To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Joy Bonaguro and I have worked for the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center (the Data Center) since March of 2002. Prior to August 2005, the Data Center published a data website about all 73 neighborhoods in New Orleans and the surrounding 9 parishes (counties). We are members of the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership at the Urban Institute.

When Hurricane Katrina landed just east of New Orleans on August 29, 2005, our website became an indispensable tool for all levels of government and the media to explore and understand demographic, historic, and spatial data about New Orleans.

One of our most frequently used products was an elevation map of the city published on August 29. However, this map contained an error—we had used feet instead of meters in our legend and in effect; we were underestimating the potential impact of flooding. This mistake happened for two reasons. One, our staff was scattered across the country with little to no internet access and our ability to fact check was inhibited, and secondly, the metadata for the dataset was unavailable.

This is when Roland Shield stepped up and in effect, extended our stretched staff. He pulled together data and information from GIS websites, including the buried FAQ that served as metadata for the elevation dataset, and contacted us warning that the legend was incorrect.

The impact of Roland’s effort was far-reaching. The elevation map was soon replicated in countless newspapers and blogs around the world. Even more importantly, it was used by the victims of Katrina, where for some it was the only indication of whether their home was at risk.

As the person responsible for creating the map, it was a tremendous relief to be able to lean on external expertise during the crisis. And the graciousness with which Roland conveyed the error indicated a genuine desire to help versus correct.

Roland serves as a model of how to apply your expertise in a crisis. His assistance was timely, evidence-based, and appropriate. I wish him the best in his future endeavors.

Sincerely,

Joy BonaguroGreater New Orleans Community Data Center