John Woodard has worked in the field of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) since 2002. He was fortunate enough to be offered a position with the Summit County Health Department's Community Health Division, in which he was responsible for planning, implementing, and coordinating all GIS activities for the Health Department. A high point in his time with Summit County Health was managing a multi-agency project composed of nurses, administrators, and first responders to create an interactive disaster/terrorism response map. This interactive map was designed to provide first responders information about nearby facilities and assets in a time of emergency.

He spent ten years with Chagrin Valley Engineering, forming a close working relationship with clients, engineers, and field crews. Here, he became interested in working with enterprise architecture as a foundation for enterprise GIS systems. He was responsible for designing, building, and maintaining enterprise GIS systems for 14 municipalities in Northeast Ohio. His excellent work for The City of Avon was recognized with a GIS Best Practice award from the Ohio Geographically Referenced Information Program (OGRIP) in 2016.

Mr. Woodard firmly believes in continuing education and helping others. Since May 2003, he has held the position of Adjunct Faculty at the Northeast Ohio Medical University, Rootstown, Ohio. During this time, he finished a Masters degree in GIS/Geography from the University of Akron, and a Masters of Digital Science concentrated in Enterprise Architecture from Kent State University, Ohio. He was awarded his certification as a GIS Professional (GISP) in 2015.

John has had a varied career outside of the field of GIS. He serviced with the United States Navy Reserve Seabees from 1995 to 2005 and his hobbies include scuba diving and beekeeping. He is currently employed with Davey Resource Group, Ltd as a Project Developer for the GIS/IT division. John lives at home in Ohio with a beautiful wife and 20-month-old daughter.