GIS Chat Podcast

Send us a textDany Bouchard is the CEO of the GIS consulting business, CartoVista. He saw there was an opportunity to help markets reach their fullest potential by showing them their own data and producing high end results so that they can make better business decisions. CartoVista believes in the user experience and thrives to make the Graphical interface and ease of use manageable for their clients. Jump in this week's episode as we talk about how Dany started his business and why, the belief behind good management, and some exciting endeavors CartoVista is taking. Mapping Software Solutions | Cloud Based GIS | Cartovista www.spatialstack.ai/spatial-labOr Sign up: https://spatial-lab.circle.so/checkout/spatial-lab-member?affiliate_code=926635

Send us a textDentist now reformed GIS programmer/entrepenuer. Khaled's life changed when he decided to minor in GIS while pursuing is MBA. His pursuits helped him his passion towards helping companies become more eco-friendly by using solar and renewable energy. This prompted him to create his own company, Geoscope Analytics that has been recognized as a startup partner by Esri. Listen how he made all of this possible on this week's episode!Check out his company here:https://geoscopanalytics.com/check out Khaled book here:https://www.amazon.com/Leveraging-ChatGPT-GIS-Analysis-Practical-ebook/dp/B0D3N9R2C8 www.spatialstack.ai/spatial-labOr Sign up: https://spatial-lab.circle.so/checkout/spatial-lab-member?affiliate_code=926635

Send us a textGrant West from, Hampton, Virginia, pushes the envelope and wants to help others broaden their knowledge within the GIS field. Mainly involved in telecommunications, Grant uses his expertise in data analytics and surveying to help best analyze poles maintained out in field and the building of newly constructed poles for Timmons Group.  Grant also gives us an in depth look at what makes a pole successful and a failure. And how the telecommunications industry could improve how they use GIS. We lastly, briefly, talk on the differences between receiving a degree and a certification.  www.spatialstack.ai/spatial-labOr Sign up: https://spatial-lab.circle.so/checkout/spatial-lab-member?affiliate_code=926635

Send us a textEvan Applegate, the man and maker of all things maps. Owner of the map consultancy and podcast host of VeryExpensiveMaps, Evan goes through how him working for Bloomberg to National Geographic lead him to now being a freelance mapper. Maps on blankets, neon maps, and any other map you need through his websites. We also touch on the struggles cartographers face and what makes a good map.https://evanapplegate.com/https://columbiapressworks.com/collections www.spatialstack.ai/spatial-labOr Sign up: https://spatial-lab.circle.so/checkout/spatial-lab-member?affiliate_code=926635

Send us a text*Sorry for my audio in this episode. However, Michael sounds great, and you will be able to pick up what we are putting down (Recorded May 4th, 2024) Michael Ivison is joining us from Japan. He is a jack of all trades, but he mainly works freelance, and content creates GIS tutorials on his YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/@MikeIvisonGIS  . In this episode we talk about how freelance work in Japan has been both a blessing and a curse, the identity crisis within the GIS community, how AI may not be as great as we think, and how important mental health is to Michael. Oh, he also hiked Mount Fuji. Give this episode a listen. www.spatialstack.ai/spatial-labOr Sign up: https://spatial-lab.circle.so/checkout/spatial-lab-member?affiliate_code=926635

Send us a textOwners and founders of North Arrow, Charles and Olivia strive to help the underprivileged community and expose environmental injustices through visualization and storytelling. With the combined backgrounds of marketing/business and activism, North arrow was born. They not only feel like they need to expose injustices and shed light to NGO's that are working to dissolve them, but they also feel it is necessary for the public to know about these injustices as well. A lot of non-profits are doing great work, but do not have the marketing necessary to voice their presence in the world. Thats where North Arrow comes in. Listen in the podcast's first ever duo interview: Olivia and Charles. Check out their website in the link below! www.north-arrow.org www.spatialstack.ai/spatial-labOr Sign up: https://spatial-lab.circle.so/checkout/spatial-lab-member?affiliate_code=926635

Send us a text*Disclaimer: I apologize for my audio. I had to cut out most of my parts in this episode for the sake of making sure this week's guest, Sam Hashemi, could shine!  Give it up for the GIS Chat Podcast first solo guest episode!Sam Hashemi, Founder and creator of the GIS Stack software, Felt, is passionate about design and innovation. Previously worked for NASA and founded the company, Remix, amongst other companies, Sam gives us a brief yet in-depth description of the latest news coming in for Felt and what customers can expect if they allow Felt be their new GIS guru. 

