Schedule

THE 2011 PaSDC DATA USER CONFERENCE
 
September 15, 2011
 
Holiday Inn, Harrisburg/Hershey



Morning Sessions
 
8:00 to 8:30 a.m.           Registration and Continental Breakfast
 
8:30 to 8:45 a.m.           Welcome and Introduction
                                      Sue Copella, Pennsylvania State Data Center

8:45 to 9:45 a.m.             Plenary Speaker
                                       Marcellus Shale: Impacts on
                                        Families and Communities
                                        Tim Kelsey, Penn State University
 
9:45 to 10:00 a.m.          Break and Poster Sessions
 
10:00 to 10:45 a.m.        Concurrent Session I
            Royale I              Kids Count Data Center
                                       Sandy Moore, Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children
            Royale II             Redistricting Update
                                       Cathy McCully, U.S. Census Bureau
            Royale III            Census of Governments – 2012
                                       Brigitte Wehrs, U.S. Census Bureau
                                       Paul Reyes, U.S. Census Bureau
            Congressional     Update on American Community Survey
                                       Whittona Burrell, U.S. Census Bureau
 
10:45 to 11:00 a.m.        Break and Exhibit Booths                                              
 
11:00 to 11:45 p.m.        Concurrent Session II
             Royale I             State Library and What is Available
                                       Kathy Hale, State Library of Pennsylvania
             Royale II            Census Data Product Release
                                       Louisa Miller, U.S. Census Bureau
             Royale III          Understanding "Place" in Census Bureau Data Products
                                       Michael Ratcliffe, U.S. Census Bureau
            Congressional     How to Use American Fact Finder 2
                                       Jeremy Melissari, U.S. Census Bureau


Afternoon Sessions
 
11:45 to 12:45 p.m.          Lunch
 
1:00 to 2:15 p.m.           Keynote SpeakerNews from the Census
                                       Robert M. Groves, PhD., Director, U.S. Census Bureau
                                     
2:15 to 2:45 p.m.           Break and Poster Sessions
 
2:45 to 3:30 p.m.           Concurrent Session III
            Royale I             
Using GIS and Neighborhood Information for 
                                       Community Development
                                       Chris Briem, University of Pittsburgh
                                       Robert Gradeck, University of Pittsburgh
            Royale II             Labor Market Information for Data Users
                                       Tim McElhinny, CWIA, PA Department of 
                                       Labor and Industry
            Royale III            Survey of Business Owners
                                       Lee Wentela, U.S. Census Bureau
            Congressional      How to Use American Fact Finder 2
                                       Jeremy Melissari, U.S. Census Bureau


3:30 to 3:45 p.m.           Break and Poster Sessions
 
3:45 to 4:30 p.m.           Concurrent Session IV
            Royale I              
Beyond the City Limits: Rural Pennsylvania and 
                                       the 2010 Census
                                       Jonathan Johnson, The Center for Rural Pennsylvania
            Congressional     Update on American Community Survey
                                       Whittona Burrell, U.S. Census Bureau




4:30 p.m.                      Collect Evaluation forms



 
Schedule information is still being collected. Check back soon for more updates.

Speakers

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Dr. Robert M. Groves, director, U.S. Census Bureau 

President Barack Obama nominated Robert M. Groves for director of the U.S. Census Bureau on April 2, 2009, and the Senate confirmed him on July 13, 2009. He began his tenure as director on July 15, 2009.

At the time of his nomination, Groves was a professor at the University of Michigan and director of its Survey Research Center, as well as research professor at the Joint Program in Survey Methodology at the University of Maryland.

He was the Census Bureau’s Associate Director for Statistical Design, Methodology and Standards from 1990 to 1992, on loan from the University of Michigan.

Groves has authored or co-authored seven books and scores of scientific articles. His 1989 book, Survey Errors and Survey Costs, was named one of the 50 most influential books in survey research by the American Association of Public Opinion Research. His book, Nonresponse in Household Interview Surveys, with Mick Couper, written during his time at the Census Bureau, received the 2008 AAPOR Book Award.


Groves is an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Statistical Association, and the Midwest Association for Public Opinion Research. He is an elected member of the International Statistical Institute and a National Associate of the National Research Council, US National Academy of Sciences.


