People of Reclamation: Meet Alex Duwe, GIS Specialist

Written by: Alex Duwe

Alex Duwe, GIS Specialist with the Bureau of ReclamationReclamation employs some of the best and brightest people around, and offers a wide range of unique career opportunities. Alex Duwe, a Geographic Information System Specialist, is just one example of Reclamation's noteworthy experts.

Read the full interview below:

Background:

I grew up in Glen Arbor, Michigan after moving from Colorado. I graduated from Northern Michigan University in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Geography and a Geographic Information System (GIS) certificate. Throughout college and a few years after graduation I was employed with the National Park Service seasonally, primarily doing trail maintenance and sawyer work.

I traveled around the U.S. and worked for the Florida Trail Association in the winters, always incorporating GIS into all my jobs. I accepted a permanent position with the NPS in 2016, and later joined Reclamation in 2017.

Job:

I’ve been in the Water Management & Development Group at NKAO since January 2017, working exclusively with spatial data. My job mainly consists of creating maps for various Reclamation projects, managing databases, migrating data from AutoCAD, and testing new tools and methods designed to help me accomplish my work.

Hobbies and interests:

I love being on the water, whether in my canoe or on a river bank. I’ll typically have a fly rod with me, chasing anything that will bite, from trout to catfish to snook. When time allows, I like to tie flies for myself, family and friends.

I enjoy traveling around the U.S. and Canada observing all the natural phenomena at work. I plan to broaden my travels overseas in the near future.

Favorite thing about working for Reclamation:

I have thoroughly enjoyed working for Reclamation this past year and a half for several reasons. I’ve been given numerous opportunities to enhance my skill set and grow in the profession. Most projects entail problem solving, which enables me to learn something new every day. The people of Reclamation are great, and everyone is always helpful.

To learn more about how you can land a career with Reclamation, visit: https://www.usajobs.gov/Search/?k=Bureau%20of%20Reclamation.

Published on August 10, 2018