The 2026 Education Summit brought together a distinguished cohort of educators, administrators, and GIS professionals who leverage geospatial best practices to enhance organizational efficiency, elevate student learning, and improve the delivery of information and services to the communities they serve.
This is my first year on the Education team, as the Senior Industry Marketing Manager for K12, and what I found was an inspiring and dynamic group of attendees who passionately embrace their mission. It feels less like a profession and more like a life mission. Please allow me to share my experience starting with the Ed Summit and then following to the User Conference.
Kicking off the event on the grand stage were a dynamic group of esteemed guest speakers, two student speakers, and a mix of our own Esri Education team, including Angela Lee, Director of Education Solutions. In the audience were more than 300 attendees.
Some highlights from the plenary include a presentation by Dr. David A. Padgett, Director of the Geographic Information Sciences Laboratory at Tennessee State University, as he recounted the students he has mentored throughout his career in using GIS and who went on to embark on outstanding careers. It was moving to see the pride he had in his students.
Dr. David A. Padgett
It was incredible to hear from our student speakers, including Ona Santisteban of Sorbonne University, who shared her presentation, Crossing Nets – A Loggerhead Turtle's Journey Through Bycatch in Catalonia, and Jooyoung Yoo, from the University of Southern California, who also won the Esri Innovation Program Student of the Year (2026), and presented Democratizing Nationwide Urban Tree Canopy Mapping. Read more about Jooyoung's research in the Esri Community blog by Geri Miller: 2026 Esri Innovation Program Students of the Year.
Ona Santisteban
Jooyoung Yoo
After the plenary, we headed over to the hosted lunch for a chance to network with one another and meet new members of the community.
The rest of the day, and the next, were replete with lightning talks from users, technical workshops, hands-on learning labs, a welcome reception on the first night, and a social on the second evening.
I had the opportunity and privilege of moderating multiple user presentations, and I found myself impressed with the expertise of our users, who have taken geospatial technology and used it to fulfill its intended purpose: to serve. In many cases, that means serving communities, educational institutions, and promoting student success.
One example is the standout presentation below, Empowering Communities Through Data: GIS and the Future of Safe Drinking Water, by Monica Hughes of the City of Mount Vernon in New York, who used her position to help lead the effort to ensure her constituents had access to the safest standards of drinking water through GIS. She had a small team of four interns and after working on her team, they were certified to use GIS, became GIS evangelists, and went out into the community to educate residents about something many simply take for granted: clean and safe drinking water.
Monica Hughes
We had speakers from Yale University, Bethany Seeger and Miriam Olivares, who presented, Breaking Bottlenecks: Spatializing Yale Research with a 24/7 Location Service. They walked the audience through the process of launching their project, sharing metrics, best practices, and lessons learned.
Bethany Seeger 
Miriam Olivares
We had a treat hearing from Kelly Gragg, of the University of Otago School of Surveying, as he shared how he teaches university and tribal students to explore GIS in New Zealand, some of whom had been introduced to Excel for the first time through his lessons, in his presentation, Exploring GIS in the New Zealand Bachelor of Surveying (BSURV) curriculum.
Kelly Gragg
There are simply too many presenters to feature them all here, but these examples should give a flavor of the standout presentations from our incredible cast of customers who raised their hands to present.
Here is a snapshot of me proudly moderating a session, Cultivating Spatial Thinking Skills in K-12 Learners.
Me presenting
We all owe deep gratitude to our partners at the National Geographic Society, for their presence at the Education Summit.
National Geographic Society Team
We closed the Education Summit with a lively social held on the Marina Terrace of the Marriott Marquis. With delicious appetizers, a charcuterie spread, wine, beer, and root beer floats, all set to music, what’s not to enjoy? It was the perfect way to close out the two-day Education Summit with camaraderie and enthusiasm as we prepared to kick off the User Conference!
Education Social
Snapshot of my UC experience on the Education Team
There's no time to rest after the Education Summit, because the very next day kicks off UC week. In my first year on the Education team, I thoroughly enjoyed the full experience, including the opportunity to demonstrate the National Geographic MapMaker app on the expo floor, moderate sessions, and share the many resources we offer to support K–12 education. Here are a few quick highlights from my UC week.
Let's start with my role in moderating user presentation sessions in the Education track. Here is one presentation, Deploying ArcGIS Indoors for Improved Space Management and Awareness, with Tripp Corbin of Cultivate Geospatial Solutions and Katie Chiu of the California Institute of Technology, who shared their collaboration in deploying ArcGIS Enterprise with Indoors to help manage Caltech's campus of more than 150 buildings and spaces.
Tripp Corbin and Katie Chiu
Here is a quick snapshot of me in the Map Gallery before the crowd entered the much anticipated Map Gallery Reception.
me near the esri sign 
I quickly made my way out of the Map Gallery and into the Academic GIS Fair where representatives of colleges and universities shared and discussed their academic GIS programs and educational offerings. It was abuzz with interest and conversation. 
Academic GIS Fair
Home base for me at the UC was on the expo floor in the GIS for Good space. Here, the team met with teachers, parents, Cub Scout leaders, government leaders, NGO representatives, and more, all eager to explore Esri resources for K–12 students and young adults and learn how to introduce geospatial education into their organizations and classrooms. It was a rewarding experience to share the wide range of free lessons aligned with educational core requirements, along with skill-building resources designed to help students and teachers bring GIS into their classrooms. We also showcased tools that meet learners where they are, whether they're just beginning their GIS journey or are ready to tackle more advanced projects where GIS becomes an essential part of achieving their goals. My colleague, Jason Sawle, and I discussed how fun and easy it is to demonstrate applications like National Geographic MapMaker because they are intuitive, engaging, and provide immediate value in the classroom.
Below, Jason speaks with an engaged UC attendee at the K–12 kiosk in the GIS for Good expo area, demonstrating how Esri education resources can support classroom goals.
Jason Sawle with a customer
All in all, the view from the Education team at UC was, in one word, purposeful. Our users simply want to serve the community, educate the next generation and help them succeed, and they use GIS to do it. I am excited to participate as a member of the team and continue to support our customers’ goals throughout the year.
Please see the slideshow below.
All these reflections are based on my personal experience and vantage point. I am aware that my experience does not capture the breadth of the full Education Summit or UC Education track.
Please follow us on X @GISEd and Facebook @schoolGIS. You can follow me on LinkedIn.
Find more information about National Geographic MapMaker and our Schools Program.
Email me at sarah_powell@esri.com with any questions or comments.
Thank you, and stay tuned for updates from the Education Team throughout the year!
Best regards,
Sarah Powell