Send us a textMihir is a recent graduate of ASU majored in Urban Planning. His love of buildings and architecture steered him towards a career that he felt would help the public. Coming from India to pursue a degree in Arizona was not a tough transition for Mihir as he easily adjusted. Along with how transitioning from an internship to a full-time job at Aecom, we also talk about why public transit is so important to Mihir, and how his time in India helped influence his drive towards building a better transit system for Arizona. 

Send us a textJason is the drone guy, or more professionally known as, a drone architect. His passion for drones has led him to podcasting, starting a nonprofit, a YouTube channel and working for Cognizant as a drone architect. Funny enough, the object that almost killed him in flight is the very object he dedicated his life learning and teaching others about. Listen in on this rambunctious conversation as Jason and I talk all things drones.  www.spatialstack.ai/spatial-labOr Sign up: https://spatial-lab.circle.so/checkout/spatial-lab-member?affiliate_code=926635

Send us a textCEO of RomoGIS, Frank Romo's GIS background and upbringing inspired him to focus mainly on helping underrepresented communities across the nation. Frank saw the communities that were most vulnerable to injustices, and created RomoGIS to help train young adults in coding, mapping, consulting, etc. to help those particular groups in various ways.Along those lines, we talk about how hard it can be to find those datasets because of barriers and glass ceilings, but that never stopped RomoGIS. Listen in, as we hear Franks inspiring message about bringing community together and why that is so important to him.

Send us a Text Message.Michael Mirobelli is an enterprise architect and IT strategist for Esri. His role carries many hats to ensure his clients have a business structure that will help grow their business in many facets. The vision is the foundation that Michael then branches to create a business design (architect) that helps it come to fruition. Come along and listen to how Michael started working for Esri, what an enterprise architect/It strategist does, and how he was able to go back to school and complete his graduate program at Penn State while juggling life and family. 

Send us a Text Message.Andries Heyns is an advocate for advancing accessibility data for people who endure limited travel and healthcare resources. How he does this is through his work with NGOs like Doctors without Borders. A global organization utilizing GIS to help underprivileged civilians gain access to healthcare, education, accessibility, and much more through the use of GIS data. Andries has also worked with the World Bank to help with this initiative. Join us in South Africa as we learn more about Doctors without Borders and their work with accessibility modeling, plus, Andries paw-tners and crimes make a small appearance towards the end!Check out the accessibility modeling mentioned in this episode here! https://github.com/worldbank/Accessibility_Index

Bad Elf Geospatial Lead, David Grafton, geeks out on GPS and GNSS. We discuss what products and solutions Bad Elf provides their customers. Along, with a new product released by Bad Elf recently. Dabbling into the good and bad of GPS with a suggestion of what product people should consider when going out on their next GPS adventure. 

GIS Specialist, Anthony Saylor, works for Southern Company Gas in Atlanta, Georgia. Along with working within the utility industry, Anthony also helps young adults find mentors within the GIS industry through his organization, GIS mentors of Atlanta. Reason being, he wanted to help his younger self who struggled finding a job post university. Hence, why he created his organization. We talk about all of this and more, like how Anthony used to be a professional Twitch streamer, in this week's episode! 

GIS developer, Jonathan Robinson, loves GIS and is super excited to talk to us about how it has changed his life. Growing up on the streets as a teen, and then enlisting in the marines where he found GIS, Jonathan owes GIS to helping him find a career he is passionate about. Along, with his excitement for GIS, it is unmatched towards his patriotism for America. It is where his heart is, and he credits how GIS has helped him, the United States, and the US military. 

