I’m thrilled to announce that the GIS Managers Summit is now the GIS Leadership Summit! This new name reflects the event’s expanded focus and the evolving role of GIS professionals as leaders and innovators. Along with the rebranding, there are exciting changes to the event itself—new opportunities for learning, collaboration, and networking that will make this year’s summit more valuable and inspiring than ever before. After being involved with the Esri GIS Leadership Summit for the past 15 years, I’ve seen firsthand how this event brings together the best minds in GIS. Each year has offered something new, but this year, I’m especially excited about the changes coming to the summit in San Diego on July 12, 2026. ... View more

Corporate Culture can be a brick wall that stops progress or just a boulder in the stream of work depending on how you interact with it! At this year’s GIS Manager and Leaders Summit, we had the opportunity to openly discuss the value of persisting through and adapting approaches consistent with corporate culture. Clearly GIS Managers carry a passion for geospatial awesomeness, yet it can be challenging to bring others in their organization along for the journey of expanding the value gained by GIS. I had fun exploring this opportunity for geospatial leaders to share their experiences to Thrive in the face of Adversity as they grew their Geospatial Programs within their organizations. Each successful leaders shared their experiences and had very different approaches to adapting to their corporate culture. Here are their key points shared:   Louis Hill – Director of GIS Administration for Planning and Development Services of Kenton County Adapt your approach for each team you engage to match their culture to minimize resistant mindsets and expand GIS without disrupting their flow. Build trust through earnest intentions for their team’s best outcomes Deliver consistency over intensity by following up and maintaining a schedule of touchpoints with these teams. This builds further trust through reliable outreach. Jennifer Lana – Previous GIS Manager for Cobb County Earn executive support through stakeholder growth by building a strong user community of practice. Include executives in solutions to challenges within the business. Shift your language away from technical talk to business conversations. Trisha Brush – LOJIC Director, Louisville Jefferson County Information Consortium Take the time now to build a team mindset that serves the team in later crisis. Lean on your team and trust they can deliver on crucial activities. Be intentional and model the desired behaviors you want for your team.       ... View more

from Matt Lewin – At this year’s GIS Manager’s Summit, I was fortunate to host a panel titled Enabling Innovation where we discussed how embracing innovation is crucial for GIS teams to stay relevant and impactful in their organizations. ... View more

from Andrew Sandifer –  I was honored to host an inspirational panel of GIS professionals at the 2025 GIS Manager Summit in July, on a discussion about leading without a title. ... View more

from Adam Carnow – It’s hard to believe it’s been a month since the GIS Managers Summit!   It was a day of powerful presentations, discussions, and networking – more to come later – but first, I wanted to recap the panel I was honored to host. To recap, or if you couldn’t make the summit this year, myself and three great GIS leaders got together on stage to talk about transitioning from manager to leader. ... View more