Name: Driving GIS Success: Leadership, Governance, and Project Management in a Changing Workplace
Start: 2026-10-13T14:00:00-0500
End: 2026-10-13T15:30:00-0500

Welcome to GIS-Pro 2026 in Milwaukee! The Geospatial Professional Network is thrilled to partner with the Wisconsin Land Information Association for this event. This is where you will find the comprehensive program agenda, speaker profiles, and sponsor directory. Registration and additional conference information are located here.

Driving GIS Success: Leadership, Governance, and Project Management in a Changing Workplace

Tuesday October 13, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm CDT

Wright A, 4th Floor

This session focuses on leadership best practices and strategies that have proven success in scaling and delivering GIS across organizations. In this modern age of hybrid and remote work, it is more important than ever to build strong relationships and operate with best practices such as those from the Project Management Institute (PMI) so that work and teams align to organizational priorities, achieve goals on time and budget, and garner executive support. Building trust, maintaining accountability, supporting staff development, and using governance, standards, and technology are all essential to sustaining GIS program consistency and reducing burnout.

Keywords: leadership, management, project management, executive, team building

Leading GIS Teams in a Remote World
Christian Hartnett, MSc, MBA, GISP Adjunct Professor of GIS/Vice President Practice Technology, SWCA Environmental Consultants, Austin, TX – USA

Driving GIS Success: Leveraging Executive Engagement, Governance, and KPIs
Curtis Pulford, Enterprise GIS Manager, City of Phoenix, New River, AZ – USA

Applying Project Management Principles to Geospatial Projects and Programs
Ashley Hitt, GISP, PMP, COO, Cultivate Geospatial Solutions, Indianapolis, IN - USA

Eight Ways to Identify Opportunities for GIS in Public Works
Adam Carnow, AICP, GISP, Public Works Industry Specialist, Esri, Charlotte, NC - USA

Speakers

Christian Hartnett, MSc, MBA, GISP

Vice President Practice Technology, SWCA Environmental Consultants

Christian T. Hartnett is the Director of Practice Technology at SWCA Environmental Consultants. He began working with GIS during his undergraduate studies in archaeology at the University of Texas at Austin. He went on to earn a Master's of Science in GIS and Spatial Analysis in Archaeology... Read More →

Curtis Pulford

Enterprise GIS Manager, City of Phoenix

Curtis is the Enterprise GIS Manager for City of Phoenix, the fifth-most populous city in the United States. It is also the state capital and largest city in the state at 517.9 square miles. Our metropolitan area is the 11th largest by population in the United States, with approximately... Read More →

Ashley Hitt, GISP, PMP

COO, Cultivate Geospatial Solutions LLC

Ashley Hitt helps government agencies and private firms execute successful GIS/geospatial projects and software development using PMI (Project Management Institute) principles to manage scope, schedule, and budget. She takes advantage of over 20 years of GIS experience to inform her... Read More →

Adam Carnow, AICP, GISP

Public Works Industry Specialist, Esri

Adam Carnow is the Public Works Industry Marketing Specialist at Esri. He is a keynote speaker and thought leader. He collaborates with his colleagues, Esri Partners, customers, and the public works community to lead the successful application of GIS across the public works disciplines... Read More →

Tuesday October 13, 2026 2:00pm - 3:30pm CDT
Wright A, 4th Floor

The GIS Profession

GIS-Pro 2026

Christian Hartnett, MSc, MBA, GISP

Curtis Pulford

Ashley Hitt, GISP, PMP

Adam Carnow, AICP, GISP

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