GIS Career Pathways: Writer
Hi Esri YPN friends! I’ll be honest—I feel like a bit of an imposter writing about my “GIS career.” My name is Kim Hartley and I am a Senior Writer for Esri’s corporate marketing team who will share with you how I came to work for Esri, what I do here, and a few of my go-to writing tips.
I had wanted to be a lot of things as a kid (an artist, a magician, President, actress, movie critic) but it was editing the high school newspaper and writing movie reviews for my local newspaper that got me hooked on newspapers. I thought it could be my ticket to different places, interesting people, and big events. In a lot of ways, it was. In that time, I got to ride in a presidential motorcade, go to the Oscars, ride in a blimp, see the Las Vegas Strip from the roof of one of its tall casinos, (very) briefly interview Mariah Carey, and—most importantly, tell people’s stories. The business owners that needed to pivot amid the pandemic. The partners who were finally able to legally marry. The people who lost people they loved. There’s an incredible amount of trust involved when someone is willing to sit down and talk to a stranger about their life.
My professional career started at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, Calif. not far from Esri’s Redlands headquarters, before I joined the Orange County Register, then the Associated Press in Las Vegas, and finally The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Virginia. Journalism can be a nomadic life. It’s also a challenging one to keep pursuing as of late. I count myself fortunate for joining each organization when I did and working with incredible journalists at each, doing what I could to soak up their knowledge like a sponge. I was able to not only do good work but given the support to make mistakes and rebound from them.
As much as who I was, was tied to being in a newsroom, I needed to see what else might be out there that could offer a bit more stability for me and my family while still working for a company I believe in.
That’s when I saw the LinkedIn posting for an Esri brand journalism position and remembered that my former editor from The Press-Enterprise worked there, as did a few others from the paper. I had visited the campus several years earlier to grab lunch with him to catch up and he seemed to have shaken off the stress of daily newsroom demands working in this urban forest of a campus in Redlands.
I was still battling imposter syndrome when I applied. In addition, I was nervous about being a writer where the writing itself wasn’t the valuable product being sold. I had never worked in marketing, had never heard the term “thought leadership,” and had a cursory understanding of what Esri’s technology did thanks mostly to the John Hopkins COVID-19 map that countless newsrooms refreshed often for the latest figures.
What I did know—and still do—is how to tell a story that I think people will want to read. The more I learned about Esri, including the value its leaders place on good writing, the more I wanted to tell its stories.
What I do at Esri
I’ve been incredibly lucky since I’ve been here to still meet and collaborate with interesting people. They have included a modern-day dinosaur fossil finder; the people working with Native Alaskans to develop nature-based solutions to climate events; the university and government leaders teaming up in Vermont to help after disasters strike; Esri Chief Scientist Dawn Wright and IBM scientist John Cohn, and many more.
One of the hallmarks of journalism is being able to learn something new every day. Thankfully, I’m still experiencing that at Esri. Like learning about how drones can be used to measure material amounts at a construction site, or how satellite imagery helps find lost civilizations, or how historical aerial photos are mapped to present day locations, or how AI helps emergency responders navigate closed roads after disasters.
I help our subject matter experts tackle stories they’re authoring for one of our print (ArcNews and ArcUser) or online publications (ArcWatch, Esri Blog, WhereNext) or third-party sites. I’ve also helped write topical ebooks and concept papers about trends in the industry and how our customers are using GIS in interesting ways.
Each week since the beginning of 2025, I’ve put together our Esri Globe email newsletter that highlights stories written by us and others, about people and organizations solving their problems with GIS technology.
I’m also grateful to work in such a supportive team environment with other writers who care about the craft, read and write for the creative thrill, cheer on their colleagues’ good work, and who have knack for making delicious office treats to share.
When I’m not writing …
I might be virtually helping fellow Esri employees in our once-a-week Writing Center or honing my own skills through training opportunities, like one offered by Pixar about creative storytelling and another from The Economist about business writing.
If it’s near Halloween, I’ll be helping my writing colleagues enter our annual pumpkin decorating contest (this year’s entry: K-Pop Geo-Hunters).
On any other day, you can probably find me in the Esri Café on campus to grab lunch. Fun fact: the only thing my Mom wanted to do for her birthday was go to the Esri Café for lunch. My kiddo also still talks about the custom cheese and mustard sandwich she was able to order from the counter. The café is closed to the public, so it’s a treat to be able to show it off to someone who doesn’t work here.
My Tips for Success
- There are no silly questions … if you don’t understand something, chances are, your reader won’t either. Never be afraid to ask for clarity from the person or organization you’re writing about.
- Stay curious … what would life be without wondering? If I’ve learned anything in life so far, it’s that we’re never done learning. That includes learning how to incorporate AI into how we live and work while staying focused on what a fellow human being may want to read.
- Just start writing … the blank white screen can be daunting. It helps to just start writing something, anything, and finesse it from there. Also, keep in mind who you’re writing for. That will help guide whatever you’re working on from start to finish.
- Think of your story as a map … you’re taking the reader on a journey from point A to point B, and you don’t want to get them lost in the woods.
You can connect with me on LinkedIn or email me at khartley@esri.com if you have any questions or want to connect.
Explore Esri Careers and also consider Esri Student Programs to get an idea of real world experience in GIS.