Esri Young Professionals Network Blog

The Esri User Conference (UC) 2026 is fast approaching. For over 11 years, YPN has been fostering community, connection, and career growth for emerging GIS leaders, and this year, we’re marking the occasion with exciting events and activities designed to help you network, learn, and celebrate.

Most maps look good. But do they actually say something? Here’s how I used a population distribution project to create maps that reveal patterns, support decisions, and communicate clearly.

GIS visualizations are an effective tool for communicating with a wide variety of populations, thanks to its scalable complexity and range of presentation outputs. The tool is especially useful for coastal communities, who are heavily impacted by climate change but can be far removed from modern climate predictions.

This blog discusses bridging the gap between coastal zone experts and their research, and coastal communities in Maryland- concepts that can be applied on a broad scale.

GIS is moving beyond mapmaking. For emerging GIS professionals, the field is becoming a way to turn location data, satellite imagery, field observations, and AI-assisted workflows into evidence that communities, planners, and organizations can use.

This article explains how the next generation of GIS professionals can connect data, people, and place to see problems earlier and support better decisions.

My name is Udit Bhatta, and I am a graduate student at Mississippi pursuing a PhD in geospatial technology. Before I enrolled in a master's degree in 2023, I was leading Nepal’s first green school initiative (Vajra Academy) as both the school principal and the director. Apart from what every school does, teach established curricula, we created our own special curriculum, Green Studies, as a completely experiential, project-based learning subject. We created opportunities for students to engage in organic farming, learn about sustainable technologies, pollution, and activities on natural resources conservation, sustainable use, repurposing, and developing energy-efficient solutions for the campus.

Discover how a journey from Ghana’s survey fields led to contributing to school safety and emergency response mapping projects in Illinois through the power of applied GIS.

Water quality research generates datasets, but spreadsheets alone rarely tell the full story. This post explores how GIS brings spatial context to environmental data, helps researchers uncover patterns across sampling sites, and builds in-demand skills for students and early-career professionals entering the GIS and environmental fields.

Hi everyone, my name is Gina and I am finishing up my M.S. GISc degree at the University of Denver in June. My thesis researched how geoAI can be used to understand wildfire-induced building loss, and I think the workflow that was developed can be helpful for emergency management professionals, urban planners, and residents in wildfire-risk zones alike. Thus, I want to share my research with you all to increase accessibility of the subject.  

When considering who to ask for a reference, consider these four things. Relevance, Recency, Relationship, and Willingness. Also think about the ask itself: how you ask, providing explanation, and giving a heads up. Finally, think about how you can build your mentor network and nurture it, perhaps even giving back to your mentors over time.

My name is Christopher Mayes and I am an emerging GIS young professional who has just started His geospatial journey at Esri as a Support Analyst.

You may notice this blog is not directly tied to GIS. While the content itself is not directly related to GIS, I do believe it is incredibly important to remember and reflect on the sacrifices made by our service men and women and their families, as the outcomes of this reflection can extend into other areas of our lives and positively impact not only ourselves but those around us as well. I truly believe the impact of this reflection allows us to appreciate what others have done for us, as well as what we can do for others. It can also serve as a reminder of the impact our work has on a local and/or global scale, and can help us remember that we have been given this opportunity to bring our best selves to the work we love to do each and every day. This can have a profound effect on our communities and those we serve.