Benjamin Houston 

Ben has over 30 years of experience with mapping technologies ranging from military applications to environmental conservation and public works. A licensed Professional Engineer, Ben has a broad background in public health engineering, utility infrastructure, and stormwater management. He has worked as both an engineer and a GIS analyst at for-profit and non-profit consulting companies, and with various Local and State government agencies.

A former Army Officer, Ben spent 12 years as a Topographic Engineer, Public Health Engineer, and Special Operations Team Leader before returning to the private sector. He is a graduate of the US Army Combined Arms Services Staff School, the Defense Mapping School, and the JFK Special Warfare Center and School and completed a tour in Afghanistan in 2002.

Ben’s focus the past 20 years has been using airborne LiDAR data for topographic mapping and raster-based terrain analysis, and has recently been working with drones as tools for surveying and mapping. Ben is a former adjunct professor of GIS at the Bard Center for Environmental Policy and served on the NYS GIS Association Board of Directors in 2017.