside of work

Johnny racing on a city street in a Kansas City singlet, bib number 65

RunningFive years of varsity cross country and track at Northwest, NCAA All-American in cross country in 2017, and still racing post-collegiately.

A teenage Johnny in his Scout uniform with a merit badge sash

Eagle ScoutEarned Scouting’s highest rank. It taught me early to finish what I start.

Johnny mid-swing on a tee box overlooking the ocean

GolfAlways up for a round, and happy to be the fourth in a client scramble.

WineLevel 1 sommelier. It led to “Forgotten Vines”, my talk on the geography of Missouri winemaking.

Skills & expertise

Software

ArcGIS Online
Esri ArcGIS platform
Esri field apps
AutoCAD
Power BI
Deltek CRM

GIS and data

Database design
Relational databases
GIS platform design
QA/QC of spatial data
GIS and CAD integration
Sewer inspection workflows
Asset database maintenance
Web maps and apps

Projects and people

Leading projects
Client meetings
Invoicing
RFP and RFI responses
Business development
Conference speaking

IT

Cisco server maintenance
Troubleshooting
Hardware deployment

Work experience

2019 to present
GIS Analyst
TREKK Design Group
Kansas City
Lead GIS analyst on several large wastewater and sanitary sewer projects, covering database design, QA/QC of peer data, invoicing and client meetings. ArcGIS Online administrator for the whole company. Presents at GIS conferences as part of business development.
2020 to 2022
GIS Consultant
Freelance
Remote, via Upwork
Custom Esri solutions for 20+ clients worldwide, with a 100% Job Success Score.
2017 to 2019
GIS Technician and IT Technician
Black & McDonald
Kansas City, MO
Designed and maintained the databases and maps behind 175,000 streetlights in the Kansas City and St. Joseph region, plus 700+ EV charging stations. Helped write RFP responses and supported server maintenance and IT troubleshooting.

Education & certifications

2017 to 2019
MS, Geographic Information Systems
Northwest Missouri State University
Online, 33 credit hours
2012 to 2017
BS, Geography. Minor in History
Northwest Missouri State University
Maryville, MO
2026
GISP
Certified GIS Professional
Also
Level 1 Sommelier
Not a GIS credential, but it did turn into a conference talk.

Key achievements

NCAA All-American, Cross Country, 2017. Helped lead Northwest’s team to its first national championship appearance.
Org-wide ArcGIS Online administrator at TREKK, responsible for licensing, credits and QC of every hosted map and app.
100% Job Success Score on Upwork across 20+ GIS clients worldwide.
Eagle Scout. Scouting’s highest rank.
Conference Chair, GPN Vanguard Cabinet, and President of GeoDev KC.

Work examples

Six projects from TREKK Design Group and Black & McDonald, across wastewater, stormwater, transportation and utilities.

Wastewater1.3M feetof sewer pipe and 7,000+ manholes in a single phase

SARP10 Sewer Assessment, Phases 6 to 9

City of Memphis, TN. TREKK Design Group

The problem: Field crews were producing manhole, CCTV and smoke-testing data every day across Memphis’s sewer system. Mapping errors had to be caught before they reached the client.
What I did: Led data management for MACP manhole inspections, CCTV and smoke testing, and turned all three into one weekly deliverable. Built ModelBuilder and Python tools in ArcGIS Pro to catch data errors and trained other staff to use them. Worked directly with field crews on mapping issues. Phase 8 alone covered 550,000 feet of smoke testing, 150,000 feet of CCTV and 2,300 manhole inspections.
Tools and skills: ArcGIS Pro, Python, ModelBuilder, NASSCO MACP and PACP, IBAK, Fulcrum

TransportationI-70urban corridor study through Kansas City

Improve I-70 KC

MoDOT, Jackson County, MO. TREKK Design Group

The problem: MoDOT needed to know what sewer risks sat under an urban stretch of I-70 before a potential design-build project, which meant collecting manhole and CCTV data next to live interstate traffic.
What I did: Coordinated with the design, survey and transportation teams on mapping for CCTV and manhole data collection. Did fieldwork, converted CAD data into GIS, built Experience Builder apps to keep the project moving, and helped coordinate traffic control.
Tools and skills: ArcGIS Experience Builder, CAD to GIS conversion, field data collection

StormwaterCAD to 3Dfrom paper-era drawings to a field-ready GIS

Stormwater Inventory and Condition Assessment

City of Grandview, MO, with Burns & McDonnell. TREKK Design Group

The problem: Grandview’s stormwater assets lived in CAD drawings, not in a GIS that field crews could use to inventory and rate them.
What I did: Georeferenced the CAD drawings and built the assets into a GIS for field data collection, then ran QA/QC on what came back. Built 3D models from TREKK360 imagery so the team could see asset condition in detail and flag areas needing repair. On related Grandview work I trained city staff on data management and helped run the city’s ArcGIS Online account.
Tools and skills: ArcGIS Pro, georeferencing, TREKK360 imagery, 3D modeling, ArcGIS Online

Utilities700+EV charging stations tracked across the metro

EV Charging Station Asset Survey

Evergy, Kansas City metro. Black & McDonald

The problem: Evergy needed to know which public charging stations were down, and to get a crew there quickly when one was.
What I did: As Project Data Lead, I designed and maintained the charging station database and built an Operations Dashboard showing each station’s availability and health. I integrated Workforce so a submitted service ticket automatically dispatched a maintenance crew, which kept repairs timely and the network more reliable.
Tools and skills: ArcGIS Operations Dashboard, Workforce, database design

Streetlights25,000streetlights converted to LED in 14 months

LED Streetlight Conversion

City of Lincoln, NE. Black & McDonald

The problem: Converting 25,000 streetlights in 14 months only works if every crew records every light correctly, every day.
What I did: Served as GIS project lead. Deployed ArcGIS Collector and ArcGIS Online so crews could record data in the field. Talked daily with the city and its electric co-op to plan work areas and report quantities. Spent a week on site each month checking data collection and training new crew members, and fixed field data issues remotely the rest of the time.
Tools and skills: ArcGIS Collector, ArcGIS Online, project leadership, field training

Smart cityWi-Fisiting public Wi-Fi and smart lighting downtown

Emerging Technology Initiative

City of Kansas City, MO. Black & McDonald

The problem: Kansas City wanted to put free public Wi-Fi and smart lighting on downtown streetlights, but didn’t know which ones would serve the most people.
What I did: Met with city officials and departments about using GIS for smart city work. Built a traffic application to find the busiest parts of downtown, then presented a suitability analysis recommending which streetlights were best suited for Wi-Fi and smart lighting.
Tools and skills: Suitability analysis, web app development, presenting to city leadership

Leadership & volunteering

Professional organizations and committees

Conference Chair
GPN Vanguard Cabinet
Geospatial Professional Network (formerly URISA), young professionals’ leadership group
Program Committee
Kansas Association of Mappers
KAM. I help plan the program for the annual conference.
President
GeoDev KC
Kansas City’s GIS user group
Member
Kansas Water Environment Association
KWEA. Add your role or involvement