2026 WA GIS Conference: Full Schedule

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10:30am PDT

Using risk & condition to develop asset management strategy

Wednesday May 20, 2026 10:30am - 11:00am PDT

Providing safe, sustainable water, wastewater and stormwater solutions is a critical priority for community leaders, utility managers and a reasonable expectation of citizens. Many utilities rely solely on age based deterioration to forecast asset condition and replacement strategies. This session will discuss best business practices for incorporating risk and physical condition into your asset maintenance strategy. Risk is defined as Probability of Failure and Criticality of Failure. Maintenance workers can score their assets based on these risk factors to better understand potential impact to services provided. Furthermore, adding condition assessment based on physical deterioration of assets helps prioritize where the maintenance dollars should be spent.

Speakers

Raymond Chow

Regional Sales Manager, Trimble

Raymond has been with Trimble for 2 years in his role as Regional Sales Manager working with Local Government agencies across the Pacific Northwest. Raymond has been focusing has been helping local governments agencies understand Asset Lifecycle through the Trimble Unity Suite software... Read More →

Wednesday May 20, 2026 10:30am - 11:00am PDT
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Sponsor, Trimble

11:00am PDT

Happy Citizens and Empowered Agencies Using GIS Permitting Technology

Wednesday May 20, 2026 11:00am - 11:30am PDT

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For public agencies, applying for permits, licensing and rights-of-way often results in long lines, overloaded phone systems and frustrated citizens. Incomplete application data causes repeated follow-ups, and chasing information. Agencies can make better decisions, streamline payments, and make the overall process easier for their citizens. In this session, you’ll learn how Trimble Unity Permit, powered by Cityworks PLL, leverages GIS and accelerates better community development, land use, and public infrastructure.

Speakers

Brett Ruoti

Director of Sales - West, Trimble

Brett has been with Trimble/Cityworks since 2016 in his role as Director or Sales for the Local Government across the United States. His primary focus has been helping local governments achieve greater coordination, accountability and efficiency through implementing Cityworks as the... Read More →

Wednesday May 20, 2026 11:00am - 11:30am PDT
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Sponsor, Trimble

11:30am PDT

Modernizing Valuation: Leveraging GIS to Improve Assessment

Wednesday May 20, 2026 11:30am - 12:00pm PDT

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Explore how Assessors are using GIS to enhance valuation accuracy, uncover inequities, and improve efficiency across the assessment process. Learn how configurable maps and data-driven workflows support the analysis of sales, help assess the impact of special assessments, and provide deeper insight into neighborhood trends. See how tracking parcel history over time adds critical context for valuation decisions and supports transparency. Discover how these capabilities come together as part of a broader strategy to modernize land records management and streamline assessment operations.

Speakers

Kyle Wikstrom

Solutions Director, Pro-West & Associates

Kyle Wikstrom is a GIS Solutions Director with over a decade of experience leading teams in the design and delivery of scalable GIS solutions. He focuses on solution strategy, organizational alignment, and helping leaders understand how GIS can drive long-term value across their... Read More →

Wednesday May 20, 2026 11:30am - 12:00pm PDT
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Sponsor, Pro-West

1:30pm PDT

Using GIS to Understand Tribal Treaty Rights

Wednesday May 20, 2026 1:30pm - 2:30pm PDT

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The Tulalip Tribes were signatories of the Treaty of Point Elliot, 1955. This treaty established the Tulalip Tribes Reservation as well and provided for access to treaty reserved resources, including "hunting and gathering roots and berries on open and unclaimed lands". It further reserved "[t]he right of taking fish at usual and accustomed grounds and stations". Interpreting these words onto maps is one of the primary requests I receive from outside organizations and proves to be one of the most challenging components of my job. In this session, I will explain a few ways I have worked through these challenges and how non-tribal GIS professionals can better support tribes, treaties, and tribal treaty rights.

