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Building Statewide GIS Career Pathways to Agriculture and Natural Resources
Wednesday May 20, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm PDT
403
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
avatar for Heather Spalding

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 →
DC
avatar for Jeffry Rhodes

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
403
  Sponsors & Career, Career

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