URISA Leadership Academy and URISA Journal Editor Recognized

October 24, 2008 (Park Ridge, IL) – Jochen Albrecht and the URISA Leadership Academy Committee received the 2008 Barbara Hirsch Special Service Award during URISA's 46th Annual Conference in New Orleans this month.

This award was created to honor URISA’s former Chief Financial Officer, Barbara Hirsch. The award is given to individuals or committees who have shown a similar consummate level of service to URISA through an ongoing commitment to our success as an organization.

The 2008 Barbara Hirsch Special Service Award was presented to Jochen Albrecht, Editor of the URISA Journal and also to the Committee and Instructors of the URISA Leadership Academy.

Jochen Albrecht is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at Hunter College of the City University of New York. Since taking over as the Editor of the URISA Journal in 2006, he has streamlined the process and helped to bring deserved attention to the publication.

URISA Leadership Academy Committee and Instructors

At URISA’s Annual Conference in Washington DC in late August 2007, a group of members led by Hilary Perkins, came up with the idea of the URISA Leadership Academy. An amazingly short time later, the first ULA debuted in December 2007 to rave reviews. The second program was held in Chicago this past June. The ULA has become a sought-after educational program for GIS professionals and is another example of a successful volunteer effort come to reality.

A number of individuals have helped to make the ULA a success: Keota Silaphone (Chair), Hilary Perkins, Mike Lovett, Dianne Haley, Shoreh Elhami, Rebecca Somers, David Lanter, Susan Pulsipher, Pete Croswell, Keith Fournier, Claudia Paskauskas, Danielle Ayan, Louise Fragala, Clare Brown, Carl Anderson, Al Hill, Bruce Joffe, Greg Babinski, Geney Terry, Kim McDonough, Martha Wells, Sara Yurman, and Valrie Grant-Harry.

The URISA Leadership Academy will be presented in Seattle, December 8-12, 2008.

For more information, contact URISA at 847/824-6300.