GIS Analyst · Chicago

GIS that makes the overlooked undeniable.

Some problems don't get solved because no one can see them clearly enough to act on. I build maps and tools that change that — a StoryMap that told 31 people in my community they weren't alone, an analysis that proved real food insecurity exists in one of the wealthiest counties in the country.

"I come from a very underserved mental health community. My projects are for them, even if they will never understand what I am doing 'with computers.'"
Three things I've built
Title screen of the NAMI DuPage StoryMap: 'Stories from Individuals and Families Living with Mental Health Conditions,' created by Brian Bergstrom.
Civic — NAMI DuPage

You Are Not Alone

During my GIS internship at NAMI DuPage, I collected 31 community interviews in person — over bingo days at the community center, not a survey link I emailed out — and turned them into a StoryMap mapping mental health resources across DuPage County.

31 responses, 2 weeks, still live today

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Screenshot of the Hospital Accessibility Analysis dashboard showing clustered hospital counts across Illinois and neighboring states.
Civic — Independent Study

Hospital Accessibility Analysis

My most technically ambitious build: it streams live Overture Maps GeoParquet data straight from AWS S3 alongside the U.S. Census API to look at healthcare access across Illinois. A GIS data consultant flagged the clustering method as worth borrowing — on LinkedIn, unprompted.

Live cloud-native data, no static extract

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Map comparing food-desert access across DuPage and Cook counties, overlaying SNAP retailers, farmer's markets, and Pace bus routes on 2020 Census demographic data.
Civic — MS-GIS Capstone, 2023

Food Insecurity in DuPage County

I layered Census demographic data against SNAP retailers and Pace bus routes and found only 166 of 523 SNAP-accepting locations were reachable by bus, after more than half of Pace's routes were cut. DuPage is one of the wealthiest counties in the country. The need was real anyway.

166 / 523 locations (31%) bus-accessible

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These are the three I'd show first — there's more where that came from. See all of my work

Brian's desk: an iMac showing Python and DuckDB code running next to a small Buddha statue.

How I got here

Thirteen years in retail, a self-taught detour through IT, and a GIS master's I found through a friend's recommendation. I don't drive — I've gotten around by bus and train for most of my adult life, which is exactly why I notice what most GIS work quietly assumes everyone has.

I also keep a slower, steadier practice running in the background: a weekly Zoom Dharma discussion group that's kept me stable and taught me to sit with hard problems instead of rushing past them.

Let's talk about a job, a project, or both.

I'm open to full-time GIS Analyst roles and freelance/consulting work.

Email me LinkedIn