Peter Flint, state land surveying director for Alaska, does a deep dive into how being a land surveyor in Alaska really is. He absolutely loves it, and it shows in today's episode. Topics we touch on is life as a land surveyor in Alaska and being the state representative for the NSPS, achievements in implementing Alaska's continuously operating reference network reference network, and lastly ending on Peter's previous life as an Alaska's Railroad Project Manager.

Jami Dennis, owner of the Geodetic Analysis LLC, a geospatial consulting company, gets really nerdy about data.  Any opportunity to show her enthusiasm about data, she jumps on it! From extracting data to present in front of a boardroom to creating visualizations like story maps and infographics, Jami loves how data can visually enhance our GIS experience through creative means. Plus, getting involved in volunteer work has increased Jami's knowledge and skills in the industry.On the side, we briefly talk about Jami's passion for natural resources and why that brought her to photography, and then ending on how someone with more of an artistic eye, can try their luck in the GIS industry. 

In this episode, we feature Forbes 30under30 alumni, Milan Janosov, as he talks about his transition from biophysics to data science. Venturing into his work for the European Commission and other freelance work. Briefly touching on his own entrepreneurial spirit with authoring his own book "DATA", and starting his consulting company, Geospatial Data Consulting.Lastly, we talk about how it is like being a freelance geospatial data scientist and some obstacles/pathways that data scientists are facing. 

Chief Public Health Officer for HSR.health (Health Solutions Research), Jean Filipe, is passionate about using GIS in the public health sector. Born in Brazil, Jean studied medicine and worked with health focused geospatial analytics using A.I. to help map diseases, hospital deserts, mortality rates and so on. In this episode, we talk about Jean's experience as a primary care provider and now a chief public health officer, the history of diseases, how the public health industry is collecting data to map out crises locally and globally, and the challenges the industry is facing today.

State Geodetic Coordinator to Arizona for the NGS, and 2019 Lifetime Membership Award for the United Surveyors of Arizona, Brian Fisher has been land surveying since the late 1980's. His expertise is plentiful, and he has a ton of knowledge on what professional land surveyors are facing today. Join us as we talk heavily on the land surveying industry, how to get involved, what challenges PLS are facing today, and how radio helped Brian and a coworker save an elderly woman's life. 

Born in England but raised in Ireland, Esri lead consultant, Kiera O' Sullivan delivers a fantastic talk that first centers around her role at Esri Ireland and some advice on how to be successful in the world of consulting. This includes how Kiera got her start at Esri with a biology degree and how she became a leader amongst her peers as a lead consultant. Then we really dive into climate change and biodiversity. Specifically, why climate change has had such a negative effect on Ireland's biodiversity and how we and GIS can help solve some of these problems. 

One of the only four Smilovsky's found in the contiguous United States, Nik's passion into GIS originally stemmed from his love of teaching. Nik thrives in providing students the tools and resources to enable them to learn and succeed in GIS in a classroom environment. Nik has been teaching for more than fifteen years at the community college level and at the university level. He also, has a few public speaking under his belt as well. We first touch on Nik's teaching experience and why that is important to him, then we talk about his current role as a Geospatial Solutions Director at Bad Elf, a low-cost GPS provider. Nik is also a licensed arborist, so we briefly touch on his thoughts on deforestation. Then, ending on how he and his buddies started their own GIS podcast, GeoHolics. 

Born in Mauritius, an island East of Madagascar, Veronique founded both organizations, AfriTech Fellowship and Geospatial Equity Tech, to help underrepresented and marginalized communities get involved in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics). But first, we talk about the U.S education system and comparing it to the U.K education system, and then we discuss how GIS can help socioeconomic issues and why GIS is so important in telling stories. Veronique incorporates story telling in her consulting, mentoring, and overall passion in helping those who are historically marginalized. 