He is the recipient of the Innovator Award and the distinguished achievement award of the American Association for Public Opinion Research, the O’Neill Award of the New York Association for Public Opinion Research, the Helen Dinerman Award of the World Association for Public Opinion Research, and Julius Shiskin Memorial Award of the National Association of Business Economics and the American Statistical Association, in recognition of contributions in the development of economic statistics.


Groves has a bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and master’s degrees in statistics and sociology from the University of Michigan. He also earned his doctorate at Michigan.


He and his wife, Cynthia, have two sons − Christopher a recent graduate of Purdue University and Andrew, currently a student at Northwestern University.


PLENARY SPEAKER

Dr. Timothy W. Kelsey, Penn State University


Dr. Kelsey is a professor and State Program Leader, Economic and Community Development, with Penn State Cooperative Extension.  His work focuses on issues such as economic and community implications of Marcellus Shale, public finance and taxation, and land use planning as it relates to rural development, and is used by local government officials and citizens interested in community issues.

SPEAKERS

Christopher Briem, University of Pittsburgh

Christopher Briem is a regional economist at the University of Pittsburgh’s University Center for Social and Urban Research (UCSUR).  His work at the center’s Program in Urban and Regional Analysis focuses on regional economic and demographic forecasting and simulation, industry analysis and competitiveness research.  Ongoing projects include economic forecasts for Allegheny County and the Pittsburgh region, analysis of migration trends in the Pittsburgh region, analysis of local government finances and fragmentation and the impact of demographic changes on the regional economy. His undergraduate degree from Princeton University, and he hold a Masters degree in Public Policy and Administration from the School of Public and International Affairs  at Columbia University in New York in addition to doctoral studies in Economics at the University of Pittsburgh.

Whittona Burrell, U.S. Census Bureau

Whittona Burrell has 40+ years of professional work experience and community service.  For the past 26 years she has worked in a variety of positions with the U.S. Census Bureau.  She started her government employ in the Philadelphia Region, before serving a detail-assignment at Census Headquarters and later transferred to work in the Kansas City Region during the 1990s and at end of the 2000 Census returned to the Philadelphia office.  


Ms. Burrell holds a BA in Management and an MS in Counseling & Human Services Psychology.  She has received many awards and recognition of her individual and professional work.  Since returning to the Philadelphia Region, this Delaware resident, enjoys working in her community, her church, serving a 2nd term appointment as a DE State Human Relations Commissioner, and spending time with her family.

Robert Gradeck, University of Pittsburgh

Bob Gradeck currently works at the University of Pittsburgh’s University Center for Urban and Social Research, where he manages the Pittsburgh Neighborhood and Community Information System (PNCIS), a project he helped to found. The PNCIS serves the Pittsburgh region through the collection, maintenance, and analysis of neighborhood and property-based data. The PNCIS is a member of the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership, a partnership of community information systems managed by the Urban Institute. Bob has 16+ years of experience in community and neighborhood development, including advanced applications of local information. Bob received a degree in Urban Studies from the University of Pittsburgh in 1993, and a Masters of City Planning from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1995.

Kathy R. Hale, State Library of Pennsylvania

Kathy Hale is the Supervisor for Outreach Services and the Regional Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP) Advisor for the State Library of Pennsylvania. She had worked for the State Library for nine years. Ms. Hale has been part of many projects in her tenure at the State Library including government publications coordinator, digitization project manager, and reference librarian both real and virtual.

Kathy attained her M.L.S. from Clarion University in 1994. She worked in two different engineering firms in Pennsylvania and as a reference librarian in a public library in Middletown, PA before becoming Collection Management Librarian at the State Library of Pennsylvania. She attained her present position six years ago as Regional Librarian of the Federal Depository Library Program to work with the over 56 Federal and 54 Pennsylvania Depositories located throughout the Commonwealth.

