GIS Center

GIS Staff

Chad Sperry.

Chad Sperry, Director

Office: Currens Hall 505
Phone: (309) 298-2562
Email: CE-Sperry@wiu.edu

Chad Sperry serves as the Director of the WIU GIS Center. Chad received his BS in Agriculture from WIU and his MS in Forestry from Purdue University. Chad has experience in the private sector, having served as the GIS Department head for Klingner and Assoc. in Quincy, IL and the government sector, serving as a Geographer for the US Army Corps of Engineers in Rock Island.

 

Lexi Araoz, GIS Manager

Office: Currens Hall 501
Phone: (309) 298-1566
Email: AM-Araoz@wiu.edu

 

Renée Büker, Senior GIS Manager

Office: Currens Hall 503A
Phone: (309) 298-5032
Email: RJ-Buker@wiu.edu

Renée Büker serves as Senior GIS Manager at the WIU GIS Center.  She works with clients on a variety of projects, helps coordinate student work in the Center, and administers ArcGIS Online and Enterprise.  Her particular areas of interest include data quality control, data organization, and map design.  Renée holds an MA in Geography from Western Illinois University, an MA in Library and Information Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a BA in German from Bowling Green State University.

 

Kale Campagna, GIS Specialist

Office: Currens Hall 302
Phone: (309) 298-1566
Email: KR-Campagna@wiu.edu

Kale Campagna serves as a GIS Specialist at the WIU GIS Center. He received his BS in GIS from WIU and has been working for the GIS Center since 2023. Kale specializes in indoor mapping, cemetery projects, and drone operations.

 

Adam Fackler, GIS Specialist

Email: AD-Fackler@wiu.edu

 

Megan Landes, GIS Manager

Office: Currens Hall 503B
Phone: (309) 298-5034
Email: ML-Landes@wiu.edu

Megan Landes serves as a GIS Manager at the WIU GIS Center. In this role, she manages student workers and focuses on data accuracy and quality control. She specializes in working with Public Works departments to maintain and update utility data, as well as with the Illinois State Police on Next Generation 911 projects. Megan earned her BS in Zoology, MS in Biology, Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Environmental GIS, and MA in Geography/GIS, all from Western Illinois University. Since 2013, she has also served as adjunct faculty in both biology and geography at Carl Sandburg College.

 

Brad Mercer, GIS Specialist

Office: Currens Hall 501
Phone: (309) 298-1566
Email: BT-Mercer@wiu.edu

 

Peter Schoenfield, Senior GIS Manager

Email: P-Schoenfield@wiu.edu

Over the past 30+ years, Peter has worked in county government in Illinois with a focus on GIS, specializing in addresses and road centerlines. He served for seven years on the ILGISA NG911 Committee, collaborating with the Office of the Statewide 911 Administrator to support the rollout of Illinois’ NG911 program. Today, he continues that work part-time with the Western Illinois University GIS Center as a Senior GIS Manager, helping communities across the state prepare and maintain compliant NG911 datasets. He holds a Master of Urban Planning with a certificate in GIS from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. Despite decades in the field, he’s still passionate about getting things in the right place—and helping others do the same.