Paladin Data Systems has announced that it has established a dedicated team to oversee continuing development of its Environmental Knowledge Organizer System, or EKO-System.

The team is made up of Sara Simrell, EKO-System’s project and customer relationship manager; Brian Pursel, software engineer and the technical lead for EKO-System software development; and Kristopher Peterson, systems analyst, database application developer, and EKO-System’s mapping expert.

“These three have always been the core of EKO-System,” said Jim Nall, co-founder, president, and CEO of Paladin. “We decided that it made sense to solidify them as a team so that we kept ongoing development and expansion of EKO-System a priority.”

Simrell joined Paladin as EKO-System’s project coordinator in March.. She comes from a solid natural resource management background, and provides that expertise to the team. She holds a degree in Forestry from Oregon State University in Corvallis with a minor in Natural Resources and Communication Values. Prior to joining Paladin she worked as the education outreach coordinator for the Natural Resource division in Kitsap County’s Department of Community Development for close to three years. Simrell has lived in Kitsap County for the last several years and resides in Kingston.

Pursel has 15 years of experience designing and developing software and he has been at Paladin for five years. He has been the architect and lead developer on EKO-System since its inception. Other software development projects he has been involved in at Paladin include the NOAA “Survey Manager” application, NOAA “Survey Edit” application, and the Kitsap Physicians Service Health Insurance Quote System.

Pursel holds a BS in Computer Science from Chapman University and lives in Poulsbo.

Peterson has been at Paladin since 2000 and has worked on a number of Paladin’s high-profile projects, including the Kitsap County Land Information System and the Kitsap County Atlas Builder. Peterson has extensive expertise with GIS technologies, designing geodatabases, and developing integrated data models. Prior to Paladin, he worked as a GIS analyst for the Thurston Regional Planning Council in Washington, and worked for four years as a wildlife biologist for the US Geological Survey in Montana.

Peterson holds a BA in Biology from St. Olaf College in Minnesota, as well as an MS in Geography from the University of North Dakota. He resides in Poulsbo and is a member of the IEEE Computer Society.

EKO-System is the first Web-based, integrated project management, database, and reporting system for natural resource managers.