Michael Knapp is a Certified GIS Professional (GISP) who has thirteen years of experience in the application of GIS, GPS, and remote sensing technology in both the public and private sectors. He earned a Masters Degree in Environmental Science from Indiana University in 1998. His skills and experience range from hydrologic runoff modeling in urban and rural environments to GIS design and implementation for both large and small organizations.

He has been an ESRI Authorized Instructor since 2003 and currently teaches the ESRI "ArcGIS Desktop II: Tools and Functionality" and "ArcGIS Desktop III: Workflows and Analysis" classes. He has taught these classes in Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks, Palmer, Kodiak, Dillingham, Fort Yukon, King Salmon, Anvik, Galena, Pilot Point, Port Heiden, Pedro Bay, Chickaloon, and Soldotna.

In 2010, Michael became a Certified Technical Trainer (CTT+) through CompTIA. The CTT+ certification evaluates instructor skills in class preparation, presentation, communication, facilitation and evaluation. You may verify Michael's CTT+ status here.

Also in 2010, Michael successfully completed the requirements to become a member of the first group of people to be recognized as a Certified Esri Desktop Associate.

From 2007-2011, Michael helped organize the "GIS Jam" at the Alaska Surveying and Mapping Conference. The GIS Jam is 2-full days of GIS-themed presentations by GIS users from across Alaska.