Dymaptic goes to KAMP!

Fall conference season is upon us, and today we’re highlighting the dymaptic team attending the Kentucky Association of Mapping Professionals (KAMP) KY GIS Conference, happening on October 8-10 in Louisville.  

The annual conference is a staple for dymaptic’s Lead GIS Developer, Jessica Lott, and this year she’ll be joined by CTO Christopher Moravec, Business Relationship Manager Lindsay Russell, and Graphic Designer Chantelle Campbell. The team is looking forward to connecting with GIS users from Kentucky and the Southeast.  

Dymaptic is a fully-remote company, with employees across the United States, and clients across the globe – so why the focus on Kentucky? The answer is simple – Jessica has been passionate about being a part of KAMP since before she joined dymaptic, and she brought that enthusiasm to her role here. Jessica got involved with KAMP through a coworker when she was working for the City of Paducah, KY. Since joining in 2017, Jessica has served as secretary, director, and communications chair, and she currently runs the KAMP social media accounts.  

This is what Jessica has to say about KAMP: “I love it because it's hard to find a local community of GISers. They are literally the most amazing people and I love working with other members to show the importance of GIS in Kentucky.” KAMP’s mission is to foster the understanding and improvement of the management and use of geospatial information throughout the Commonwealth of Kentucky in all levels of government, academia, and the private sector. They do this through events and educational opportunities, and they also give away scholarships to GIS students each year.  

This year at the KY GIS Conference, Jessica is presenting on Thursday, October 10 at 10:30 a.m. on “Problem Solving with GIS: Equitable Sidewalks.” Her talk will cover how dymaptic helped the City of Houston, Texas create a Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) with Houston-specific data to use in decision-making about city infrastructure. The first phase resulted in a Sidewalk Index, which promotes sidewalk equity and fair funding by prioritizing vulnerable areas. This addresses socio-economic disparities and considers factors like natural disasters impacting critical infrastructure, such as bus stops and high pedestrian zones. On Wednesday, October 9, Jessica will also be a part of the Women in GIS special interest group at 11 a.m., and the Careers in GIS Panel at 2:15 p.m. 

There will be two opportunities to hear from Christopher at the KY GIS Conference. On Thursday, October 10 at 8:30 a.m., he’s providing the breakfast keynote, titled “Don’t Panic, it’s just AI: A Developer’s Handbook.” This keynote is the ticket to navigating the often-bewildering landscape of artificial intelligence. Through real-world examples and live demonstrations, Christopher will show attendees how to wield AI as a tool for empowerment even as it threatens to make you as obsolete as a buggy whip salesperson at a spaceship convention. You’ll also find him on Wednesday, October 9 at 2:15 p.m. with a live app building demo.  

Between presentations, you’ll also find our team attending sessions, visiting with old and new GIS friends, and covering the dymaptic booth in the vendor area. You will definitely want to come see us to snag a fun sticker! 

If you’re attending the KY GIS Conference, we look forward to seeing you there! The other conferences on our fall schedule are GIS-Pro 2024: URISA's 62nd Annual Conference, also happening next week, in Portland, Maine, as well as the Esri European Developer Summit, November 12-14 in Berlin, Germany.  

If these conferences are not on your radar, but you want to talk more about using GIS for social equity, how to navigate the growing number of AI tools, or other ways to optimize your GIS, reach out to our team!