Press Release 2006-10-19

Contact: Michael Gerlek
Email: mpg@osgeo.org
Open Source Geospatial Foundation Selects Tyler Mitchell, Open Source Advocate, as Executive Director
Mitchell to Assist OSGeo in the Collaborative Development of Open Source 
Geospatial Technologies and Data
Seattle, Washington, Oct. 19, 2006- The Open Source Geospatial Foundation, or 
OSGeo, today announced that Tyler Mitchell has been hired as its new executive 
director. Mitchell-who has a decade of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) 
experience as an Analyst, Manager, open source advocate and author-will be 
responsible for the Foundation's day-to-day operations, supporting development 
and promotion.
An independent not-for-profit legal entity established to support the needs of 
the open source geospatial community, OSGeo serves as an outreach and advocacy 
organization. Since its inception in February 2006, OSGeo has met with 
encouraging success with local chapters forming around the world.
"We are extremely pleased to welcome Tyler Mitchell as our new Executive 
Director," said the Foundation's President Frank Warmerdam. "His early vision 
was instrumental in the formation of the Foundation, and with his extensive 
background in open source and GIS he is highly qualified to help this 
organization achieve its mission."
"It is a distinct honor to be asked to help the Open Source Geospatial 
Foundation," Mitchell said. "This is an exciting time for the OSGeo. I look 
forward with great enthusiasm to working more closely with OSGeo's dedicated 
members, the Board, and its partners as we strive to meet the goals of the 
Foundation."
GIS Professional, Author and Open Source Advocate
Mitchell began his GIS career in British Columbia forestry in 1996, where he 
performed GIS analysis and research for natural resource management. He has been 
using open source software for nearly a decade, with a particular focus on the 
Linux operating system and geospatial tools including MapServer, PostGIS, and 
other applications and libraries. In 2005, Mitchell wrote Web Mapping 
Illustrated: Using Open Source GIS Toolkits which was published by O'Reilly 
Media. Tyler is a well known international speaker and open source advocate-in 
2004 he began proposing an independent foundation for open source geospatial 
technologies and has been a dedicated volunteer ever since.
About OSGeo
The Open Source Geospatial Foundation (http://www.osgeo.org/) is a not-for-
profit organization whose mission is to support and promote the collaborative 
development of open geospatial technologies and data. The Foundation provides 
financial, organizational and legal support to the broader open source 
geospatial community. It also serves as an independent legal entity to which 
community members can contribute code, funding and other resources, secure in 
the knowledge that their contributions will be maintained for public benefit. 
OSGeo also serves as an outreach and advocacy organization for the open source 
geospatial community, and provides a common forum and shared infrastructure for 
improving cross-project collaboration. The foundation's projects are all freely 
available and usable under OSI-certified open source licenses. 
All brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. 
© 2006 The Open Source Geospatial Foundation. All rights reserved.
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