Olivia (Hughes) Morris, GISP, is a GIS Developer and GISS at the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. She specializes in environmental GIS and volunteers as a responder to wildland fire emergencies with the National Wildfire Coordinating Group. Olivia has a Bachelors of Science in Biology with a Chemistry minor from Washington College, and a Certificate of Data Science and Visualization from UC Berkeley.

Aisha Jenkins, PMP, CTT is a tech equity consultant, specializing in GIS & Digital Strategy, Academic and Workforce development, podcasting, and more. Aisha is guided by a need to be part of the solution, rather than stay comfortable or silent. GIS has been her tool for truth-telling, innovation, and equity. Aisha believes when we center Black and marginalized voices, we open the door for true diversity.Aisha has a Bachelor of Science in Biology/ Chemistry from Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Science in Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh.

Mamata is Head of Cartography at Felt. With over 15 yearsin the geosciences, Mamata has experience in cartographic systems, design, developing cartographic tools and products, and started her career in basemaps, and transitioned into thematic cartography and building cartographic thinking into tools. You may have seen her work if you’ve used ESRI’s dark basemaps or are familiar with the web maps produced for the National Park Service. Mamatahas a BA in Geography from UC Santa Barbara and an MS in Geography from Penn State. Mamata was also named as one of the 40 under 40 of remarkable geospatial professionals in 2017.

Catherine DuBreck, GISP, is an experienced change designer, facilitator, manager, and guru. She has a passion for GIS and it’s more people-y side as a board member, teacher, volunteer, author, and consultant. Catherine is especially devoted to connecting with young people through teaching, presenting at conferences, and sharing her story. As a change manager for Locana, Catherine helps clients navigate their business needs as they modernize and update systems andprocesses. Catherine also volunteers her skills and apabilities as a member of the Board of Directors of the New York State GIS Association. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Geography from SUNY Geneseo, a Masters Degree in Geography from Western University, and an array of certificates and microcredentials. Catherine is also one of the Rising Stars to Watch, 2024.

Raquel’s unique blend of strategic marketing, community engagement, and commitment to servant leadership makes her a standout in the GIS and geospatial field with a passion for elevating the next generation in GIS.
Raquel Pérez is a marketing leader with over 13 years at Esri, where she currently serves as Senior Industry Marketing Manager for the National Government - developing high-impact marketing strategies.
A staunch advocate for servant leadership and community engagement, Raquel founded and continues to lead the Esri Young Professionals Network (YPN), a global initiative aimed at empowering early-career GIS professionals through networking, mentoring, and career development. She’s also the driving force behind Esri’s annual GIS Day celebrations;  serves on the Women in GIS Mentor Committee; is a proud member of Latinas in Tech, and LatinaGeeks.
Raquel holds an M.A. in Management from the University of Redlands and a certificate in Crime & Intelligence Analysis from UC Riverside—credentials that reflect her early work as a crime analyst and her enduring interest in data-driven solutions.
Her impact is recognized both internally and across the geospatial community. Colleagues applaud her dedication and recently Jack Dangermond, owner and CEO of Esri personally acknowledged her on the 10th anniversary of YPN and making it a success!
Outside of work, Raquel channels her creativity into gardening, event planning, home décor, and spending time with her kiddos. She’s an avid traveler—particularly drawn to Iceland, Peru, and Switzerland—and finds balance in exploring cultures and landscapes.

Join us to talk with Women in GIS outgoing President Sam Dinning about what WiGIS accomplished in 2024 and what's in store for 2025!

Jami Dennis has over thirty years of experience in GIS, socio-economic research, data analytics, and data visualization. She has been a GISP for 20 years and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the GIS Certification Institute. She has worked in both state and regional government. She now owns her own small consulting firm where she works on GIS, data analysis, and data visualization projects. Her currentpassion is using data visualization techniques to communicate complicated subjects. Outside of work, Jami is an avid camper, hiker, and occasionally good mountain biker.

Erica Poisson has 10+ years of experience in GIS, data management, project ideation and management. She currently serves as secretary on the Northeast Arc User Group board of directors, and has been heavily involved in that community since her election to the board in 2020. In her current position as the GIS Coordinator for Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation's Division of Water Supply Protection, she leads a small team of GIS analysts and helps further GIS within both the agency and the broader Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs secretariat. Her current focus is accessibility in GIS and helping to lay the groundwork for ensuring the secretariat is able to meet new ADA Title II and WCAG 2.1 AA requirements by April 2026. Outside of work,Erica loves to garden, read, hike and spend time on her Peloton bike.

