GISCorps Volunteers providing guidance to 4-H students
Across the United States, 4-H programs continue to introduce youth to Geographic Information Systems (GIS), helping build the next generation of geospatial professionals to be Beyond Ready . Through hands-on experience with real data and real-world challenges, students develop technical skills, spatial thinking, and a stronger connection to their communities.
In partnership with the National 4-H Geospatial Leadership Team, GISCorps is engaging volunteers to mentor students in developing cartographic products for the Esri User Conference Map Gallery. Volunteers provide guidance on cartographic design, GIS workflows, and effective data visualization using ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online.
Students take the lead in researching complex topics, applying GIS analysis, and creating both print and digital deliverables, including StoryMaps. Through one-on-one mentorship and iterative feedback, the final products reflect both technical skill and critical thinking. The final products developed by the students will be displayed in the Map Gallery at Esri’s International Users’ Conference in San Diego July 13-17, 2026.
This effort highlights the value of GIS as both a tool and a pathway—building capability, confidence, and the next generation of leaders in the geospatial community.
Samantha Olivieri of Wisconsin and Meredith Lowden of New Jersey, are selected for this project and are in contact with the National 4-H Geospatial Leadership team to support the students.
Recruitment complete, project in progress
GISCorps Volunteers Help Queensland Walks with their GIS Needs
Queensland Walks is a community-based organization dedicated to creating more walkable places across Queensland so that more people choose to walk, roll, or stroll as part of everyday life. Their mission is to improve both the conditions for walking and the public profile of walking as a vital mode of transport, recreation, and community connection. They work to support and encourage government, organizations, and agencies to strengthen policies and funding priorities that enhance walking infrastructure and safety.
As part of this mission, Queensland Walks has been delivering Safe Cities | Safe Streets for Women and Girls walks. These community-led walks invite women and girls to share their lived experiences of safety in public spaces after dark. The insights gathered are story-mapped to visualize where participants feel safe or unsafe, creating powerful evidence to inform planning, design, and advocacy.
The organization is interested to expand and strengthen this work by:
- Further developing their Survey123 forms and mapping workflows,
- Creating a scalable, user-friendly process that enables trained volunteers to host and facilitate their own safety walks,
- Developing high-quality base maps focused on active travel,
- Designing a streamlined onboarding and offboarding process for volunteers, and
- Enhancing the visualization and communication of data collected during walks.
Following the recruitment, Kristine Bilar and Leslie Pobee, GISCorps volunteers in Chicago, Illinois, are selected for this project.
Recruitment complete, project in progress.
GISCorps Volunteer Assisting Food First with Esri StoryMaps
The Institute for Food and Development Policy better known as Food First envisions a world in which all people have access to healthy, ecologically produced, and culturally appropriate food. The mission of Food First is to end the injustices that cause hunger. Their work includes action-oriented research, publications, and projects – gives you the tools to understand the global food system, build your local food movement, and engage with the global movement for food sovereignty. Through research, education, and action, Food First supports global and local movements for food sovereignty and empowers communities to take control of their food systems. As a people’s think and do tank,” they are dedicated to ending the injustices that cause hunger and supporting communities to take back control of their food systems. Food First advances their mission through three interrelated work areas: research, education and action.
Food First sought the assistance of a GISCorps volunteer to help develop an aesthetically pleasing and informative Story Map in ArcGIS Online (AGO) environment. The GISCorps volunteer will assist in the creation of a Story Map based on the research Food First has completed. The research centered on 37 interviews around the world and discussed topics such as impacts of industrial agriculture, the green revolution, climate change and socioeconomic barriers. The data from this research produced a written report and a graphic novel. The Story Map will be used to show a visual interactive narrative to a broader audience. Additional assistance is requested in helping Food First implement best practices in managing their AGO environment. The volunteer will document the process and train the Food First team to use and update the new Story Map by creating documentation and training materials (written guides and/or videos).
Following the recruitment, Taylor Mathis, GISCorps volunteer in Nebraska, is selected for this project and is in contact with Food First representatives.
Recruitment complete, project in progress.
Volunteer Provides GIS Support to SystemsGo
SystemsGo (SGO) is an educational 501(c)(3) non-profit with the mission to enhance education for better workforce development, and to ignite tomorrow’s innovators. SystemsGo provides a proven 4-year Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) curriculum to high schools in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Abu Dhabi, UAE. The focus is on project-based learning and teaching the Engineering industry standard Research Design and Development Loop as the foundational process.
Students learn the fundamentals of Physics and the four main energy systems: mechanical, fluid, electrical and thermal. They are then given a goal to design and build a rocket to one of four design goals: carry 1-lb payload one mile high,go March 1 under 13,000ft, go Mach 1.25 under 15,000ft or carry a scientific payload to 50,000ft. Over a hundred rockets will be launched in four locations (three in Texas and one in New Mexico) in April-May 2026.
SGO sought the assistance of a GISCorps volunteer to develop:
- a form in Survey123 for the recovery teams to collect and upload recovery data for these rockets
- a Dashboard and/or an Experience Builder application for the team to analyze their results and the public to access pictures and recovery data
Following the recruitment, Olga Tambazidis from California was selected for this project and is now in contact with SGO representatives.
Recruitment complete, project in progress.
