Vice President of Planning
rnovak@gsi.org
Ralph Novak is in his 13th year with GSI, in which time he has worked on over 200 projects as either project director or demographic and geographic information systems (GIS) analyst. He began his career at GSI after completing his graduate work at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he studied under William A.V. Clark in the Department of Geography. While at UCLA, he worked at the Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies on a variety of projects concerned with urban form, demographic transition, residential segregation according to race/ethnicity and class, housing discrimination, local and international migration, urban poverty, and population geography.
Ralph has worked closely with GSI clients to direct the primary market research process, including sample selection and survey design. He has developed innovative approaches to situational and market analysis in the retirement housing market, and has presented a number of papers on trend setting analysis at a variety of conferences.
Professional Experience
1999 – present:__Vice President of Planning, Gerontological Services, Inc., Santa Monica, CA
1996 – 1999:__Director of Research, Gerontological Services, Inc., Santa Monica, CA
1995 – 1996:__RA, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
1994 – 1995:__Researcher, Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies, Los Angeles, CA
1994 – 1995:__Data Processing, UCLA Dept. of Geography, Los Angeles, CA
Education
- University of California, Los Angeles, Masters of Arts, Gerontology, Course work completed
- University of California, Los Angeles, Bachelor of Arts, Geography/Spatial Demography and Social Processes in the City
Professional and Community Memberships
- American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging
- Aging Services of California (formerly: California Association of Homes and Services for the Aging)
- Association of American Geographers
- Gamma Theta Upsilon, International Geographical Honors Society
Testimony and Lectures
- Aging Services of California Annual Conference: Pasadena, 2006; Palm Springs 2004; Monterey 2003; San Francisco 2000
Prior Project Experience
- St. Louis, MO: Liddell vs. State of Missouri
- St. Louis, MO: Jenkins vs. State of Missouri
- Hillsborough County, FL: Manning vs. BOE of Hillsborough County
- Kansas City, MO; Los Angeles, CA; Milwaukee, WI; Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN
Professional, Academic, and Technological Expertise
- Transportation planning and design; Commuting behavior; Urban form and historical perspectives regarding urban form; Demographic transition; Residential segregation according to race/ethnicity and class; Housing discrimination; Local and international migration; Urban poverty; Population geography (fertility, mortality, migration)
- Statistical analysis (SAS and SPSS); Geographic Information Systems (MapInfo & ArcInfo)
- American Sign Language (ASL)
American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging
