The CGIS invites you to join a GIS Day celebration on Wednesday November 18th from 12:30pm-2:30pm in Lefrak 1158 for an opportunity to network over lunch and connect with GIS professionals. Lunch will be provided. All UMD students, staff, and faculty are welcome!

To celebrate, we have invited several practitioners working across the industry and government space to share how they use GeoAI and GIS in the wild.

1. Ghermay Araya is the Founder and CEO of New Light Technologies, a company that leverages geospatial artificial intelligence (GeoAI) and technology solutions to help organizations solve complex challenges, improve decision-making, and gain actionable insights from geospatial data. He is an alumni of the Master of Science in Geographic Information Systems (MS GIS) program in the Department of Geographical Sciences.

2. Mariela Alfonso is the Founder and CEO of State of Place, a technology company that uses artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to assess the built environment and support the development of more walkable and sustainable cities. 

3. Elvis Martinez is a Geographer at the U.S. Census Bureau, where he applies geospatial artificial intelligence (GeoAI) and machine learning to improve geographic data, automate workflows, and support more efficient census operations. He is an alumni of the Department of Geographical Sciences, holding a BS with a focus on geographic information science.

The event will begin with a networking lunch reception and then we will hear presentations from our three guests and have an opportunity for some discussion. We would greatly appreciate it if you can RSVP here to help us get an accurate headcount for lunch and refreshments.