We're excited to launch a new ILGISA Board Spotlight series, designed to introduce you to the dedicated members of our Board of Directors. Each installment will highlight a different board member, offering a glimpse into their professional background, current role, and passion for GIS. Through this series, we hope to foster stronger connections within our community and celebrate the individuals guiding our organization.
Josh Carlson, Professional Development Committee Chair
Can you tell us a little about your background and how you got started in GIS?
I sort of fell into it. I was a returning adult student, going to school for Environmental Science. A friend suggested I take a GIS course because it would help me with field work. Well, once I learned what GIS was, I knew *that* was what I wanted to be doing.
After graduating, I worked for my university for a while, and eventually became the person managing the ArcGIS Online account and all of the Esri licenses. I ran all over campus, offering GIS support and software to every instructor who thought they could use it (to the annoyance, I believe, of the actual GIS department).
I got a taste of a little of everything, and worked on projects my coursework never addressed. Critically, I worked with the University Archives on a project digitizing plat books and old parcel maps. This experience, as well as those of collaborating across disciplines and managing an AGOL account, all directly led to my current position.
What is your current role, and how does GIS play a part in your work?
On paper, I am the "GIS Developer" for Kendall County GIS. A *real* developer once told me that I was "actually more of a DevOps Engineer", which sounds a lot cooler, but Developer is my title.
Every day, I am working directly with spatial data, applications, or the backend systems they rely on. But I don't always get to see the map side of things. A lot of my work is building the forms, dashboards, and more, which other staff use to do their work. Or else I'm writing some scripts so that *nobody* has to do the repetitive, boring work. I may go days without actually seeing the spatial aspect of what I'm doing, but I'm always "spatial-adjacent".
I also spend a good amount of time training, teaching, and documenting processes, to help my department run smoothly.
Now and then, there are still days when I'm getting my hands dirty, digitizing parcel lines and cleaning up topologies. Gotta keep that stuff fresh!
What motivated you to join the ILGISA board?
Well, I was nominated, and promised that it would not be a huge time commitment.
But really, my involvement in ILGISA has increased over the years. I realized that this organization is nothing without its members and what they contribute to the broader whole. If I wanted to see some kind of change, passively waiting for it wasn't going to work!
When I learned that I was nominated, I saw it as an opportunity to have even more impact (positive, I hope!) on the organization.
What are some key initiatives or projects you've been involved in as a board member?
It's my first term on the board, so I was pretty content to play "follow the leader" for a while. But just recently, I became the chair of the brand new Professional Development Committee, which I genuinely hope grows to offer even more resources and learning opportunities to our membership.
What’s one achievement or milestone you’re particularly proud of during your time on the board?
I really value ILGISA's webinar series. Rich Schultz has done such a good job with it, and starting this year, he's handed the reins over to me and the PD Committee. It's still early on to say how well I've actually done, of course, but I am still proud of taking on more responsibility and committing myself to the good of the membership.
What challenges do GIS professionals face today, and how can organizations like ours help?
With the rise of AI, we're in an environment in tech where generating something that *looks* impressive is fairly easy and accessible to those without training. There is this notion that with the right training data, computing power, and prompting, you can replace a human being.
And managers, supervisors, and CEOs (those *outside* of GIS) are being sold on this idea. I think we as GIS Professionals are going to have to work harder to justify our existence.
I understand the attraction of a shortcut, but there isn't really an Easy Mode, there's just experience and expertise.
So, how does ILGISA help with that? By connecting us! Lots of GIS departments (especially in the public sector) are pretty small and narrowly focused. We need to remind ourselves that GIS is large, diverse, and interesting. We need the opportunities that organizations like ours provide to network and share ideas.
What advice would you give to someone looking to enter the GIS field?
Find some projects and just start making things. There is so much free software, data, and guidance out there that if you've got the time and energy, there are no meaningful barriers between you and doing really interesting work.
Build up a portfolio of the things that catch your interest, and take advantage of opportunities to share that work with others!
Oh, and be alert to organizations' attitudes towards change. GIS is technology, and it's moving faster than ever. If you're just starting out, you really can't afford to languish at some organization that hasn't seen a meaningful change in ten years. You want to keep your skills current, relevant, and transferable.
Are there any GIS tools or technologies you’re particularly excited about right now?
I've got my eye on Cloud Native Geospatial. A lot of the developments there are *so cool*! GeoParquet, Could Optimized GeoTIFF, and the like.
There's s till a big barrier here, in that really taking advantage of these things requires custom solutions. But I did see that the "support GeoParquet" idea for ArcGIS Pro was recently changed to "in product plan", so it's only a matter of time!
Once folks start to realize what cloud native geospatial can actually do, and once it's easier to do it with out-of-the-box tools, I think we're going to see some pretty big changes in how we deliver and work with data. A lot of simpler tools may not even need servers anymore, just files on the web!
What’s your favorite GIS-related project you’ve worked on?
OpenStreetMap!
OSM was one of my first loves in GIS, and continues to amaze me with its depth and flexibility.
Do you have a favorite map or GIS application that has inspired you?
QGIS, for sure. I get a lot of mileage out of Esri products, sure, but it's Q that I really *enjoy* using. It's a mature, feature-rich application, yes, but that's not what inspires me.
As Free and Open-Source Software (and a recognized Digital Public Good), it represents some of the best of what's possible when individuals collaborate and support one another. It's open, approachable, and if you're of a mind, something you can actively contribute to!
That's not just something I value in GIS, but in all aspects of my life. To freely share information for the public good stands to benefit all of us!
Outside of work, do you have any hobbies or interests you would like to share?
I love handicrafts, especially knitting and visible mending. I play brass instruments poorly, but I enjoy it anyway. I read a lot.
I also have a wife and three young boys, so they get a lot of my spare time before the hobbies do.
What’s one fun fact about you that people might not know?
If by "fun" you mean "kind of gross and maybe illegal", I love dumpster-diving!
There's something deeply satisfying to me about "rescuing" food that was going to be thrown out. It's only a small dent in the stream of food waste, but it's something I can do to lessen my impact on the broader system. Plus free food just tastes better.
What goals do you have for the organization moving forward?
I'm sure some other folks are tired of hearing me talk about this, but I won't consider my tenure on the board successful until we have a legitimate forum where ILGISA members can connect and share resources virtually.
Being geographically spread across the state, a virtual space to interact would be key in fostering relationships outside of the in-person conferences and meet-ups.
Selfishly, it would also give me a place to document my committee work without resorting to somebody's personal Google Drive. I'm so tired of official board stuff being stuck in someone's cloud folder! But we don't really have a viable alternative at the moment. I think a good forum could help with that, too.
***Since my original response to these questions, the new ILGISA forums have gone live! I am absolutely chuffed to bits about it. But to amend my stated goal, now that the forum's here, I want to ensure that it becomes a legitimate resource to our members, not just another internet ghost town.***
Besides that, I and the rest of the PD Committee want to expand and diversify the webinar series, and even offer things like virtual panel discussions and workshops.
How can members of the GIS community get more involved in ILGISA?
Take a look at the committees! You don't have to be on the board to have a meaningful impact in ILGISA. And you don't have to commit to anything right out of the gate. Just be a fly on the wall, check out the kind of things the committees are actually doing, and see if there's one you're interested in. Don't be afraid to speak up!
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
If you're reading this, I am willing to be there is *something* you've worked on that would be of interest to others. You should submit it to the webinar series!
Don't sell yourself short. Your knowledge and passion are what make something interesting! Some of the best talks I've ever seen were about topics that, on paper, should not have been that interesting, but the presenter really *cared* about it. I want to hear about your work!
