Team
The Placeways team includes consultants, software developers, customer support specialists, and operations experts. While our skills and specialties are diverse, we all share a passion for what we do and a genuine delight in helping customers succeed.
Team Leaders
President and Principal
A nationally recognized developer and practitioner of decision-support and visualization tools, Mr. Walker brings over 25 years of experience in software and applications to consulting and development projects. In addition to a wide variety of other innovative software applications, he is best known for CommunityViz, the visual scenario planning software whose development and application he has spearheaded since 2001. MORE»
Mr. Walker's extensive career at the forefront of innovative software development gives him broad knowledge of best practices and creative approaches for all aspects of a project, including project management, design, development, and deployment. His strongest specialties are the "listening" and design phases, during which the task is to deeply understand users' needs and then translate them into feasible solutions. His projects are also notable for their collaborative communication style and efficient use of time and resources. During his career he has also been a systems engineer, a research director, and a senior executive for two major U.S. technology corporations. In addition to advanced business and leadership training, he holds a B.A. in physics from Carleton College and an M.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Illinois. His passion is for technology as a bridge that connects people to information, insight, and one another.
Technical Director
Mr. Christensen has become the leading authority on advanced CommunityViz applications, including visualization and scenario planning, for thousands of users around the world. As Placeways' technical director, Mr. Christensen combines his first-hand experience as a tool user with his in-depth technical expertise to deliver products that are well built on the inside and make sense on the outside. MORE»
He serves on teams for both client-sponsored and in-house application development projects, drawing on best practices and insights from both. In addition to strong expertise in visualization and GIS technology, he holds B.S. in Forest Recreation Resources and Forest Planning from Oregon State University. From his training as a visualization specialist, Mr. Christensen has a keen eye for 3-D artistry and for matching the proper tool to the particular need. His experience and creative ability inform all aspects of design, implementation, and delivery, with particular emphasis on innovative technical designs that make new features possible.
Lead Planning Consultant
Ms. Anderson is an expert in land-use planning analysis using CommunityViz software and 3D visualization tools. As Placeways' lead planning consultant, she provides clients with professional services including consulting, project implementation, and technical training. Her unique skills combine advanced planning analysis with a large arsenal of graphical and mapping analysis capabilities that she applies to help clients and the public understand important concepts and make informed decisions. MORE»
Ms. Anderson offers a strong planning and visualization background, with numerous public and private sector consulting clients. Her technical skills and experience span a broad and valuable spectrum of GIS, CAD, and design tools. She holds degrees in both architectural engineering (bachelors, Milwaukee School of Engineering) and planning (masters in city design and social science, London School of Economics). She enjoys working with clients to apply advanced tools to challenging problems in growth planning and public engagement.
Lead Developer
Ms. Berndt is a lead software developer for Placeways, where she specializes in 3-D visualization and GIS scenario planning tools. She brings 10 years of experience to her work, with a career of developing innovative software applications in multiple industries. Her well-rounded expertise includes design, development, and implementation in a wide variety of technical platforms. MORE»
Ms. Berndt has the technical flexibility to work in Java, Swing, J2EE, J2ME, C++, C#.NET, VB.NET, ASP.NET, Perl, ESRI ArcObjects, Unix, XLNT/BQMS, SQL, and Visual Basic. This arsenal of languages and environments enables her to build solutions that are tuned to the particular needs of a project, and sometimes even to the different phases of a project, such as the prototyping and production. At the same time, she has professional skills oriented toward details and excellence, with strong problem-solving abilities and the patience and persistence required to deliver high quality results. She holds a B.S. in mathematics from the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire and a certificate of advanced study in GIS from the University of Denver.
Customer Service Director
Ms. Johnson has primary responsibility for all our customers' front-office interactions with Placeways, including ordering and project inquiries, account management, product delivery, and more. She is the knowledgeable, organized and friendly "voice of Placeways" that many customers first speak to on the phone, and also the silent force maintaining systems and websites that provide support and information to thousands of Placeways customers worldwide. MORE»
Ms. Johnson holds a B.A. from Pomona College in linguistics and frequently contributes her editing and design skills to internal Placeways projects in addition to her other roles.