Signe Furlong '91

Signe wrote to us that she "found geography to be one of the most interesting subjects that I have ever studied. I love [its] many aspects from industry development, social patterns, gender differences, global warming, to maps." Signe's first job upon leaving Clark was as a GIS analyst for Ocean Spray Cranberries. She used GIS software to map cranberry bogs, visited growers, managed cranberry supply, and developed an environmental model to assess risk. Since then, she has worked as a consultant and project manager for Apogee Research, Inc., economic, finance and policy consultants as a consultant and senior associate with Castle Rock Consultants, technology and transportation consultants as a market strategist with The Calvert Group, a mutual fund company as a product manager for Akamai Technologies Inc., a software and services company In 2000, Signe completed her M.B.A. at Georgetown University. Signe wrote that her geography background has benefited her in all her work. "When I was a GIS analyst, I learned the software while at Clark. When I was a consultant, my understanding of city systems, human behavior and industry were all relevant, as many of the projects were similar to planning. In business, I segmented customers and defined a product's market size and purchase behavior. To do this, I have used my research skills, demographic analysis, statistics, and spreadsheet analysis, which I first learned at Clark." Signe advises undergrads to "study the subjects that most interest you. You will always have time later in your career to study business, economics, or public policy. Use your time at Clark to expose yourself to the many aspects of geography, for this will fuel your career choices, whether it is topical or skills based."