GIS-Pro 2026

Discover how organizations are leveraging geospatial technology to transform data into meaningful insights, stronger community engagement, and more informed decision-making. This session brings together four diverse presentations that showcase innovative applications of GIS from collaborative planning and public storytelling to high-resolution land cover mapping, economic impact analysis, and statewide imagery production. Presenters will demonstrate how modern geospatial tools are helping practitioners communicate project outcomes, support infrastructure investments, improve environmental management, and deliver authoritative datasets that serve communities across multiple scales. Whether you're interested in web GIS, remote sensing, spatial analysis, or public engagement, you'll leave with practical ideas, transferable workflows, and fresh inspiration for using GIS to create measurable impact in your own work.
Keywords: land use land over, conservation, geospatial data support, GIS platforms, resource management, orthoimagery

From Data to Dollars: Accessing and Applying the Nation’s First Public Trail Economic Impact Model
Steve Bert, MA, AICP, Program Manager, Economic & Policy Assessment, Institute for Transportation Research and Education (ITRE), Raleigh, NC – USA

NOAA’s New High-Resolution Coastal Land Cover
Lara O'Brien, Great Lakes Regional Geospatial Analyst, NOAA Office for Coastal Management, Chaska, MN – USA

Leveraging ArcGIS Hub Sites for Collaborative Conservation Work on National Forests
Christina Sabochick, Geospatial Analyst, National Forest Foundation, Arlington, VA - USA

Wisconsin in High Definition: A Visual Tour Through the New WROC Statewide Orthoimagery Dataset
Zach Nienow, Aerial Mapping Manager, Ayres Associates, Madison, WI - USA

This session explores how GIS can be transformed into a powerful tool for local decision-making and emergency response. By examining real-world examples such as conservation suitability tools, municipal data portals, and mobile-compatible flood mapping applications the session demonstrates how complex spatial data can be simplified into intuitive tools that improve transparency, sustainability, and situational awareness. Attendees will learn how these user-friendly applications not only support day-to-day operations but also build long-term community resilience and enhance coordination during critical events.

Keywords: Local government, stakeholder engagement, conservation, interactive applications, decision-making, community resilience, emergency management

Informed Decision Making: Tree Canopy and Dashboards
Kassandra Hernandez-Galvan, Asset Management Analyst, City of Warrenville, Warrenville, IL – USA
Tripp Corbin, MCP, GISP, Senior GIS Professional, Consultant, and Instructor, Cultivate Geospatial Solutions LLC, Dacula, GA - USA

Creating an Interactive Conservation Scorecard Application
Madeline Tripp, GIS & Public Engagement Specialist, VIEWSHED, Portland, ME - USA

Rapid GIS Deployment for Flood Situational Awareness: A Saint John Case Study
Yves Leger, M.Sc., GISP, GIS Manager, City of Saint John, Saint John, NB - Canada