2. UCLA Advanced Policy Institute http://api.sppsr.ucla.edu/Master.cfm

The Advanced Policy Institute (API) is an applied research and development center and one of the primary outreach arms of the UCLA School of Public Policy and Social Research. API’s programs link academic research with the experience and practical knowledge of policy practitioners and community leaders, focusing on topics such as housing, community and economic development, health care, social services and disability issues. To accomplish this mission, API offers: training programs to develop community leadership and facilitate professional development, technical assistance to community-based organizations and government agencies, and strategic policy conferences that bring together individuals capable of influencing the policy-making.

3. Advancement Project http://www.advanceproj.org/index.html

The Advancement Project Los Angeles, a non-profit policy and legal action organization working to solve public sector problems. We focus on issues of equity and access with the goals of ensuring that the ladder of upward mobility extends to all Californians.

4. United Way http://www.unitedwayla.org/

United Way does research that states that in order to address the challenges of our community, we need to address the inequalities in opportunity. We have deepened our commitment to increasing educational and economic opportunities so that everyone has access to the pathways they need to become productive members of society. We know that once basic needs are met, people can focus on getting a good education and improving their skills so they can secure better-paying jobs and move out of poverty once for all.

5. MTA http://www.metro.net/

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) is unique among the nation’s transportation agencies. It serves as transportation planner and coordinator, designer, builder and operator for one of the country’s largest, most populous counties. More than 9.6 million people – nearly one-third of California’s residents – live, work, and play within its 1,433-square-mile service area.

6. LAUSD Facilities Maintenance http://www.laschools.org/

The mission of the Los Angeles Unified School District Facilities Maintenance and Operations Department is to maintain, repair, and operate buildings and grounds efficiently and effectively, and in a manner that promotes learning and a safe, clean, and healthy environment for students, faculty, and staff.

Our technology helps fight forest fires, determine new national boundaries during peace negotiations, find promising sites for fast-growing companies, rebuild cities around the world, support optimal land-use planning, route emergency vehicles, monitor rain forest depletion, contain oil spills, and perform countless other vital tasks every day. GIS technology must constantly evolve to meet the changing needs of business, industry, government, and education. We are ready for these changes. Today, ESRI has more than 4,000 skilled employees worldwide who work with hundreds of business partners and tens of thousands of users. Each one makes a unique contribution to this remarkable technology. Each one makes a difference.

8. City Planning Departments

9. UCSB - Department of Geography http://www.geog.ucsb.edu

Studies of the Earth system inevitably require access to vast stores of information - in the form of raw data and of accumulated scholarly knowledge. In collaboration with Computer Science, UCSB's Department of Geography is already at the forefront in the development of technologies and infrastructures that allow such information to be found and accessed across distributed networks. Such studies also require a solid foundation of tools for exploring spatial data and for implementing knowledge of process in computational models. In our vision, we anticipate a steady shift from our current emphasis on the infrastructure for sharing data and tools to a greater emphasis on the sharing of knowledge of dynamics, particularly in the form of computational models. This shift will also require more specialization in the unique properties and problems associated with geographic information and geographic information science.

CSUN students of geography can specialize in environmental geography, geomorphology, climatology, cartography, geographic information systems (GIS), cultural, and human geography. In addition, the department frequently offers online courses. The faculty also offer regional courses focusing on California, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, China, and Southeast Asia. Geography students not only benefit from classroom instruction, but are also given opportunities to participate in environmental research projects, or advanced research in physical laboratories analyzing specimens collected in the field. A GIS Certificate Program is offered by the University, through the Geography Department.

12. University of Redlands - Geographic Information Systems http://www.redlands.edu/x439.xml

The Master of Science in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) program is designed for professionals seeking to enhance their existing academic foundations with comprehensive understanding of Geographic Information (GI) Science fundamentals and the use and application of GI technologies. This program is offered in cooperation with Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), one of the world's leading GIS companies. Since we share the same community, students in this program enjoy frequent interaction with ESRI's highly educated and experienced GIS professionals and some of their most current projects and technology.

13. USC - Department of Geography http://college.usc.edu/geography/

We are a small, tightly-knit community that prides itself on close working relationships between faculty and students. We're dedicated to a social science that matters, following basic research through to public policy and matters of social justice – particularly in Los Angeles since it is an emerging world city of unmatched intellectual challenge and opportunity. Our expertise is mostly in cities, environments, international linkages, social justice and geographic information systems. Students graduate with a theoretical and practical understanding of the role of place in human affairs, and a skill set that equips them well for today's job market.

14. CSU Pomona - Department of Urban and Regional Planning http://www.csupomona.edu/~urp/faq.shtml

The Department of Urban and Regional Planning offers two nationally accredited degrees: a four-year Bachelor of Science in Urban and Regional Planning degree and a two-year Master of Urban and Regional Planning. The Program's primary goal is to train professional planners interested in improving the quality of the built and natural environments by working to solve environmental, transportation, housing, social, economic and physical design problems at the local, regional and national levels. This section provides frequently asked questions about planning in general, and then provides answers about both programs.

The Digital Library for Earth System Education (DLESE) is a distributed community effort involving educators, students, and scientists working together to improve the quality, quantity, and efficiency of teaching and learning about the Earth system at all levels.

DLESE supports Earth system science education by providing: