Stephen has been working in GIS, Planning, and related fields since 1998, working since 2008 as the GIS Manager for Cleveland Metroparks. He has been interested in the application of computer vision to geospatial analyses since 2004, and in 2014 initiated the OpenDroneMap project (http://opendronemap.org).

As Drones / UAVs / RPAS fill our skies, the need to process their vast image outputs grows ceaselessly. While there are proprietary tools to perform SfM (Structure from Motion) processing to orthorectify imagery coming from drones, having an open source alternative opens the market. That is what Cleveland Metroparks did when founding OpenDroneMap. The scalability and distributability of OpenDroneMap as free and open source software has lead to its adoption across sectors, with notable users that include American Red Cross International Services Division, World Bank Group, and Korea National Park Service.

In addition to managing Cleveland Metroparks GIS program and leading OpenDroneMap, Stephen works with the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and Karisoke Research Center (Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International) to research mountain gorillas in Rwanda.

Stephen is also coauthor of the PostGIS Cookbook and blogs all his geospatial and ecological whims at https://smathermather.com.