Esri government solutions engineer, Jeremiah Lindemann, has an extensive background in providing product solutions to governments and public safety departments. An important topic to Jeremiah, as it pertains to public safety, is the opioid epidemic and drug crisis. Jeremiah lost his little brother to the opioid epidemic, and ever since then has been using GIS to bring awareness. On this episode, we talk about what being on the government solutions team at Esri is like, but we mostly discuss the opioid epidemic and what we all can do to bring more awareness the matter.  

Originally born in Jiangsu, province of China, Bo attended the University of Kansas to pursue a master's in architectural engineering and a doctorate in civil engineering.  As an international student, Bo overcame language and culture barriers to eventually start and become president of GISTIC Research Inc, a GIS consulting company.  We discuss the transition from China to Kansas in the 1980's, why engineering and IT play a big part in the GIS industry, and how FME and AI are impacting the GIS community. 

Kicking off 2024 with the Arizona Department of Transportation geospatial section analysis manager, Sara Thompson. All but happy to talk about transportation, Sara geeks out on how ADOT is using GIS to improve Arizona's freeways and other modes of transportation. Some future projects ADOT has in store and what Sara does to help contribute to those efforts.Also, why Sara chose to pursue GIS over a degree in biology and the questions she had to ask herself to make the career change over to GIS post university. 

No relation to Kevin Bacon, Thomas Bacon is a geospatial data scientist working in the public sector at the City of Minneapolis. After finding out that his initial life plans may not be as lucrative as he had thought, GIS was a potential on the table that pivoted him in a different career path from which he never looked back from. Thomas's passion for public awareness, stemming from social awareness to our trials and parks, is conveyed by data visualization. With these efforts, whether it be from ArcGIS Pro, Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop, Thomas's mind is always working towards finding solutions for real-world problems. 

Tucson Parks and Recreation project manager, Jennifer Psillas, had a late start at university before pursing her career in the GIS Master's program at the University of Arizona. We also talk about her opinions on the "4-year" path to graduation and why it took her almost 13 years to graduate. Then we dive into her work in Project Management at the Parks and Recs and the work that the City of Tucson is doing for the community. Lastly, we briefly dive into why watershed management is important Jennifer and her suggestions to improve our watersheds. 

Arizona State University project manager, Shea Lamar, prides herself in being diligent, hardworking, and providing the best work she can in her role. She is opinionated in her views on what it takes to be a good project manager.  As well as what she has learned about being proactive in the GIS field, being an educator for the GIS Masters program at ASU. Passionate about GIS, but also being a leader to those she works with, she loves her profession and being able to help those who need GIS in their lives. Let's welcome Shea Lamar! 

Seth's current role as GIS analyst with many hats at Tyler Technologies, is where they route school bus routing with efficiency and accuracy to ensure kids arrive home safely. We discuss his role, and how coding and scripting play a major role in his day to day and how being proficient at Python has helped him succeed in his role. Also, some common challenges that come with coding and scripting. Lastly, we leave off with how Seth was able to navigate in his career without a GIS degree for many years, and how that was originally a hindrance. 

In part one of Seth Frame's interview, we discuss Seth's Archeological and Anthropological background.  How he involved GIS in his archeology and why that implementation was important for natural preservation. Passionate about culture, linguistics, and the evolution of homo-sapiens, Seth covers topics that those who are anthropological geeks will thoroughly appreciate. Lastly, is there a misconception on the inception of humanity?  Find out here in our interview. 

