By Asenette Ruiz and Donovan Dixson
Welcome to “Esri-chella,” one of the world’s premier gatherings of GIS users and mapmakers! Held annually in July, this year the Esri User Conference brought together over 21,000 geospatial practitioners to showcase their work, share inspiring stories, and explore the future of mapping. As Esri aptly describes, “The Esri User Conference brings together thought leaders and geospatial professionals from around the globe. Discover how a holistic, location-based understanding of our world can unite people and empower positive change.”
Wherever maps are involved, you’ll find that “trubel” (pronounced “trouble”) is soon to follow. Our longstanding relationship with Esri (highlighted here) and support from the GIS community drive our annual participation in the Esri User Conference. We attend this conference for numerous reasons: to enhance our geospatial knowledge, gain new perspectives, and develop insights that will shape the future of our mapping initiatives. Additionally, Esri UC provides invaluable opportunities to network and build connections with professionals, organizations, and potential partners, some of whom are featured in this blog.
The trubel team in San Diego
This summer, five trubel&co team members went to Esri’s annual User Conference in San Diego to spark some good trubel. Curious about what we learned? Join us as our associates, Donovan Dixson and Asenette Ruiz, share their experiences and insights in this blog!
As a mostly virtual team, we came to the conference already excited to get the chance to see other trubel team members in-person, making this a great start to the conference. Being in a space where the power of GIS was amplified sparked a lot of interesting ideas within the team, from thinking through new ways to utilize Dashboards to integrating growing topics of interest, such as Artificial Intelligence, into our curriculum.
For Asenette, the highlight of the experience was meeting other members of trubel’s growing ecosystem in the world of geospatial analytics and innovation. There’s something special about finally seeing the champions and supporters we’ve been working with from all stages of trubel&co’s journey. Meeting in-person, along with forming new connections in real time, made this conference truly memorable.
For Donovan, this being his second consecutive year attending the Esri UC, he approached this year’s conference with more confidence, determination, and an energy for sparking new connections and possibilities within the world of mapping. Enjoying the opportunity to explore the conference with team members in-person, he also found his conference activities uniquely balanced with the ideation and team building experiences that he had with the trubel team. This synergy led to the development of fresher insights and deeper creativity within this work.
Building Connections
Throughout the conference, Asenette and Donovan thoroughly enjoyed connecting with several incredible people from across the GIS ecosystem who are out generating good “trubel”:
We had the pleasure of meeting Sophia Garcia, Esri’s Lead Equity and Civic Nonprofit Industry Lead. We quickly connected over trubel&co’s feature in Esri’s Equity and Social Justice Map Booklet, which highlights the Mapping Justice program, particularly its recent iteration in southwest Florida focusing on climate and environmental justice.
Another valuable connection made was with Dr. Sheila Lakshmi Steinberg, Director of the UMass Global Institute for Geospatial Education. Dr. Steinberg has been an integral member of the trubel ecosystem for months, providing invaluable support to ensure our newest cohort of Mapping Justice students in Florida receive college credit. See MJ Florida 2024 capstones here! We engaged with Dr. Steinberg on multiple occasions during the Education Summit at Esri UC, and again at the Humanitarian Community Spotlight in the conference expo hall.
At the Education Summit, Asenette and Donovan also met Joseph Kerski, influential geographer, educator, and GIS professional, easily recognizable by his snazzy neckties. As a key supporter of GIS education programs and a leader in promoting spatial thinking across sectors, Joseph’s insights and enthusiasm were appreciated.
We also met with the National Geographic team at the conference. We shared excitement for trubel&co’s upcoming geospatial justice workshop series in St. Louis, which is made possible through National Geographic’s support (…follow us on LinkedIn to stay tuned for details!)
Discovering Mapping Tools and Resources
In addition to meeting incredible people, we also encountered some really cool mapping tools, resources, and initiatives. Donovan and Asenette were particularly excited about the following:
- The Ville, St. Louis Map: With St. Louis as one of trubel&co’s target geographies and Donovan’s current home, he was excited to discover a map at the gallery focused on the Ville, a neighborhood in St. Louis. As he prepares for a series of workshops in St. Louis this fall, Donovan had the opportunity to connect with the creators behind this project.
- Colombia Environmental Justice StoryMap: Asenette is always excited to see environmental justice show up as a priority in any space. As a growing area of expertise for trubel&co, she sought out content on this topic. A project that caught her attention in particular was developed by Diana Marcela Mendoza Collazos. Diana was named Colombia’s Young Scholar by Esri and came to the UC to share about her project exploring the intersections of environmental justice, water resources, and women’s rights in the Cauca region of Colombia. This intersectional approach fascinated Asenette and they had a lovely conversation discussing this project, her motivations behind it, and how we can continue leveraging GIS for liberatory innovation.
- Heat Mapping Session: Heat is another ever growing environmental concern. Especially in July, in the middle of yet another record breaking summer heat season, it seemed fitting that heat mapping took a stage at the conference. Asenette learned more about community heat mapping efforts taking place across the US through a handful of sessions at the conference.
- Multidisciplinary Mapping Mediums: Asenette’s passion for art is no secret on the trubel team. Recently she’s even explored some new art projects utilizing mapping as a medium. This fueled her excitement running into a crocheted map at the conference. She was amazed by the many ways mapping and art can co-exist and the space this was able to have at the conference.
- Seal Mapping: On an early morning prior to heading to the conference, trubel team members headed to la Jolla to see some sea lions and seals. Much to our delight, seals also made a presence at the conference!
trubel&co’s Presence at Esri
We didn’t just observe at the Esri UC, we also showcased our own work. trubel&co’s geospatial initiatives shared the stage at Esri, where we delivered three presentations and had an area designated for trubel at the map gallery. This allowed us to showcase our work in a variety of ways.
Bringing it Back Home
After the conference, the power of collaborative storytelling stood out to us. We’re doubling down on the power of storytelling, a theme that resonated deeply throughout the Esri conference. Dawn Wright’s presentation on science communications underscored the critical role storytelling plays in amplifying the impact of geospatial insights. We were particularly inspired by the StoryMap resources we encountered, which highlighted easy steps to craft compelling stories. This emphasis on communication was also a central theme at the trubel&co retreat which took place in parallel to the conference, where we recognized that effectively sharing our geospatial insights through compelling narratives is key to ensuring that the full potential of our work with GIS is realized. We’ll continue to build on these lessons, making storytelling a cornerstone of our initiatives.
As we move forward, we’re committed to strengthening the geospatial community with a focus on justice, equity, and liberation. We want to make sure that a clear path is made so young “trubelmakers” can see themselves in these spaces and know they belong. As emphasized during the Latinx GIS Technology Users Convening “When you’re questioning why you’re [here], remember your ancestors are there with you.” We want to make sure our voices are heard, and it was inspiring to witness so many people coming together to support this cause. This year’s Esri UC fueled our hope and drive, reaffirming our belief that by collaborating with those who believe in the power of community innovation, we can craft solutions to the most pressing issues of our time.
