Jim Querry is the Interim Program Director for the Master of Urban Design Program and the Program Director for the MS in Geospatial Technology for Geodesign program. He is also Associate Professor of Geodesign and Landscape Architecture at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA. Jim is a registered landscape architect with over 30 years of professional experience in a broad range of related disciplines including GIS and geodesign, landscape architecture, civil engineering, planning, and information technology. Jim’s career has spanned education, public sector, non-profit, and private practice. He is the former GIS Director for the City of Philadelphia, a position he held for over a decade, during which he led the City to numerous awards including the Esri President’s Award.

Jim has a BS in Landscape Architecture from Penn State and a Master of Regional Planning degree from the University of Pennsylvania where he studied directly under Ian McHarg and C. Dana Tomlin. He is a frequent speaker and has delivered numerous keynote addresses ranging from state GIS conferences and educational events to a keynote address at the United Nations in New York that focused on the role of GIS and geodesign in achieving the UN’s 2030 agenda for sustainable development. Jim’s research interest and professional passion is in parametric design, 3D modeling for sustainable urban planning and design, and remote sensing for 3D including LiDAR and UAVs (drones).