State Names New Official to Lead GIS Efforts

Kevin Lothar Petrik has been tapped to lead the state’s geographic information efforts for the California Department of Technology.

Petrik is well versed in this sort of work, having served in a number of related roles in the public, private and nonprofit sectors, according to his LinkedIn profile. Prior to taking over as the state GIO in March, Petrik was a data engineering architect with the Office of the State GIO.

He served as the director of geospatial science for the agricultural investment firm Scythe & Spade Company, as a senior spatial data analyst with E & J Gallo Winery, as a program consultant and grant writer with the California Rice Commission, and as a senior conservation planner with the nonprofit Ducks Unlimited.

“My career journey has been helped by many mentors. I would like to especially thank a few former managers in the different sectors that I have worked in, including Paul Tessar (Government), Daniel Fehringer (Non-Profit) and Martin Mendez-Costabel (Ph.D.) (Private Sector),” Petrik wrote in a post announcing his new position.

Petrik holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry from Cornell University and a master’s degree in geography, GIS, and planning from the University of Colorado, Boulder.