I am so excited to announce that we are kicking off our 2025 Esri Equity & Social Justice Seminar Seminar Series on May 8th in Olympia, Washington! We have a packed agenda featuring local equity GIS practitioners and thought leaders, as well members of our Esri Equity Team.
Over the past two years, I have met with hundreds of organizations who are utilizing GIS to promote the work of equity in their communities. One of the common themes throughout my conversations has been how organizations are defining equity with GIS in order to identify gaps in service and prioritize communities that need resources the most. This seminar series provides a unique opportunity to bring together folks from this community to learn best practices, lessons learned, as well as get updates on the latest Esri tools and solutions. There will also be a networking social right after the seminar, where you can connect with other like-minded equity leaders.
Registration is now open for this complimentary one-day seminar, however space is limited. You can secure your spot today, by filling out the registration form.
Agenda at a Glance
We will begin the day with an introduction from Esri’s Northwest Regional Manager, Matthieu Denuelle. I will then present lessons learned from my research over the past two years, including highlights from users paving the way in equity and GIS work such as the City of Tacoma, the City of Tucson and LA County.
The Northwest region is home to incredible GIS users who are leading the effort to prioritize equity in their GIS workflows. The City of Tacoma will share their work on the Tacoma Equity Index Map and how it is used to, “help make equitable decisions regarding asset management, budget proposals, new policies, department goals, and racial equity action plans for the city’s 18 lines of business.”
A Visionary CTO Leaves a Legacy of Collaboration, Equity in Tacoma, Washington.
King County staff will also be presenting at the seminar. Stephen Heard, Interim Chief Information Officer, and Tamara Davis, Chief Technology Officer, recently spoke at the Esri CIO Summit on King County’s work using an enterprise GIS approach. King County has also received Esri’s Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) Award for their work in advancing equity in their county using GIS.
Caitlyn McNabb, Director for Innovation and Performance, and Anisha Govindankutty, Statewide Spatial Equity Analyst, from the State of Washington Governor’s Office of Equity, will also be presenting. They will be sharing the work that their office is doing to make data accessible and transparent at the state level.
In addition to these inspiring user presentations, Esri staff will share the latest community engagement tools and discuss how nonprofits can utilize GIS for advocacy. We will close the day out with a presentation from our Geo Equity Professional Services team on how they can help you get started with your critical equity work.
The intersection of equity and GIS is crucial to empower organizations to prioritize the needs of disadvantaged communities. Please join us in person at our Olympia office to learn more about how GIS tools and solutions can help you build an effective equity strategic plan.
Register today to secure your spot as space is limited.
