Charles Convis
Mr. Convis earned B.S. degrees in Natural History and Biology from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1981. He has more than 15 years of software design and programming experience in resources and conservation applications, more than 10 years of professional experience as a field ecologist, and more than 38 years experience coordinating nonprofit technology support. In 1989, he joined ESRI as a consultant and project manager. He is currently the head of the ESRI Conservation Program (ECP), an international program providing GIS software, hardware, training, scientific and cloud support services to more than 4,000 conservation organizations worldwide, He is webmaster of the Conservation GIS Site Conservationgis.org and the Esri/Geonet Conservation GIS pages. He provides GIS, Mapping and Documentation support to the California Native Plant Society, the California Naturalists Association, The Society for Conservation GIS (SCGIS) & the Snow Leopard Conservancy among many others. He serves as a volunteer for the SCGIS International Program, helping support scholarships & grants for 18 national SCGIS chapters and 20 to 80 international conservation GIS scholar-trainer-leaders every summer.
PHOTOGRAPHER:
As a photographer, Charles Convis uses the charlesconvis.com site to share his work, mainly theatrical but he is slowly adding his conservation and nature photos there too. Here are a few examples from Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Spamalot, and Modern Dance.
Some examples from travel, history and nature: Left: At Stonehenge with Mapwoman herself. Right Late July 1969: Following the inspirational Apollo 11 landing, my first experiment with personal space travel. Findings: had the wrong boots to achieve escape velocity and lunar orbit.
Below, Camus Cross, Isle of Skye.
Professional Achievements:
2016 Landscape Practitioner of the Year award, Int’l Association of Landscape Ecology
2005-2008 Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation grant with Nature Conservancy for International Conservation Capacity Building
2004-2014 Member, California Native Plant Society Vegetation Standards Committee.
2000-2012 Board Member, Sierra Biodiversity Institute.
1998 Commissioner, IUCN Commission on Environmental Strategy and Planning.
1997 “Making a Difference” award, National Park Service
1995 Initiate the “Conservation Technology Support Program” consortium of Esri, HP, Apple, Greeninfo Network, Ecotrust, Wilderness Society to make annual grants of GIS Hardware, Software and Training to about 100 organizations.
1993 Initiate first Esri GIS Technology grant program for Tribal organizations
1992 Initiate first GIS Hardware Granting program for Conservation
1992 Convene first meeting of Conservation GIS Users at Esri International User Conference
1992 Create first Native & Tribal Conference track at the Esri Annual International User Conference. Continued in this role for the next 10 years.
1992 GIS support to World Parks Congress, Caracas, Venezuela.
1990 Create first Conservation Conference track at the Esri Annual International User Conference. Continued in this role for the next 20 years.
1989 Initiate first Esri GIS Technology grant program for Conservation organizations
1987 Honorary Medal, 4th African Olympics, for development of first wide-area network in Kenya used for electronic games reporting
1981 Thesis Honors, UCSC Biology Department
1980 Expedition Leader, UCSC/NSF Brazil Expedition
1976 Special Intern to the California Governor's Office, to help create the California Conservation Corps
1975 University of California Campus Organizing Committee for United Farmworkers Union
Photo Right: Maui
Presentations and Publications
2018 “Engineering Advocacy with Storytelling” 2018 International Society for Conservation GIS Conference, Asilomar, CA
http://www.conservationgis.org/scgis/2018/__PROCEEDINGS/MonCha12MA_ConvisAdvocacy.html
2018 “California Native Plant Society Conference Proceedings” online publication http://www.conservationgis.org/publications/CnpsMasterVids.html
2018 “Scgis Tribal Conservation Panelist” filmed presentation http://www.conservationgis.org/scgis/2018/SCGIS2018ConfPixVid.html
2018 “Scgis Conference Proceedings” online publication http://www.conservationgis.org/scgis/2018/__PROCEEDINGS/_Scgis2018Proceedings.html
2017 “USA Ecological Basemap Cartography Project: Landfire Vectors” ArcGIS Online Webmap
