GIS-Pro 2024

Did you enjoy the conference and want to volunteer time and energy to make GIS-Pro 2025 the can't miss geospatial conference of the year? Find out about the conference committee responsibilities, volunteer expectations, and timeline during this breakfast meeting.

• Kara Utter - 2025 Conference Chair
• Keith Olson - 2025 Program Chair

The location of critical facilities and data about emergency incidents play key roles in how we understand and act on causes, patterns, and services. This session will focus on integrating data for spatial and statistical analysis of law, fire, and health case studies.
 
Using GIS for Modeling Spatial Accessibility to Public Health Emergency Facilities in Jeddah City
Abdulkader Murad, PhD, Professor, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Spatial and Statistical Analysis of Crime Patterns in Relation to Stakeholder Response: A Case Study of Oakland, California
Mark Leipnik, PhD, Professor of Geography and Sanjay Mehta, PhD, Professor of Marketing, Dept. of Environmental and Geo-Sciences, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, TX

Spatial Analysis for Fire Station Site Selection
Ethan McGhee, Systems Application Specialist – GIS, City of San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo, CA

Using GIS to Modernize Public Safety Data Collection Workflows
Christina Brunsvold, MS, GISP, Information Technology Specialist, California Highway Patrol, Sacramento, CA

This dynamic session will equip you to build a thriving, inclusive workplace for the future. Join a diverse panel of women and allies in GIS. Share experiences, explore practical steps to foster a welcoming environment, and leave with actionable strategies to make a real difference.

Supporting Women in the GIS Workplace
Sara Thompson, GIS Manager, Arizona Department of Transportation, Phoenix, AZ
Hannah Walters, GIS Analyst, Denver Water, Denver, CO
Brooke Hatcher, Geospatial Data Engineer, New Light Technologies
Olga Tambazidis, GIS Tech II, Los Angeles County DMH

This dynamic panel discussion brings together GIOs, managers, and coordinators of local government GIS operations to explore similarities, consider differences, and build connections.

Join the conversation and:

• Discover the experiences and perspectives of GIS leaders in local government.
• Learn about funding models and strategies for regular operations and projects.
• Hear about approaches to geospatial data governance
• Learn about priorities and biggest challenges. Are they facing similar struggles to yours?

Panelists
Gail Jorgenson, GISP , GIS Program Manager, City of Bozeman, Montana
David Anderson, GISP, Chatham County, Savannah, Georgia
Curtis Pulford, Manager – Enterprise Geographic Information Systems, City of Phoenix, Arizona
Todd J. Schuble, Director of GIS, Cook County, Chicago, Illinois 

Turning raw asset data into actionable insights is a key challenge in modern asset management. This session dives into innovative ways organizations are leveraging their asset data for smarter decision-making.
 
Making your Asset Management Data work for you
Olesya Powers, GISP, GIS Analyst, City of Rockwall, Rockwall, TX

The Why and How of Moving to UN: The Municipal Approach
Wendy Peloquin, GISP, Business Development Manager, Avineon, Inc, Jacksonville, FL
Tyler Prahl, Business Development Manager, Avineon, Minneapolis, MN

Second Stage Right of Way Development for Viriginia DOT – Two Use Cases
Michelle Fults, GISP, GIS Manager Geospatial L&D, Virginia DOT, Richmond, VA

Complying with the Lead and Copper Rule
John Nolte, GISP, GIS Manager, Denver Water , Denver, CO

This panel session will provide an overview and update on a collaboration between URISA Policy Advisory Committee and the National Society of Professional Surveyors. This work group’s mission is to provide recommendations to the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES) Model Law on the definition of the “practice of surveying”.

GIS Professionals and Surveyors Continue Working to Clarify Professional Responsibilities
Bruce Joffe, GISP, Principal Emeritus, GIS Consultants, Piedmont, CA
Ed Wells, GISP, Retired, University Park, MD
Tim Burch, PLS, Executive Director of National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS)
Gary Kent, PLS, served on the Indiana Board of Registration for Professional Surveyors since 2004

Take free self-paced lessons on a variety of GIS and ArcGIS topics. Esri's Hands-On Learning Lab will be at GIS-Pro 2024. You can explore a variety of lessons on trending topics that are listed here

This session considers how GIS is being used to overcome education barriers, engage communities, and support equity. These talks consider various equity indices, models, and the URISA Code of Ethics to understand the efficacy and impact projects can have on the development of communities.

Empowering Equitable Sidewalk Infrastructure with GIS
Juliette Bateman, GIS Developer, dymaptic, Asheville, NC

Local Redistricting and the GIS Practitioner’s Ethical Obligations
Mark Salling, PhD, GISP, Senior Research Associate, Levin College of Public Affairs and Education, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH

Classrooms and Communities: Collaborative Mapping for Flood Mitigation
Wansoo Im, Ph.D, Professor, School of Global Health/Meharry Medical College
Suhyun Bea, Undergraduate Student, University Utah, Asia Campus - Seoul, South Korea

Engaging Elementary Students in Climate Change through Community Mapping
Yun kyung Cha, Elementary School Teacher and Yoonji Chung, Elementary School Teacher, The Gogo Teachers' Association, Won-ju si, South Korea

This week flew by! Hopefully you learned a lot and will leave Portland with a boatload of solutions and ideas and a professional network that will be your support system throughout your career.

URISA and AI: A Look at This Latest Round of Information Technology-Driven Change
URISA has always been an organization focused on harnessing emerging information technologies to improve urban and regional planning. Over the decades, the URISA community has responded to multiple waves of technology-driven change -from computerizing census records in the 1960s all the way to distributed computing and location-based services in recent years. In many ways, AI, and especially large language models and generative AI, are just another wave of new tech. In many ways, the impact of AI on the URISA community looks familiar, but there are some differences worth noting. The talk will compare what is happening now with the impacts of previous technologies in order to draw some conclusions about where we are, what to expect, and what to prioritize.

We are honored to feature Joe Ferreira (Professor at MIT and URISA Past President) and Katie Picchione (Response Coordination Lead at NASA) to discuss this important and ever-evolving topic.

Annual Business Meeting
Then stick around for some closing comments from the conference leadership and attend URISA's Annual Business Meeting. We talked about the NSDI on Tuesday and will bookend that discussion with an updated from URISA's Policy Advisory Committee. Learn about URISA accomplishments over the past year, Board actions taken, and exciting plans for the future. Meet the new members elected to the URISA Board.

Newly-elected Board members will begin their terms at this meeting, where the URISA Board maps out the year.
John Nolte begins his term as URISA President at this meeting.