Branden grew up staring at maps and atlases, dreaming of adventures and landscapes. He visited every US state, backpacked in dozens of countries, and lived for a while on a sailboat. In 2003 he took his first GIS class, and he was hooked. He took every mapping class at the University of Oregon and earned a BS in Geography. Since then, he has worked on natural resource management research projects for governments and universities in the US and Canada. He loves wrestling with big datasets to create intuitive data visualizations, entertaining infographics, and beautiful maps. Branden lives in Bellingham, Washington.