Jonathan Johnson, Center for Rural Pennsylvania

Jonathan Johnson is a senior policy analyst with nearly 21 years experience in analyzing and evaluating rural policies and programs for the Center for Rural Pennsylvania, a legislative agency of the Pennsylvania General Assembly.  Accomplishments include:

  • Developed and maintained the state's first rural database on socio-economic and demographic factors
  • Organized workshops on rural community development issues (farmers' market, tourism, economic development, etc.)
  • Coordinated statewide policy forums on rural development issues
  • Evaluated statewide economic development programs for impact on rural areas

Cathy McCully, U.S. Census Bureau

Cathy McCully is Chief of the Census Redistricting Data Office.  Her office is responsible for coordinating the dissemination of the PL 94-171 Redistricting Data Files to the legislative leadership and the executive offices in each state no later than one year after Census Day, or April 1, 2011.  To meet this mandate she meets regularly with state and local officials in order to ensure they are ready for the Census and the numerous data products that the Bureau offers.  She also is responsible for meeting the requirements of Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act by providing the determinations in a timely fashion as required by law. Ms. McCully is the recipient of two Bronze Medal awards and has been recognized by the National Conference of State Legislatures for her dedicated public service.

Tim McElhinny, CWIA - PA Department of Labor and Industry

Mr. McElhinny started his career with the Center for Workforce Information & Analysis as a statistician in 1999.  Tim has worked in the following subject areas at the Center: Local Area Unemployment Statistics, Industry and Business Analysis, Industry Projections, Customer Service, Research, Website Development, and Outreach.  In 2010, Tim assumed the role of manager of the newly formed Economic Research and Customer Service section within CWIA.  This group focuses on responding to all customer requests, conducting advanced economic studies, developing new labor market information products, and coordinating outreach efforts.  The section is responsible for producing Fast Facts, Help Wanted Online and Job Spidering data, Marcellus Shale Reports, New Hires by Workforce Investment Areas, and our newest product – the Local Employment Dynamics database.


Jeremy Melissari, U.S. Census Bureau

Jeremy came to the Requirement and Stakeholder Relations Team in the DADS program in July 2009 after several years in the private sector.  Over the past two years, Jeremy has assisted in developing the training curriculum and testing for the new American FactFinder.    Jeremy holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Ramapo College of NJ and a Masters of Arts in Applied Political Science from American University.  He lives in North Bethesda, MD with his wife.  


Louisa Miller, U.S. Census Bureau

Louisa Miller is a demographer at the U.S. Census Bureau. She currently holds the position of assistant division chief for census programs in the Population Division. Her responsibilities include the design of the content and the mix of 2010 Census products, the subject-matter content of the census form, data editing, subject-matter data review, residence rules, and apportionment.  Prior to holding this position, Miller was the senior survey adviser in the Population Division, working primarily on the Current Population Survey and the Survey of Income and Program Participation. She also has held positions in the Marriage and Family Branch and the State and National Estimates Branch and has authored numerous reports and papers in those positions.

Sandy Moore, KIDS COUNT Director

Sandy started working at PA Partnerships for Children over 4 years ago after working for the Commonwealth for 29 years (most with the Department of Public Welfare).  For many of those years, she has been an affiliate to the Pennsylvania State Data Center.  The theme running through her career has consistently been data validity and data integrity as she strives to present data that are useful and meaningful.

Michael Ratcliffe, U.S. Census Bureau

Michael Ratcliffe is Assistant Division Chief for Geocartographic Products and Criteria, Geography Division, U.S. Census Bureau.  He is responsible for programs related to the development of geographic area concepts and criteria, cartographic products, TIGER/Line shapefiles, and other geographic information products.  In his tenure at the Census Bureau he has worked in both the Geography and Population Divisions, with a primary focus on geographic area concepts and criteria.  Mr. Ratcliffe holds degrees in geography from the University of Maryland and the University of Oxford.

Brigitte Wehrs, U.S. Census Bureau


Brigitte Wehrs is the Chief of the Outreach and Education Branch in the Governments Division of the U.S. Census Bureau in Washington, DC.  The branch is tasked with expanding user knowledge and increasing awareness of governments’ statistics and products, such as the 2012 Census of Governments and annual and quarterly surveys on taxes, pensions, and state and local government finance.  Prior to working in the Governments Division, Brigitte spent several years in the Foreign Trade Division at the Census Bureau working in various branches, including Regulations, Outreach and Education.

