GIS Leadership Summit 2026 – Session Resources & Further Learning

[StevenAustin]

GIS Leadership Summit 2026

Session Resources & Further Learning

The 2026 Esri GIS Leadership Summit brought together GIS leaders, executives, IT professionals, and innovators to share practical lessons for strengthening geospatial programs and increasing organizational impact. This resource guide is organized by the four segments of the day so attendees can continue exploring the tools, examples, and ideas discussed in each session.

Setting the Vision Opening inspiration, summit orientation, and the leadership mindset for the day.

StevenAustin_10-1783831133773.jpeg

Opening Keynote: Vision for Leadership & Innovation
Session team	Christie Pleiss, John Lenahan, Mara Stoica, Adam Carnow
Resources / links	GIS Leadership Group on Esri Community  Geospatial Program Self-Assessment Toolset AI assessment questions (attached)

Being a Geospatial Leader Practical habits, patterns, and approaches for leading GIS programs through constraints and growth.

SEGMENT 1

Leading the Way with GIS	StevenAustin_11-1783831133774.jpeg
Session team	Alex Harper, Adam Carnow
Resources / links	How to Lead with GIS — Article by Alex Harper

Ensuring Value to Your Stakeholders	StevenAustin_12-1783831133774.jpeg
Session team	Stevo Robinson, Nathan Heazlewood
Resources / links	Auckland Council Benefits Report

Leading with Limitations and Making Big Impacts	StevenAustin_13-1783831133774.jpeg
Session team	Trich Maupin, Corey Unger, Tabetha Perrault
Resources / links	ArcGIS Dashboards  ArcGIS StoryMaps  ArcGIS Survey123

Engaging Stakeholders and Growing Influence Building partnerships with IT, strengthening governance, and connecting GIS to enterprise priorities.

SEGMENT 3

Successful GIS Management Patterns: Interviews with Leaders	StevenAustin_14-1783831133774.jpeg
Session team	Izabela Miller, Scott Oppmann
Resources / links	The Science of GIS Leadership book Other Resources and Contact Information

Bridging the Gap Between GIS and IT	StevenAustin_15-1783831133775.jpeg
Session team	Tim Haynes, Anthony Powell, Michael Green
Resources / links	Coming Soon

Governance: A Journey,   Not a Destination	StevenAustin_16-1783831133775.jpeg
Session team	William (Billie) Ferguson, Kirk Wythers, Cy Smith, Deepti Kochhar
Resources / links	Coming Soon

Buy-In, Advocacy, and Business Value Executive decision-making, digital transformation, and communicating GIS value using practical tools.

SEGMENT 4

What Matters Most to Decision-Makers	StevenAustin_17-1783831133775.jpeg
Session team	Bryan Chandler, Marilyn Howe, Kyle Swanson, Megan Stanley, Dena Cross
Resources / links	Coming Soon

Leading Decision-Makers Through a Digital Leap	StevenAustin_18-1783831133776.jpeg
Session team	Nathan Heazlewood, Lorin Lima
Resources / links	Digital transformation leadership story — Session resource not found; add final link from moderator or speaker. Executive buy-in / advocacy resource — Suggested placeholder for supporting resource.

Communicating ROI with the Tools You Already Have	StevenAustin_19-1783831133776.jpeg
Session team	Wade Kloos, Eric Shreve, Hamid Yunus
Resources / links	ArcGIS StoryMaps for value communication ArcGIS Dashboards for value reporting Spreadsheet-based ROI tracking template

The GIS Leadership Summit is only the beginning of the conversation. Continue connecting with peers, presenters, and the GIS Leadership community to share examples, ask questions, and turn summit insights into action within your organization.

[Guinevere]

I found the following error in the article above:

• Setting the Vision
  • Link to GIS Leadership Group takes you to Esri Community, not to the Leadership group.
  • Here is the link: https://community.esri.com/t5/gis-leadership-user-group/gh-p/gis-managers-group 
• The link for the ROI template is broken, unless it is working for someone else.

[Mark_Hébert]

Didn't make it to SD this year, and very glad to see the timely post from Sunday's consequential session. Thank you Steve for the posting!

[WilliamTarpai]

Amazing, and very timely.   Keep up your good works @StevenAustin    As Professor Dangermond noted in opening of the ESRI UC - "...

Today GIS is promising to expand our abilities to reason together.  Collective knowledge being used as a tool.  Geography and spatial thinking are building blocks to help us organize and integrate.  GIS is helping us to create a more intelligent world."