http://ecp.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=595deb04bc9d4364a340c9bca123739c
2017 “California’s Botanical Landscapes Storymap” ArcGIS Online Storymap http://www.conservationgis.org/publications/CnpsMasterB.html
2017 “California’s Botanical Landscapes” provided publication support & Cartographic Materials for this California Native Plant Society book, 2017
2017 “Scgis Conference Proceedings” online publication http://www.conservationgis.org/scgis/2017/SCGIS2017.html
2016 "Naturalists, Art & Technology" 2d annual meeting of the California Naturalists Assn, 2016
http://www.conservationgis.org/publications/Convis%20Calnat16x9%20FINAL20minC.pdf
Andy Lyons blog about the talk and what GIS & Calculus have in common
2016 “Scgis Conference Proceedings” online publication http://www.conservationgis.org/scgis/2016/Scgis2016Proceedings.html
2017 “USA Ecological Basemap Cartography Project: GAP Landcover Vectors” ArcGIS Online Webmap
http://ecp.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=6add52a180354198a2d60285a603ccb2
2015 “California Native Plant Society / National Park Service High Resolution Vegetation Basemap” ArcGIS Online Webmap
http://ecp.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=0ac5f7ef04e64a98b1019c6c79e5db0f
2015 “Scgis Conference Proceedings” online publication http://www.conservationgis.org/scgis/2015/ScgIntl2015Proc.html
2014 “Improving the utility of National Vegatation and Ecosystem Maps” presented at the Ecological Society of American conference, 2014
http://www.conservationgis.org/publications/EsaConvis9_16x9.pdf
2012 "Conservation Planning" textbook co-editor with Lance Craighead, Esri Press, 2012
http://www.conservationgis.org/publications/ConsPlanningBook.html
2011 “Esri Conservation Map Book” Finalists of the Esri / Scgis International Conservation Mapping Competition, 2011
http://www.conservationgis.org/scgis/2011contest.html
2002 “Land Trust Geography: Computer Tools, GIS Survey Results, Case Studies” Esri Press / Land Trust Alliance / Greeninfo Network
2001 “Native Geography: Guide to the Esri Native American / First Nations Program” #2 Esri Press / Intertribal GIS Council, 2001
2001 “Conservation Geography: Case Studies in GIS, Computer Mapping and Activism” Esri Press, 2001
2000 “Native Geography: Guide to the Esri Native American / First Nations Program” #1 Esri Press / Intertribal GIS Council, 2000
Excerpt published at http://www.conservationgis.org/native/native1.html
1999 “Native & First Nations GIS Organizations, Papers & Proceedings” http://www.conservationgis.org/links/nativepaper1.html
1998 “Esri Conservation Program” Program Website & Archive http://www.conservationgis.org/
1995 "The Nature of GIS", Annual Systematics Symposium, Missouri Botanical Garden 1995.
1993 "ESRI Conservation Program" in “Parks for Life”. Presented at IUCN World Congress, 1993.
1989 "Critical Sites Management System." Presented at World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Cambridge, England, 1989.
1988 "Mission Report: Southern Africa National Resources Database Project." With Rennie, J.K., Presented at IUCN, Gland, Switzerland, 1988.
1987 "Report on the IUCN Conservation Data Technical Workshop." Presented at IUCN, Gland, Switzerland, 1987.
1987 "Mission Report: Botswana Resources Modeling Workshop." With Rennie, J.K., Prepared for IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.
1986 "Hymenaea and Copaifera Leaf Sesquiterpenes in Relation to Lepidopteran Herbivory in Southeastern Brazil." With Langenheim, J.H., C.A. Macedo, and W.H. Stubblebine, Biochemical Systems and Ecology, Vol. 14, No. 1, 1986.
1980 "Life History of Pseudotsuga Menziesii." Thesis, Biology Dept. University of California, Santa Cruz, California, 1980.
1979 "Vegetation of the San Sebastian Marsh Area." Thesis, Natural History Dept, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, 1979.
1978 "Natural History Field Manual for U.C. Santa Cruz." Research Project, Environmental Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, 1978.
1977 "Nature Manual for Camp Campbell." Santa Clara YMCA, Santa Clara, California, 1977.
1976 "Appropriate Technology Course Curriculum." California Conservation Corps, Sacramento, California, 1976.
1975 "UCSC Coastal Marine Lab Environmental Impact Report: Economic Impacts Chapter." prepared for Environmental Studies Department, University of California, Santa Cruz, California, 1975.