Dr. Sapana Lohani is a geospatial data scientist at the Institute for Integrative Conservation at the College of William and Mary. Sapana started her work in Nepal, helping to publish The Earth Preservation, and supported the Asia Pacific Mountain Network through engaging content generation. Sapana’s current endeavors have led her to connect with local elementary schools to help young students and women reconnect with nature and explore interdisciplinary careers centered around the environment. Her program is exclusively taught by women, and while she manages and facilitates, she is also responsible for the geospatial portion. Sapana is passionate about conservation and using geospatial technologies to illustrate the need for support as well as to illustrate successful changes made. Sapana has Bachelor and Master Degrees in Environmental Science from Tribhuvan University, a Masters Degree in Natural Resource Management from Asian Institute of Technology, and a PhD in Natural Resources from the University of Arizona.

Claire is an OG photogrammetrist, passionate about geospatial technology and digital mapping. She founded KAPPA Mapping in 2003, and currently leads CornerstoneEnergy Services to new markets with her expertise and breadth of knowledge and skills. Claire is an American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing certified photogrammetrist, which is taking photographs and very precise measurements to create 3D models of objects and environments. Claire started in surveying and engineering and will talk about her journey as the technology advances came faster and faster since her beginning. Claire has a Bachelor of Science in Surveying Engineering from the University of Maine and currently resides in Bangor, ME.

Carley has more than 15 years experience in the geosciences and specializes in emergency management. She leads the management of a county-wide enterprise GIS system, providing crucial support during emergencies such as Hurricane Dorian (2019), the COVID-19 pandemic, Hurricane Ian (2022), Hurricane Nicole (2022), and most recently Hurricane Milton. Carley facilitates important information dissemination to her county using GIS, creating dashboards and using tools like Survey123 to capture citizen damage assessments after storm events. She is a strong advocate for direct GIS involvement in emergency management as a mitigation to data gaps and information silos. Carley is a GISP and has a Bachelor of Science in Geography from Florida Atlantic University.

Carley has more than 15 years experience in the geosciences and specializes in emergency management. She leads the management of a county-wide enterprise GIS system, providing crucial support during emergencies such as Hurricane Dorian (2019), the COVID-19 pandemic, Hurricane Ian (2022), Hurricane Nicole (2022), and most recently Hurricane Milton. Carley facilitates important information dissemination to her county using GIS, creating dashboards and using tools like Survey123 to capture citizen damage assessments after storm events. She is a strong advocate for direct GIS involvement in emergency management as a mitigation to data gaps and information silos. Carley is a GISP and has a Bachelor of Science in Geography from Florida Atlantic University.

Kat James is the founder of Four Hundred Feet, a social enterprise that helps individuals and organizations leverage drone technology to amplify impact in the global health, environmental, and humanitarian sectors through consulting, one-on-one coaching, and educational resources. As a consultant, she helps organizations navigate the local regulatory environment, identify technical solutions and partners, design & implement projects, and scale for impact.

Previously, Kat was a GIS specialist working on global health projects, which ranged from designing a maternal health data dashboard for the Ministry of Health in Ghana to mapping thousands of villages in Liberia and Zambia to see how far women must travel to access reproductive healthcare services.

Kat has a Bachelors of Art in Geography and Global Health from Middlebury College and a Masters in Public Health and Information Science from the University of Michigan. Kat is also a Kenya Civil Aviation Authority Certified Remote Pilot and Certified Part 107 Remote Pilot, and serves on the advisory boards of the Commercial UAV Expo’s Path the Leadership Scholarship Program and DroneDeploy’s Resilient Futures Grant Program.

Jazzmen is an experienced GIS Technician and geospatial podcast host who can attest to the winding path that GIS sometimes takes in our lives. Jazzmen came to the geospatial world nearly by accident and once she realized she found her niche, she pushed full steam ahead! Jazzmen specializes in electric utilities and is passionate about the geospatial community and connecting through storytelling. Jazzmen has made her mark through her GIS podcast, interviewing fellow geophiles and participating in panels telling her own story. In this episode we will talk about that winding path that got her to the geo-world, whether it’s more fulfilling to be a subject matter expert or generalist and what’s got her feeling settled in her current spot. Jazzmen has a Bachelor of Science in GIS from Arizona State University.

