GIS Career Lightning Talks

This event offers a unique opportunity for those curious about the application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) across a range of professional settings. Whether you're a student, an emerging professional, or simply intrigued by spatial data, you'll find value in engaging with seasoned GIS experts from various sectors, including academia, government, and industry. It's an ideal setting to discover the various spatial tools used across different fields and to get a glimpse of what daily life as a spatial professional entails.

Agenda:

• Introduction to MaptimeSEA/ Code of Conduct: We'll let you know about MaptimeSEA and upcoming GIS events
• Presentations: 5-7 minute presentations from professionals who use spatial technology to solve problems
• Wrap-up

What to Bring:

• Anything you need to be comfortable sitting in a chair for 2 hours!

How to Prepare:
Check back here for details on our presenters. Dig into their topics, and come with questions!

Where to Go:

• Meet at Bale Breaker and look for signs pointing you to MaptimeSEA. If you get turned around, please ask a beertender to point you in the right direction!

Presenters (check back in for more!):
👤Matt Kenny | GIS Data Engineer | The Nature Conservancy
I'm Matt Kenny, a GIS Data Engineer working at the non-profit organization, The Nature Conservancy (TNC). On the Conservation & Geospatial Systems Team, I help build, maintain, and promote cloud infrastructure to support TNC's global conservation GIS user base and our community of spatial data scientists.

👤Karsten Vennemann | Consultant | Terra GIS
Karsten Vennemann is a GIS professional with a background in Geography and Soil Science. His work mostly focuses on GIS in the context of natural resources, sustainable development and social justice. In 2007 he started his own company, Terra GIS, based in Seattle. He teaches classes in Open Source GIS and a good portion of his consulting work involves creating and supporting Open Source based Web GIS solutions.

👤Valerie Bright | Senior GIS Imaging Engineer | King County
Valerie joined King County in 2023 as a Senior GIS Imaging Engineer with a background in geospatial analysis, data management, geology, and hydrology.

At King County, Valerie is focused on all things imagery, lidar, and raster data. She specializes in in aerial imagery and raster data acquisition, data management, data access, application development, and raster analysis. She enjoys building new solutions for old problems, streamlining processes, and helping users solve interesting problems.

Valerie has a Masters of GIS from Penn State, a B.S. in Geology from the University of Washington, and a B.A. in History from Michigan State University.

👤Kate Leroux | Senior Technical Cartographer | onX
Kate Leroux (she/her) is a Senior Technical Cartographer at onX, who specializes in full-stack basemap cartography. Prior to onX, Kate designed basemaps for the City of Seattle, Amazon, Meta, and Stamen Design. She’s a lifelong traveler, and has lived in the Seattle area, the traditional lands of the Coast Salish peoples, for most of her life.

👤David Askov | City of Seattle
David Askov has worked in the GIS field his entire career. His work has included spatial analysis, cartography, programming, systems design, database development, project management, team supervisor, and consultant. He has worked in a variety of vertical markets, but most of his career has focused on emergency management, early warning systems, and public safety.

👤Matt Dressler | Cartographer and GIS Professional | Mountains To Sound GIS
Matt Dressler is a cartographer and GIS professional based in Seattle, WA. Through his business, Mountains To Sound GIS, he designs custom maps and provides GIS analysis and support services to state and local government, non-profit organizations and private businesses. When not mapping, you will find Matt adventuring with his family, cycling or roaming the Methow Valley.

👤Jef Wilson | Data Manager | NCSHPO Partner with the NPS Park Cultural Landscapes Program
Jef Wilson is a partner with the National Park Service’s Park Cultural Landscapes Program, providing assistance to parks across the country with cultural resource projects. He started out in libraries and archives, but now work now leans heavily into GIS, everything from landscape assessment field work to remotely mapping historic resources and managing updates to cultural resource GIS datasets.

👤Anna Ballasiotes | GIS Application Developer | WADNR
Anna is a GIS Application Developer in the IT Division at WADNR, based out of Seattle. She works at the intersection of geospatial analysis and natural resources, developing web-based tools and managing geospatial systems to address complex environmental and societal challenges and help others do the same. Anna has developed strong programming skills in Javascript, Python, and R through her work in a variety of environmental disciplines that include hydrology, stormwater infrastructure, coastal pollution, land use, nature-based solutions, and global biodiversity models. Outside of work, Anna plays the saxophone with music groups in Seattle and enjoys cooking meals for her friends and partner.