Charlie Fitzpatrick: Trails Blazed, Trails Yet to Discover
I have had the honor of working with many amazing people over the years. When I consider the trailblazers who have made a positive impact on spatial thinking through GIS technologies in education, one person who I think of is my colleague, Charlie Fitzpatrick. As Charlie departs Esri after 32 years of service in July 2024 for his own trails, I wish to acknowledge his legacy and salute you, the community whom he has influenced, for the enduring work that you all are doing.
Here I am at a geography education conference with Kylie Donia (center), and Charlie Fitzpatrick (right). I traveled with Charlie to probably more than 100 events over the years, beginning with a 1994 Colorado Geographic Alliance institute and a 1998 intensive two-week professional development GIS institute for educators at Texas State University.
I met Charlie soon after he became Manager of the Esri schools program. As one of two founding members of the Esri education team in 1992, Charlie became one of the most knowledgeable and respected people in the world in the integration of geographic technologies and spatial thinking in geography teaching and learning. Charlie holds a master's degree in geography from the University of Minnesota, was a practicing full time geography teacher in middle and high school for over 15 years before joining Esri, and served in leadership roles in the National Council for Geographic Education. Charlie really understands education—the challenges, the struggles, the rewards. He has always been ready to help, listen, and share. One of my best memories of working with Charlie was when he invited me to work for a week with him and three students at a high school in San Bernardino, preparing them to present their work to thousands of people at the Esri User Conference. Charlie didn’t just help them with their GIS projects; he got to know them and gave them confidence so that they believed in themselves. Charlie has done this thousands of times; and in so doing, inspired thousands of educators, hundreds of projects, and tens of thousands of students.
Charlie was instrumental in the committee to create the revision for the Geography for Life standards effort, and led the effort to bring geospatial technologies to the White House STEM ConnectEd initiative in 2014, which made ArcGIS tools freely available to all K-12 public, private, and home schools in the USA. He was a champion of many immersive professional development institutes for educators, from Texas State University in the 1990s to the T3G institutes from 2009-2019.
Chances are, many of you reading this have attended one of Charlie’s presentations. Charlie embodies the lifelong learner, seeking new ways of teaching and learning and always being curious. Countless students have gone into meaningful careers because of his inspiration and countless educators have had their energies and hopes renewed because of him. Charlie made learning relevant, fun, and also gave all of us permission to be a little geeky. He has been an advocate of hands-on learning experiences with animated, challenging, respectful instruction. Charlie was immersed in STEM education long before the term “STEM” even existed. He brought geo-related content knowledge, perspectives, and skills to other disciplines, and to educational policymakers.
Even more importantly, Charlie is sincere, honest, and has integrity. Charlie truly cares about the planet, and about people. Charlie’s typical statement was “it was a team effort”, but all teams need a leader, and I am thankful that I have been able to work with one of those leaders. There are not many people as well respected, and well loved, as Charlie Fitzpatrick. My sincere and heartfelt best wishes to you, Charlie, and wish you happy new trails. To the community that Charlie has influenced, my teammates are here to support you, and we salute the innovative and impactful work that you are doing and will continue doing in the future.