Swati is a professor, consultant, founder, and leader driving change in the geospatial sciences. Swati has over 24 years experience Internationally using geospatial technologies to answer social, economic, and environmental problems. Swati is passionate about sharing the world of GIS with young people and is known for creative solutions and a positive outlook. Swati founded Anudras Geosolutions in 2016 and has a BS and MS in Geology from the University of Delhi, an MPhil in GIS and Remote Sensing from the University of Cambridge, UK.

Brandi is a Senior Product Engineer at ESRI, where she has worked for the last nearly 3 years on developing robust solutions for stormwater and other customers. Prior, Brandi spent over 2 decades as a public servant working in local government in the Denver Metro area helping the organizations improve service development and streamline processes with GIS.  Brandi most recently worked on the GIS Request Management Solution with a group of end users to tackle the challenge of tracking GIS tasks and project management activities natively within the ESRI ecosystem. The solution was released at this year’s UC in July. Brandi lives in Colorado and has a Bachelor of Science in Earth and Geographic Sciences from University of Massachusetts, Boston.

Danielle is the Director at the Center for Geospatial Science and Technology at California State University- Northridge, and a founding member of Women in GIS. Daniells is GIS leader and professional with more than 25 years experience in the field. Early in her career Danielle noticed that there weren’t much resources for women in the field, and found herself at a conference with a group of women who were interested in joining forces for good, or just for coffee. Danielle has a Bachelors Degree in Nature and Culture form the University of California, Davis, and a Masters in Geography from California State University, Northridge.

Eva Reid is the Senior IT Program Manager for DC Health (Data and Applications) and the Agency Data Officer for DC Health, the District of Columbia’s health department. Prior to DC Health, Eva worked for the DC Office of the Chief Technology Officer, the District’s central IT agency. With 30 years of experience in geospatial technology, and data management, Eva is a sought-after keynote speaker and moderator in technical and professional development spaces. She also runs her own consulting business representing women in tech and other fields where women are underrepresented. Eva is a regular contributor to Directions Magazine (directionsmagazine.com) and has been featured on several technology podcasts. The native New Yorker earned a B.A. in Geography (Cum Laude) from Macalester College and a Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.) from Arizona State University.

Wanmei Liang is a Science Data Visualizer at NASA Earth Observatory. Her expertise lies in GIS, remote sensing, data visualization, and cartography. Wanmei holds a bachelor’s degree in geography and GIS from UCLA. She actively engages in the GIS industry and makes valuable contributions to communities such as the Women in GIS, #30DayMapChallenge, #GISChat, and serves as a mentor, providing guidance and support to professionals in the GIS industry.

Maggie Cawley is a geospatial professional focusing on sustainability and urban planning. Maggie began in the urban planning world and started her company, Boomerang Geospatial, a geospatial consulting company specializing in education and conservation in 2013. This is where her journey with open geospatial started, including QGIS and Open Street Maps (OSM). With her company she led mapping education programs in places like Botswana and the United States, focusing on open source GIS. In 2019 Maggie was asked to join the board of OSM as Executive Director, and also serves as vice chair of the National Geospatial Advisory Committee. Maggie has a Master of Arts in Urban and Regional Planning from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Bachelor in International Studies from the University of Richmond.

Michelle Williams, also known as the Survey123 Jedi, is a passionate geospatial professional specializing in, what else but Survey123!

Michelle is a graduate of the University of Redlands, with a Bachelor of Science in Business and a Master of Science in Geographic Information Science and Cartography. Michelle came to the GIS realm a bit later in life and uses her knowledge and experience to teach and influence young people, supporting their successes. Michelle regularly provides free Survey123 training to people, and also consults on solutions for geospatial challenges. In addition to her passion for all things geospatial, Michelle is passionate about sharing her experience with post concussion symptoms, from a concussion she experienced in 2022. She shares her story of this experience so that people will better understand what it is like to suffer from a concussion long term, as well as to help those who have and are still suffering from this invisible affliction.