Jenna Leveille, vice president of state and local government for The Sanborn Map Company, describes her career in GIS as a happy accident.
“My degree is in zoology, but my goal was to go into conservation,” Leveille said. “I wanted to save the world and at that time, GIS wasn’t mainstream—there weren’t courses for it. But I got an internship at a place called the Conservation Biology Institute, and all their analysis and research were done using GIS. They were at the forefront of the technology.”
The connection between spatial relationships and decision-making has just made sense to Leveille since then.
“I fell in love with the technology and what it could do,” she said.
Managing Arizona’s Land Trust
Until recently, Leveille worked for the Arizona State Land Department. She spent more than 18 years with the department, first as a GIS analyst and then as deputy state cartographer, providing GIS coordination and support for land-management decisions made by the state in the service of Arizona residents.
After college, Leveille said, “I got a job with Arizona State Land—in part because I could map very accurately…and the department really needed that to manage the state’s trust lands.”
Because there was so much available land as the United States expanded westward in the 1800s, the federal government granted “trust lands” to Western states—specific tracts of land that were set aside to benefit each state’s residents. The Arizona-New Mexico Enabling Act of 1910 authorized Arizona land parcels of about 10.9 million acres (about 44,100 square kilometers) to be held in trust for the benefit of K–12 schools and other public services.
Arizona’s State Land Department makes sure that this land resource—on the surface and belowground—is managed for the best use in all cases, while providing funds for Arizona’s schools and other purposes.
“That’s a pretty delicate balance to achieve,” Leveille said. “So in the metro area of Phoenix, the department strategically sold off lands at the best value it could get, while in parts of rural Arizona the best use is agriculture and grazing leases. In some cases, the land is considered multiuse, so the best uses could include mining or solar farms on ranch land. The department is also concerned with equity around the state, including for things like paved roads, broadband access, and cellular coverage in underserved areas.”
Today, the department manages about 9.3 million acres (more than 37,600 square kilometers) of land—which is around 13 percent of Arizona’s total surface landownership. To support this effort, the department collects and consolidates GIS data from across the state.
“There were visionary people—lawmakers as well as people that came before me at the department—who were early adopters of GIS. They saw the power early on of where having GIS data will make a difference,” Leveille said, noting how reliable GIS data helps manage land for issues related to water, roads, addresses, parcels, wildfires, landslides, and more.
Coordinating Statewide Collaboration
During her time as deputy state cartographer, Leveille also led the Arizona Geographic Information Council (AGIC), a group of federal, state, local, tribal, and private organization representatives who advise the Arizona State Land Department on how best to coordinate GIS data and make it widely accessible.
Filling these two roles helped Leveille guide the development of what she considers the greatest legacy of her time with the department and AGIC: the department-hosted and AGIC-sponsored AZGeo Data Hub, which provides Arizona GIS data online. Built with ArcGIS Hub, the AZGeo Data Hub gives visitors access to online map services, metadata, geospatial data, and apps that are used by municipal, regional, state, and tribal governments; private companies; and the public.
“We revamped our state GIS data clearinghouse and made it more accessible to the public,” Leveille said. “This allows our lawmakers and our leaders—whether they have knowledge of GIS specifically or not—to make good, data-driven decisions to support our communities.”
Leveille is also proud of the mentorship program developed by AGIC during her time at the organization. “The program, which supports professional development for Arizona geospatial [technology] professionals, is now in its third year, and all of the graduates are invested in AGIC and are part of Arizona’s GIS community,” she said.
Influencing GIS Decisions Around the Country
Leveille’s work with AGIC led to her participating in a national organization called the National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC). Leveille represented Arizona at the organization and also served as its president from 2021 to 2022.
A national network for geospatial leaders, NSGIC provides a platform for cross-state GIS collaboration. The council also develops and promotes sound policies for geospatial activities at the state level. For example, every other year NSGIC conducts a maturity assessment of states’ geospatial technology initiatives, capabilities, and issues, providing each state with a report card to identify areas of strength and opportunities for improvement.
“After I started representing Arizona at NSGIC, I wanted to be part of the board and the organization,” Leveille said. “That led to me being elected president. NSGIC helped me to build up the AGIC program in Arizona. My time as NSGIC president was the most meaningful time of my career so far.”
While Leveille was NSGIC president, the organization developed a nonprofit called the National Geospatial Collaborative, or NGC. Launched in 2023, NGC advances the understanding, use, and integration of GIS and associated emerging technologies by supporting geospatial professionals, organizations, and initiatives via collaborative research, education, knowledge-sharing, and strategic partnerships. Leveille serves on the organization’s board.
“Our vision statement is to boldly pursue a more effective geospatial ecosystem,” she said.
A New Chapter at Sanborn
In May 2024, Leveille began working for Sanborn, an Esri partner, as vice president of state and local government. The position builds on her past work with the Arizona State Land Department, AGIC, and NSGIC.
Founded as a fire insurance mapping company in 1866, Sanborn has evolved into a modern, full-suite geospatial technology services provider. Its fleet of planes, equipped with lidar, imagery, and geophysical sensor systems, collects data across the United States and beyond. Sanborn also provides strategic planning, GIS and IT consulting, data processing, spatial analysis, custom app development, and managed services.
With this vast expertise, Sanborn helps clients build robust geospatial solutions and programs in sectors such as transportation, resource management, broadband, public works, mineral exploration, assessment and planning, and disaster response. Through its long-standing relationship with Esri, Sanborn helps clients benefit from the full Esri product suite.
“It’s no longer enough for a company to simply deliver data and products,” Leveille said. “The company needs to understand how geospatial assets are used and contribute to more effective and efficient government through better decision-making.”
Regarding her new role, Leveille said, “I’m in a unique position to help Sanborn deepen state and local governments’ understanding of why GIS is important. I’m excited to leverage the company’s resources to serve the state and local market in a really meaningful way.”
The company also aligns with Leveille’s personal values.
“Sanborn believes in relationships, transparency, working together, giving time for learning, and supporting government entities’ growth,” Leveille said. “That’s why the company is investing in me to support state and local governments’ GIS efforts.”
For Leveille, the success of these GIS efforts often comes down to collaboration.
“In Arizona and in AGIC, we talked about ‘Arizona and the GIS world’ as a geospatial ecosystem,” Leveille said. “I love that concept because it really implies all the pieces that are dependent on each other. We’re only successful because we’re a community of collaborators with diversity of ideas. We all count, and it all makes a difference.”
