Tim Johnson

Chief Geographic Information Officer

Director, N.C. Center for Geographic Information & Analysis

State Geographic Information Officer Tim Johnson has over 35 years of service with the N.C. Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (CGIA) and was appointed its director in 2000. During his tenure, Tim has established the state’s robust and mature GIS program as a model for other state and local governments in the effective coordination and use of geospatial data to provide solutions for residents.

Tim provides strategic, policy and operational direction for the CGIA, which serves as the geographic data arm of the N.C. Department of Information Technology and carries out the directives of the N.C. Geographic Information Coordinating Council (GICC). Tim also serves as staff to the GICC and provides guidance on its efforts to enhance geospatial collaboration and mapping for both statewide initiatives and local partners.

Tim has helped spearhead a number of GIS initiatives at the direction of the GICC, including the Statewide Orthoimagery Program, AddressNC and NC OneMap. For more than three decades, has made it his mission to advance the use of geographic information systems (GIS) technology as a tool for better decision-making by state and local governments in North Carolina.

Beyond the state organizations he serves, Tim has supported the growth and development of GIS in North Carolina and the nation. He oversees the biennial North Carolina GIS Conference, the largest state GIS conference in the country. It attracts between 500-1,000 GIS practitioners from across the state and elsewhere and has been held since 1987.

Moreover, as the North Carolina state representative to the National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC), Tim is revered by his peers as an expert and model for operating an effective state GIS program. He also serves as a director on the National Geospatial Collaborative, the NSGIC’s non-profit organization with the mission to advance the understanding, use and integration of GIS.