Michael Ratcliffe

Always thinking about how to define rural and urban and everything in between.

Emmitsburg, Maryland, United States

About

Experience in the area of statistical geographic area concepts, classifications, and criteria, with an emphasis on the relationships between geographic area definitions and analysis of statistical data. Particular focus on urban/rural, metropolitan and micropolitan concepts and definitions.

Experience

  • Senior Advisor at Reveal Global Consulting
    Apr 2025 - Present · 1 yr 4 mos

  • Adjunct Instructor at Mount St. Mary's University
    Jan 2026 - May 2026 · 5 mos

    Course taught: Global Geography

  • U.S. Census Bureau (34 yrs 10 mos)
    • Senior Advisor for Frames
      Mar 2020 - Feb 2025 · 5 yrs

    • Asst. Division Chief, Geographic Standards, Criteria, Research, and Quality, Geography Division
      May 2015 - Mar 2020 · 4 yrs 11 mos

      Directed and led operations focused on development of geographic entity concepts and criteria, including urban/rural classifications, places, census tracts, and other statistical geographic areas. Directed and led operations focused on development and maintenance of standards for attributing and maintaining addresses, features, and geographic entities, including measures of quality, accuracy, and completeness of address and geospatial data in the Census Bureau's Master Address File/TIGER database. Also responsible for coordination of research in the Geography Division. I had four branches under my overall direction: 1) Address and Spatial Analysis Branch 2) Address Standards, Criteria, and Quality Branch 3) Geographic Research and Innovation Staff 4) Geographic Standards, Criteria, and Quality Branch

    • Asst. Division Chief, Geocartographic Products and Criteria, Geography Division
      Mar 2009 - May 2015 · 6 yrs 3 mos

      Directed and led operations focused on development of geographic entity concepts and criteria, including urban/rural classifications, places, census tracts, and other statistical geographic areas. Directed and led operations focused on the development and dissemination of geographic and cartographic products.

  • Co-lead at Building Trust and FAIRness into the Process for Finding and Using Gov't Data (FAIRness) Project
    Dec 2022 - Oct 2024 · 1 yr 11 mos

    I was co-lead (on behalf of the Federal Committee on Statistical Methodology) of the FAIRness Project. The primary objective of the FAIRness Project was to make federal data more discoverable and useful by modernizing the Federal Government’s data cataloging system. The project's goal was to help agencies transition from the decade-old DCAT-US 1.1 schema to the newly proposed DCAT-US 3.0. The existing DCAT-US 1.1 schema became increasingly insufficient for meeting Evidence Act requirements and staying current with international standards. The proposed DCAT-US 3.0 schema is designed to address these challenges – including those associated with geospatial data –and equips data providers across the Federal Government with the information necessary to accurately and efficiently document federal data for public and internal re-use. See https://doi-do.github.io/dcat-us/

  • Adjunct Professor, Department of Geography at The George Washington University
    Jan 2016 - May 2023 · 7 yrs 5 mos

    Course taught: Population Geography.