is a geospatial analysis firm serving governments, universities, non-profit organizations and businesses (www.avencia.com). It provides a range of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) services, systems design, and software development services. Avencia has designed and developed customized modeling and spatial analysis applications for business intelligence, neighborhood redevelopment, vacant land, demographics, conservation, crime analysis and spatial modeling frameworks. Avenica will develop the online interactive mapping application at the heart of the Mapping Du Bois website. Many of the ideas for the website and data collection for the project are based on the work that Avencia has done with the Cartographic Modeling Lab, including the Neighborhood Information System (http://cml.upenn.edu/nis), and Philadelphia’s Department of Records, including PhillyHistory (http://www.phillyhistory.org).

is participating in the Mapping Du Bois project through a sociology class taught by Maryann Walker. Through this course, Ms. Walker introduces her students to DuBois and other important figures in African American History. One of Ms. Walker’s students has worked on the Mapping Du Bois project so far. As with the class at Masterman High School, Ms. Walker and her current students will help design and test the online materials developed through this project.

is participating in the Mapping Du Bois project through the African-American History class taught by Amy Jane Cohen. Ms. Cohen began teaching African-American history before the School District of Philadelphia made it a requirement. Before partnering with the Mapping Du Bois project, her students were reading The Philadelphia Negro. Three of Ms. Cohen’s students have worked on the project. She and her current students will help design and test the online materials developed through this project.

is a research center affiliated with the Schools of Social Policy and Practice, Design, and Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. The CML specializes in research using administrative records, GIS, and spatial analysis. The CML’s flagship project, the Neighborhood Information System (NIS), integrates administrative records from Philadelphia municipal agencies into a series of online mapping applications used by researchers, students, community organizations, and city agencies (http://cml.upenn.edu/nis). The CML has worked with the Israeli firm Geo-Sim to develop a realistic but entirely virtual world through an interactive 3-D model of the neighborhood where Penn is located. Data collection involved extensive filming and photographing. The resulting application allows users to move through this virtual neighborhood by walking, driving, and flying (http://www.virtualuniversitycity.com/).

is a GIS lecturer in Penn’s Department of City and Regional Planning. He has offered general advice on the Du Bois project and is particularly involved in developing the 3D GIS component. Tom studied art and architectural history at the University of Michigan where he was an All American swimmer (1980 Olympic trials). After skiing his brains out for a year and traveling in Europe, he began work on a masters degree in historic preservation at Columbia University. After receiving that degree, he got another in Real Estate Development. Not knowing when or how to stop, he came to Penn to study with Dana Tomlin and earned his Ph.D. in 2000 (City Planning). While at Penn he was instrumental in the creation of the Cartographic Modeling Lab. Returning to New York City, he worked for ESRI for several years before starting his own company (GIS consulting). Having realized that his heart really belonged in Philadelphia, he returned in the summer of 2005 where he happily resides with his partner, Tony Atkin, an architect, and their dog, Corey.