Speakers

Michelle Totman

Environmental Data Coordinator, The Tulalip Tribes

Michelle Totman has been working for the Tulalip Tribes Natural Resources Department for over a decade. In this time, she has had the honor of working with tribal members, Natural and Cultural Resources staff, and legal advisors to develop maps that help others understand the complexities... Read More →

Wednesday May 20, 2026 1:30pm - 2:30pm PDT
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Explorations in GIS, Advocacy

3:00pm PDT

Building Statewide GIS Career Pathways to Agriculture and Natural Resources

Wednesday May 20, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm PDT

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Agriculture and natural resource (ANR) jobs are expected to increase in Washington, yet employers struggle to find applicants with the skills needed to succeed in this industry. Our presentation will describe how PEI works with employers, K-12 and post-secondary education, and tribes to use GIS to build ANR Career and Technical Education (CTE) pathways that address employer-identified barriers to recruitment and retention. 92% of CTE program participants graduate from high school, vs. 86% of all students; students who focus on ANR CTE pathways are more likely to earn a postsecondary credential; and students who complete more than one ANR CTE course earn higher wages after high school.

GIS skills are transferrable across jobs in forest management, restoration ecology, education, aquaculture and fisheries, urban and community forestry, and water resource management. Working with Joanne Pearson (WaTECH) and Washington’s Employment Security Department, we’ve identified 66 Standard Occupational Classification codes that relate to GIS and ANR jobs. ANR career pathways provide opportunities for the future workforce to gain meaningful employment in rural and urban communities, and ANR job skills transfer across all industry sectors, further increasing the value of this field to our state economy.

A Riverview School District teacher will share his experiences using GIS in a hands-on ANR CTE program that offers entry level job skills, participation stipend, and a statewide industry recognized credential. Our GIS StoryMap shows the impact and growth of the summer programs.

Our session will gather feedback from GIS employers and provide ways to be involved in developing the new statewide GIS CTE pathway. Session findings will be presented to our statewide GIS CTE writing team in spring 2026. We'll submit a follow-up proposal for the 2027 WAGISA conference to present final pathways with recommendations for training the next generation for GIS careers.

Speakers

Heather Spalding

Associate Director of Green Jobs, Pacific Education Institute

Heather Spalding is PEI's Associate Director of Green Jobs and Career Connect Washington’s sector leader for agriculture and natural resources. She builds career pathways with K-12 districts, employers, tribes, and workforce and post-secondary partners. She has developed sustainability... Read More →

Daniel Cuevas

Jeffry Rhodes

STEM Teacher, Riverview Learning Center

Jeffry Rhodes is a Math/Science/CTE Teacher at the Riverview Learning Center in Carnation, WA. He taught the restoration ecology-focused summer Youth Engaged in Sustainable Systems (YESS) program in partnership with Riverview School District, WANIC Skills Center, Mountains to Sound... Read More →

Wednesday May 20, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm PDT
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Sponsors & Career, Career

4:00pm PDT

From Maintenance Burden to Innovation Engine

Wednesday May 20, 2026 4:00pm - 4:30pm PDT

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Organizations today face a growing gap between the potential of their GIS investments and how their teams spend their time. While modern GIS platforms enable advanced analytics, real-time insights, and emerging technologies like AI, many teams remain focused on system maintenance and administration.

This session explores the “innovation paradox,” where operational demands limit the ability to innovate. It highlights how organizations can shift from a maintenance-heavy model to an innovation-driven approach by rethinking how their GIS environments are managed.
We will examine how a managed services model can reduce operational overhead, improve system reliability, and provide access to specialized expertise. By freeing internal teams from routine administration, organizations can accelerate adoption of advanced capabilities and focus on delivering meaningful, data-driven outcomes.

Attendees will leave with a clear framework for transforming GIS into a strategic driver of value and innovation.

Speakers

James Gutierrez

Account Executive, Cybertech

James Gutierrez is an Account Executive at CyberTech Systems and Software with eight years of experience helping state and local governments get more from their GIS investments. His work focuses on modernizing geospatial environments so teams can spend less time managing systems and... Read More →

Wednesday May 20, 2026 4:00pm - 4:30pm PDT
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Sponsors & Career, Cybertech