Keota Silaphone has 10 years of practical working experience in the public sector as a Natural Resources Planner and GIS Analyst for the Worcester County Government on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. From 2003 to 2012, she worked within the Department of Comprehensive Planning (7 years) and Development Review and Permitting Department (3 years) where her efforts focused on watershed planning, water quality issues, and implementing best management practices (BMPs). She also wore the hat of a GIS Analyst while in the Dept. of Comprehensive Planning which allowed her to increase the County’s GIS capacity. Her responsibilities as GIS Analyst included overseeing GIS staff and interns, managing projects and data distribution, and managing hardware, software, and the budget. While operating as a Natural Resources Planner AND GIS Analyst, our department was in the unique position of demonstrating to other departments and elected County Commissioners how GIS functionality is used to analyze planning problems spatially. Ms. Silaphone holds a bachelor's degree in Geography and Environmental Studies from Ohio Wesleyan University and a Master's of Community Planning from the University of Cincinnati. Currently, Ms. Silaphone teaches full-time at Salisbury University and is a PhD graduate student at the University of Maryland specializing in Environmental Science. Her research focuses on land use impacts on water quality and using remote sensing and GIS applications in water quality research.