KU: Department of Geography

Geography has been the foundation of my federal planning career. I have been a geographer, outdoor recreation planner, community planner, and program analyst for the US Army Corps of Engineers and the US Air Force for over 35 years. I presently am the senior environmental manager at Edwards AFB, CA managing over 150 employees with an annual budget of over $35,000,000; possibly the largest and most mature environmental program in the Air Force. I have mentored many students and young planners and taught environmental planning courses at California State University, Long Beach. The Department of Defense and its contractors are having increasing difficulty attracting environmental and community planners to work on large federal projects. My peers in the Department of the Interior are having the same difficulty hiring new generalist planner employees. I can be available via phone, email, or written correspondence to mentor and advise undergaduate and graduate geography students in the benefits, and problems (there are some) in working for the federal government. Generally the federal government does not recognize "geography" as a profession even through it is a classification GS-0150, but they recognize the education and degree as being very beneficial for community planning, environmental planning, mission planning, intelligence and analysis, emergency management and a host of other jobs.

Robert Wood
Edwards Air Force Base
robert.wood@edwards.af.mil