May 30, 2025
Get to know Office of GIS Associate Manager Mark Gatti.
What did you want to be growing up?
When asked this in 4th grade, I told the class that I wanted to be a mapmaker when I grew up! I started college as a civil engineering major, but that cartography pull was just too strong (and my engineering grades were just too weak).
What was your first job?
In high school and early college, I worked in the kitchen of a nursing home. I worked my way up from potwasher to waiter to dessert cook. 40 years later, I’m still good friends with some of the people I worked with there.
What did you study in college?
Geography, with a concentration in Planning.
How did you end up at DVRPC?
I was working as a cartographer at the Pinelands Commission when someone there told me about an opening in DVRPC’s nascent “Computer-Assisted Mapping” (CAM) office. I had visited DVRPC with my Urban Planning class during college and loved the work they were doing.
What are your responsibilities?
As an associate manager, I help keep the GIS Office running smoothly, mainly by delegating GIS work and reviewing the Commission’s cartographic output. I’m also responsible for the Commission’s quinquennial Land Use updates.
You’ve been at DVRPC for 31 years. How have things at the organization or in the industry changed over time?
The CAM Office is now called the GIS Office, but I still consider myself a cartographer more than a GIS’er (as one planner would call us). I appreciate the benefits of GIS and coding on the data side of things, but I’m happiest when I’m making maps (or helping others make maps).
If you could immediately implement any change to the region, what would you do?
They finally reopened the Franklin Square PATCO station. What else could a South Jersey guy ask for?
What 3 words best describe you?
According to my Instagram profile: marathoner, mapmaker, paterfamilias.
What is something colleagues don’t know about you?
I am the youngest of nine kids, and still referred to as “the baby of the family” by my siblings.
Who is someone you’d like to meet?
I’ve tried not to get too starstruck when I’ve talked to some of my favorite musicians, but I would lose it if I ever got to meet Springsteen.
What is your favorite leisure activity?
Woodworking and DIY projects. Over the past two years, I’ve completely rebuilt my front porch and my back patio. Sometimes I wish ten-year-old me had said he wanted to be a carpenter instead of a mapmaker.
What is your recent obsession?
The last couple of years, I’ve been a member of the Jersey Pinelands Curling Club out of the Pennsauken Skate Zone. It’s a lot of fun, and curlers are the nicest people to hang with.
What is the last book you read? Or, what is the best music you’ve heard recently?
I’ve long been a fan of the band Japanese Breakfast, and this year’s For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women) is another fantastic album from them.
What are you looking forward to the most in the next year?
My older son just got married, and my younger son is about to graduate from Drexel. I’m always most excited to see what they do next.