Kendall Fortney

Vermont Research Open Source Program Office (VERSO) | Website

Kendall Fortney is the Program Director of the Vermont Research Open Source Program Office (VERSO) at the University of Vermont, where he works with faculty, staff, students, and the local community to advance the open-source ecosystem. Through the Open Research Community Accelerator (ORCA) program, Kendall leads efforts to foster innovation, research, and community engagement via student-led open-source projects. Previously, Kendall served as the inaugural Fellow at the Vermont Center for Geographic Information (VCGI), playing a pivotal role in the state's geospatial and data science initiatives. He has also been a key organizer of the Burlington Data Scientist Meetup and the Open Source Connector , and led both GeoDatSci 2018 , a conference focused on geospatial technology and data science, and PyData Vermont 2024 , which centered on research data and open-source data science.Kendall’s deep commitment to open-source and community-driven technology continues to shape Vermont’s technology landscape.