Lee Wentela, U.S. Census Bureau

Lee Wentela has been with the Census Bureau as a statistician and program manager for twenty-two years. For the last nine years, he has directed the conduct of the Survey of Business Owners. He oversees the staff responsible for coordinating all phases of the program including data collection, analysis, tabulation, and publication. He also manages several other statistical programs including the Economic Census of the Island Areas and the Statistics of U.S. Businesses.  Lee has a B.S. in Mathematical Statistics from Michigan Technological University in Houghton, Michigan.

 
More speaker information coming soon!

Sessions

Plenary Session:

Marcellus Shale:  Impacts on Families and Communities
Development of Marcellus Shale is creating opportunities and challenges in parts of Pennsylvania.  This session will provide an overview of the economic and community implications of Marcellus Shale, and results from several recent surveys of landowners, businesses, and local governments.  Data and future research needs will be discussed.


Session Descriptions


2010 Census Data Products
This session will go over the data products plan for the 2010 census.  This will include what has already been released and what is upcoming.  It will also touch on several custom tabulations that used to be decennial products but are now American Community Survey products (including Census Transportation Planning Products or CTPP,  HUD Fair Market Rents, and HUD Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy). (Louisa Miller, U.S. Census Bureau)

2012 Census of Governments
The 2012 Census of Governments will begin next month (October).  The Census of Governments is a complete census of all state and local governments conducted in three components:  Organization (characteristics and number of governments), Employment (number of employees and payroll), and Finance (revenues, expenditures, debt and assets).  Users of the Census of Governments’ data include the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Federal Reserve Board as well as researchers and government agencies. (Brigitte Wehrs, U.S. Census Bureau)

Beyond the City Limits: Rural Pennsylvania and the 2010 Census
During the last decade, rural Pennsylvania has seen many subtle but dynamic changes.  Using data from the 2000 and 2010 Census, this session will highlight these changes in the population, housing, and families. (Jonathan Johnson, Center for Rural Pennsylvania)

How to Use American FactFinder 2
A high level walk through of American FactFinder 2. (Jeremy Melissari, U.S. Census Bureau)

Redistricting Update
This presentation will provide an update on post-census operations related to collecting new legislative and congressional plans, solicit comment on the 2010 redistricting data program and resulting products.  Presentation also will update folks on two products (one available) and another to be released as a Federal Register notice related to voting rights. (Cathy McCully, U.S. Census Bureau)

State of the Child 2011
The KIDSCOUNT Data Center was created by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and contains state-specific indicators related to child well-being.  Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children maintains most of the Pennsylvania data and presents it at the local (county, school district) level.  This session will be used to review the database at different levels of geography and areas of interest, examining the new functionality of the tables, charts and maps. (Sandy Moore, Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children)

Survey of Business Owners (SBO): Overview and Plans

A high-level summary of the key findings, types of data available, and soon-to be released special studies from the 2007 SBO.  Plans for changes to the survey’s content, timing, and frequency will be explored and input sought from attendees. (Lee Wentela, U.S. Census Bureau)


Understanding "Place" in Census Bureau Data Products
Perceptions and descriptions of what constitutes a "place" vary throughout the United States.  As a result, differences between the Census Bureau’s definition of "place" and data user expectations regarding which geographic areas constitute places sometimes results in confusion when accessing statistical data and using Census Bureau products.  This session will focus on the Census Bureau’s definition of "place" in relation to other census geographic entities in order to provide a better understanding of the way in which the Census Bureau presents data for places in various products and across various tabulation programs.  The presentation will conclude with some thoughts about how to achieve a closer alignment between regional perceptions of place and the presentation of data for places in Census Bureau products. (Michael Ratcliffe, U.S. Census Bureau)

Update on the American Community Survey
The American Community Survey (ACS) is an ongoing survey that provides data every year -- giving communities the current information they need to plan investments and services. This session will highlight upcoming data products from the ACS and provide attendees with the latest information regarding the survey. (Whittona Burrell, U.S. Census Bureau)

Using GIS and Neighborhood Information for Community Development

An overview of the Pittsburgh Neighborhood and Community Information System (PNCIS) developed by the University of Pittsburgh for community development and economic development research in the Pittsburgh region.  Included will be background on the use of GIS for community level economic development research and policy analysis.  Examples of current research including foreclosure abatement, the impact of Real Estate Owned (REO) owned property on local communities and mapping of oil and gas leasing trends in Allegheny County, PA.

More Session Information Coming Soon!

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