Judging is currently underway for the 2024 GISCO Mapping Contest! We have some exceptional entries this time – check them out on the Mapping Contest Entries page. The winners will be announced at the Elevations Geospatial Summit in Saratoga, Wyoming on May 9.
We want to extend a big thank you to our judges – we truly appreciate you! Each judge was asked “what is a work of cartography, application of GIS, or similar that has influenced your GIS career?” Read on to see their answers and learn a little more about each of them.
Sarah Schlosser, GISP, Associate Teaching Professor, University of Colorado Boulder
For over 6 years I have been sharing my love of maps and GIS with students at CU-Boulder. Prior to that, I spent more than a decade working as an environmental scientist focused on wetland ecology in the Southeast, Midwest, and Pacific Northwest.
What is a work of cartography, application of GIS, or similar that has influenced your GIS career?
“While completing my undergraduate studies I was an intern for a county in Florida where I was tasked with mapping endangered species habitats and wetland restoration efforts. This experience not only reinforced my love for GIS and cartography, but also directed my career towards environmental science where I used GIS and maps daily.” https://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/blog/watermatters-magazine/11/joint-effort-restores-slough-sarasota-county
Seth Frame, GIS Supervisor/Analyst, Tyler Technologies
Raised in the Middle West, Seth Frame has over a decade of experience in GIS; most of that time has been spent in cultural resource management. In a previous life, he performed GIS services for archaeological companies in the intermountain West, he now lives in upstate New York where he is employed as a GIS Supervisor/Analyst for a software development company. Seth has a Bachelor of Arts degree in anthropology from Colorado State University and is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Cartography and Web Mapping Masters program.
What is a work of cartography, application of GIS, or similar that has influenced your GIS career?
“Growing up, I always loved looking at the atlas when on road trips. I would follow our route and keep the driver updated on where we were. I think that really got me started with my love of maps and the transfer of information through them.”
Mary Lackner, GISP, PMP, GIS and Technology Manager, Pitkin County, Colorado
Mary Lackner has over two decades of experience in mapping and GIS, most of that time has been in local and county government. She lives in the Central Colorado Rockies where the terrain provides inspiration, recreational opportunities, and is currently employed as the GIS Manager for Pitkin County. Mary has a Bachelor of Arts degree in resource planning from the University of Hawai’i, Manoa and is a graduate of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) in urban planning.
What is a work of cartography, application of GIS, or similar that has influenced your GIS career?
“I started working with command line ArcInfo in 1995 and the maps we created were rudimentary colored shapes that represented points, lines and polygons. They were rough and took patience and effort to create. At this same time, Jeffrey Nighbert, a BLM cartographer in Oregon, was creating absolutely amazing maps and one of his maps was featured on the cover of Vol 11 (1996). This map was “revolutionary” as it was a natural colored shaded relief map of the Pacific Northwest. What I found truly inspiring was his map illustrated that a capable, creative and dedicated user of GIS was able to produce a work of art from the computer and geographic data. This insight has kept me interested and excited in the field ever since!”
Heidi Ragsdale, M.A.Ed, STEM and GIS Educator Professional Development Trainer at Grand Junction MakerSpace
With 20 years in public education, I have worked to blend STEM and GIS technologies, to support professional development for Earth-centered problem based learning. I enjoy GeoArt, all things geography, Astronomy, Environmental advocacy and outreach.
What is a work of cartography, application of GIS, or similar that has influenced your GIS career?
“The extreme growth and popularity of ESRI StoryMaps has become a direct link to connect with all levels of learners in classrooms across the world. I look forward to seeing how these powerful tools will continue to support a geo-literate population and better future for all life on Earth! Colorado River Drought StoryMap
Dave Vaillancourt, Sr. Solution Engineer, Esri
David has always been drawn to maps and cartography, likely cultivated as a child pouring over national geographic maps and thumbing through atlases for hours at a time. David has worked at esri for 19 years, supporting state and local governments in the southwestern states with the technology they use to make, use, and share maps and data visualizations..
What is a work of cartography, application of GIS, or similar that has influenced your GIS career?’
“This would have to be the 1968 national geographic maps of the ocean floor…. Amazing how they combined maps and geography with just incredible art and landscape visualization. I was immediately drawn to the detail and patterns of the ocean floor.” https://www.natgeomaps.com/hm-1968-atlantic-ocean-floor
Nicole Wagner – Lecturer of Geography and GIS, Fort Lewis College
I have been teaching GIS for about 8 years now with those years split between Temple University, Swarthmore College, West Chester University, and Fort Lewis College. Before switching to higher education, I worked for the Planning Commission of Philadelphia as their Application Developer, Database Administrator, and GIS Analyst. It was at the planning commission where I was a group recipient of the APA National Planning Excellence Award for a Planning Agency and the ESRI Special Achievement in GIS (SAG) award in the same year.
What is a work of cartography, application of GIS, or similar that has influenced your GIS career?
“I was first introduced to GIS during graduate school where I was pursuing a degree in Geography. During class, my professor showed us the first video in the series known as the Geospatial Revolution, produced by Penn State University. In the video, the Ushahidi project was highlighted, and I was hooked after learning the power of GIS and how it could instantly help and save lives.”
https://youtu.be/poMGRbfgp38?si=Uw5lpBB3pEKzzpEj
Best of luck to all our participants!
GISCO Mapping Contest Committee
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