The 5th Women in IT Conference

"Paving the way - Leading the next Generation of Women in IT"

March 13, 2009
 

 

 

Elizabeth A. Bowen - GIS Coordinator, Benton County Information Systems

 

Elizabeth Bowen, a northwest Arkansas native, is responsible for directing and coordinating all Geographic Information Systems (GIS) data and efforts for Benton County.  This includes supervision of the GIS department staff for several elected officials.  Coordination efforts span across federal, state, cities, fire departments, and community interests.  Coordination efforts include aerial photography for the past 6 years for not only ortho photography but also oblique photography that can be viewed on the Benton County website or Microsoft Virtual Earth and Google Earth.  Several grants have been awarded to the county for innovative efforts that allowed for the Benton County GIS website creation, LiDAR data capture and two foot contour generation for the entire County.  Benton County has received several awards for these efforts including the Special Achievement in GIS from the ESRI Corporation at the Twenty-Forth Annual ESRI International Users Conference, the National Association of Counties Achievement Award for creation and innovative program development and implementation and the Arkansas GIS Users Forum Excellence Award for outstanding achievement an cooperative efforts.
She serves on many local and state boards and committees including the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission Executive Committee and Policy Committee that look at regional projects and policies to meet the challenges and opportunities in NWA .  As a member of the Arkansas Land Information Board Advisory Committee she looks for ways to assist in providing Arkansas basic spatial data infrastructure, coordinating GIS efforts and creating strategies to improved decision making, asset management and reducing costs for the State.
Prior to joining Benton County , Elizabeth worked for the US Army Corps of Engineers for Beaver Lake and Table Rock Lake.  She served in positions such as Park Ranger, Computer Support Specialist, Purchasing Agent, and Personnel Clerk.  She graduated from John Brown University with a Bachelors of Science in Organization Management after attending the Northwest Arkansas Community College and receiving two Associate Degrees.
In her personal time, Elizabeth, her husband and two children work on their farm raising cattle and horses and compete in local rodeos and  other livestock events.  Elizabeth serves as the Vice-Chair of the Ozark Junior Rodeo Association Board, serves as a board member for the Northeast Benton County Fire Department and assists in many community efforts.