Joe Dragovich grew up in Seattle where he found his love for geology early in life. Joe obtained his B.S. in geology from Washington State University in 1984 and his M.S. degree in Geology from Western Washington University in 1989, where he completed a thesis study of the metamorphism, structure, and tectonics of the Cascade River Schist located in the North Cascades of Washington. Joe has experience as a geologist and engineering geologist in both the public and private institutions. His professional geologic mapping experience began in 1988 when he completedNSF-funded studies of the North Cascades for WWU Professor Ned Brown; this was followed by USGS STATEMAP-funded geologic mapping project as an Idaho Geological Survey geologist. He was subsequently hired as an engineering geologist by Purnell and Associates, Inc. where he participated in geotechnical, slope stability, geologic, and environmental investigations. In 1990 Joe was hired by the Washington Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geology and Earth Resources (DGER) Hazards Section in Olympia, where he worked closely with Matthew Brunengo on the Slope-stability Hazard Zonation Project. The Washington Cooperative Monitoring, Evaluation, and Research Committee conceived this landslide inventory pilot project to increase the understanding of mass wasting in forested settings, especially as it relates to road building and tree harvesting. After completing this project, Joe continued with the DGER Hazards Section working on earthquake liquefaction, slope stability, and Mount Rainer lahar mapping studies. Joe transferred to the DGER Geologic Mapping Section in 1993and was promoted to section supervisor in 2009 where he fostered a multi-disciplinary team approach to geologic mapping. As a mapping team leader, Joe’s teams completed twenty-one, USGS STATEMAP-funded, mapping projects covering thirty-two 1:24,000-scale quadrangles; and was also the lead mapper on the Twisp Quadrangle (1:100,000-scale) and Northwest Quadrant of Washington State (1:250,000-scale). 

The completed geologic maps cover a variety of Puget Lowland to Cascade Mountain landscapes including mountainous, upland, river, lake, and marine shoreline geographic settings. From 2016-2020, Joe joined Associated Earth Sciences, Inc. (AESI) as an engineering geologist. His AESI projects varied from geotechnical, active fault, mine, and slope suitability projects to stratigraphic and basin investigations to help define aquifer systems. He was also the AESI project manager for the Thurston County Mineral Lands Project (TCML). The goal of the TCML was to map resources areas – mostly aggregate, but also industrial minerals and quarry rock – across Thurston County as required by Washington State Growth Management Act. During the TCML, his team utilized surface and sub-surface geologic mapping and other datasets to outline the location, quality, and quantity of the resources across the county. His team also facilitated the dissemination of the results to Thurston County citizens and various stakeholder groups. In 2020, Joe started Dragovich Geo-Consulting in order to provide geology and engineering geology services for various groups and individuals.