Esri UX (User-Experience) designer, Justine Leach, gets passionate on the socio-economic issues surrounding South L.A, but also across America. Her background, coming from a first-generation biracial family and working as an English public-school teacher in South L.A, is why she is so passionate surrounding this topic. We also learn why she transitioned from English teacher to UX designer, and how that all landed her a job at Esri, where her transferable skills thrive to this day.  Resources-Education inequality surrounding young women and minorities: https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/feature-story/2022/10/leaving-no-girl-behind-in-educationhttps://www.globalpartnership.org/sites/default/files/2018-07-gpe-high-cost-of-not-educating-girls.pdfhttps://data.unwomen.org/publications/progress-sustainable-development-goals-gender-snapshot-2022https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cgg/students-with-disabilitieshttps://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2020/03/16/as-schools-close-due-to-the-coronavirus-some-u-s-students-face-a-digital-homework-gap/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8761596/#:~:text=Girls%20experiencing%20COVID%2D19%20containment,%3B%2095%25%20CI%3A%201.55%20tohttps://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2018/01/09/women-and-men-in-stem-often-at-odds-over-workplace-equity/ps_2018-01-09_stem_a-09/https://www.aauw.org/resources/research/the-stem-gap/ ArcGIS City Engine:https://community.esri.com/t5/arcgis-cityengine-questions/disney-animation-studios-used-city-engine-for/td-p/664822https://www.esri.com/about/newsroom/announcements/esri-cityengine-used-to-create-oscar-nominated-effects-in-blade-runner-2049/ “Citizen Scientists Help Home In on Sea Turtle Home Ranges” by Dawn Wrighthttps://www.esri.com/about/newsroom/blog/citizen-scientists-record-sea-turtle-sightings/ will.i.am and Esrihttps://www.esri.com/about/newsroom/arcnews/will-i-am-embraces-gis/https://mediaspace.esri.com/media/t/1_0vvw771u?co3=true  https://www.esri.com/en-us/about/about-esri/overviewhttps://www.esri.com/en-us/gis-for-good

This week I interview Remote Sensing Analyst, Leland Sutter, from Marana, Arizona.  Leland discusses how his rancher upbringing, army days, and now a remote sensing analyst for the mining company, Freeport Mcmoran, have all solidified what he values most: people. We first dive into Leland's past: transitioning from army to civilian life. Then his decision to pursue GIS, and now leading into Project management. He also shares some of his views on the GIS industry pertaining to business, education, and the evolving nature that is GIS. 

Ever heard of a freelance GIS consultant? No worries! Tisha Gonzales, from New Mexico, explains the trials and tribulations of being a small business owner in the world of consulting. How she attracts clients, and what skills are needed to successfully and effectively be a freelance consultant. Listen in, as Tisha deep dives into her love of GIS, the Arizona GIS community, and tips on how to be successful in freelance consulting as she starts her small business journey. Also, she's got a cool puzzle book coming out soon, stay tuned! 

 Arnold Kedia, a hybrid fiber coaxial designer for Cox Communications goes into depth of his exploration background in his hometown, Cameroon, Africa. Then traveling to the United States and studying GIS as an international student. Ultimately landing him a job as a designer for Cox Communications, promoted to leading projects for his department. Listen as Arnold explains his challenges and successes in Africa and the United States and how it all lead him into the field he loves, GIS.  

Carl Churchill, Graphic Reporter, for the Wall Street Journal talks about his experience post university and how his passion of freelance work for art lead him into becoming a graphic reporter for the Wall Street Journal. As well as his work in climate change and his advice on creating your own portfolio if you are interested in that line of work. As well as creating “DoomShroom”, found on Reddit. How to create your own portfolio clip here:https://youtu.be/oPzN_dyWlug

Kendal Price, Analyst, from Grass Valley, CA goes into her experience through different roles/sectors within the GIS industry and her work in the URISA Vanguard Cabinet as a mentor. Come join Jazzmen and they dive into Kendal's own personal experiences within different sectors and what she has learned from those experiences. As well as what up-and-coming GIS students can look forward to entering the GIS industry and some valuable resources to help.  Highlights of mentoring clip here: https://youtu.be/h3X_RrJBF6I

First episode! Welcome our first guest, from Flagstaff AZ, Brian Bond. He is a GIS programmer analyst for the Yavapai County, from whose work bleeds into Emergency Management. He is also heavily involved in public safety and the continued new integration of the 911 system. Topics include Data management, programming, public safety, and more. Power of sharing data video clip here:https://youtu.be/kBllBNAELG4