PhotoMappers Admin Team
2024 Update:
The 2024 #PhotoMappers Admin team included Jonathan Clementi, Brad Fisher, Mackenzie Fox, Hannah Gonzales, John Haddad, Hannah Larsen, Keith Johnson, Emilie Pratt, Jason San Souci, and Dacey Zelman-Fahm. Erin Arkison, Holly Torpey, and Katie Picchione continue as the GISCorps Disaster Response Subcommittee as well as our newest member Monicque Lee. Rob Neppell of CEDR Digital Corps also supports the project. From NAPSG Foundation, Emma Montague provides technical support to maintain the PhotoMappers apps, while Jared Doke and Tari Martin manage connections with emergency managers.
2023 Update:
The 2023 #PhotoMappers Admin team included Jonathan Clementi, Brad Fisher, Mackenzie Fox, Hannah Gonzales, John Haddad, Hannah Larsen, Keith Johnson, Emilie Pratt, Jason San Souci, and Dacey Zelman-Fahm. Erin Arkison, Holly Torpey, and Katie Picchione continue as the GISCorps Disaster Response Subcommittee. Rob Neppell of CEDR Digital Corps also supports the project. From NAPSG Foundation, Emma Montague provides technical support to maintain the PhotoMappers apps, while Jared Doke and Tari Martin manage connections with emergency managers.
2022 Update:
The 2022 #PhotoMappers Admin team included Kelli Brock, Jonathan Clementi, Brad Fisher, Mackenzie Fox, Hannah Gonzales, John Haddad, Kenny Hornfeldt, Hannah Larsen, Keith Johnson, Emilie Pratt, Jason San Souchi, and Dacey Zelman-Fahm. Over the last two years, the GISCorps Disaster Response Subcommittee, which manages the project, has grown to include Erin Arkison, Holly Torpey, and Katie Picchione. Rob Neppell and Melissa Swenson of CEDR Digital Corps also support the project. On the NAPSG team, Adam Fackler keeps the PhotoMappers apps up to date, and Jared Doke and Tari Martin keep the team connected with emergency managers.
2021 Update:
GISCorps is entering its fifth year providing volunteer support for NAPSG Foundation’s Crowdsourced Disaster Photo mapping program. Also known as #PhotoMappers, this team of volunteers finds and maps crowdsourced photos of on-the-ground conditions during natural disasters in the United States and its territories. To date, hundreds of GISCorps volunteers have geolocated thousands of photos, providing a valuable source of situational awareness that federal, state, and local emergency managers have come to rely on as they assess initial impacts and allocate resources. Each of those photos is validated by the small but mighty PhotoMappers Admin Team. The Admin team not only reviews each upload for relevance and accuracy, but they also assign a primary FEMA Community Lifeline and an initial damage assessment score to each photo. They also provide support to the rest of the PhotoMappers volunteers. In 2021, the Admin Team vetted over 1,000 photos and volunteered over 190 hours!
Led by Erin Arkison, the 2021 PhotoMappers Admin Team includes Kelli Brock, Christina Brunsvold, Johnathan Clementi, Tiffany Drummond, Brad Fisher, John Haddad, Kenny Hornfeldt, Keith Johnson, Hannah Larsen, Katie Picchione, Jason San Souci, Alicia Tyson, and Dacey Zelman-Fahm.
Mid-2020 Update:
To keep up with this busy season, three additional volunteers have joined the NAPSG Crowdsourcing Admin Team. Welcome, Johnathan Clementi, Kenny Hornfeldt, and Sean Lim!
2020 Update:
With the NAPSG Crowdsourcing application expanding to earthquakes and tornado events, as well as being on standby for the 2020 hurricane season, GISCorps polled the 2019 admin volunteers for their availability in 2020. Christina Brunsvold, John Haddad, and Dacey Zelman-Fahm are continuing with the team, along with new member, Alicia Tyson from Alabama. Two members, Eadie Kaltenbacher and Melvin Nforba are on to new endeavors. We wish them well and thank them for their services in 2019. Erin Arkison has joined the GISCorps Core Committee and will be working with German Whitley leading the Disaster Response Subcommittee.
The team continues to evolve the apps and dashboards as well as improving and refining workflows for different types of disaster events.
2019 Team:
Building on a series of successful collaborations in the last year following Hurricanes Florence, Michael, and Barry, NAPSG Foundation, CEDR Digital Corps, and GISCorps have been hard at work preparing for the remainder of the 2019 hurricane season. Together, we’re ready to continue providing on-the-ground situational awareness to emergency managers and first responders with the 2019 Hurricanes Crowdsourced Photos Story Map.
In addition to updating applications and reworking workflow documentation, GISCorps project manager German Whitley has assembled a team of seasoned hurricane project contributors to serve as the Admin Team for future projects. The GISCorps 2019 Hurricane Season Admin Team includes Erin Arkison from Texas, Christina Brunsvold from California, John Haddad from Colorado, Eadie Kaltenbacher from Oregon, Melvin Nforba from Maryland, Holly Torpey from California, and Dacey Zelman-Fahm from New Zealand.
Working alongside Paul Doherty of NAPSG and Rob Neppell of CEDR Digital Corps, these experienced and dedicated volunteers will validate photo submissions for accuracy and formatting and assign FEMA Community Lifeline categories. They’ll mine social media for imagery that can be geolocated, and they’ll help keep our applications up and running and our documentation current. Perhaps most importantly, they’ll be on hand in our shared Slack channels to support other GISCorps volunteers as they geolocate photos and video and add them to the map.
Recruitment complete, mission in progress.