Keynote SpeakersAllen Carrol
Allen Carroll is Program Manager for Storytelling at Esri. He founded Esri’s StoryMaps team, which provides web tools that have been used by hundreds of thousands of individuals and organizations to tell place-based stories combining interactive maps and multimedia content. He leads an editorial team that supports a global community of digital storytellers. His team also develops its own multimedia narratives, prototyping innovative user experiences, collaborating with strategic partners, and demonstrating best practices for map-enabled storytelling. The team’s website is at storymaps.arcgis.com Allen came to Esri after 27 years at the National Geographic Society. As its chief cartographer, he was deeply involved in the creation of the Society’s renowned reference and wall maps, globes, and atlases. He led the creation of the Seventh and Eighth editions of the World Atlas, incorporating innovative thematic maps into the editions and integrating them for the first time with interactive web resources. He spearheaded the publication of many new maps and websites, ranging from decorative wall maps and supplement maps for National Geographic magazine to special projects featuring biodiversity, conservation, and indigenous cultures. He is a recipient of the American Association of Geographers’ Media Achievement Award and is a former member of the National Geospatial Advisory Committee. He is author of Telling Stories with Maps, to be published by Esri Press in spring 2025. Presentation Title and DescriptionTelling Stories with Maps: Lessons from a Lifetime of Creating Place-Based Narratives Allen will reflect on a decades-long career of map-based storytelling, dating back through 14 years at Esri and 27 years at National Geographic, and spanning the dawn of the digital age. He’ll discuss the special role of maps in weaving tales, and consider how combining maps and multimedia creates exciting storytelling opportunities. David SaahDavid Saah, PhD, is Managing Principal and Co-founder of Spatial Informatics Group, Professor and Director of the Geospatial Analysis Lab at the University of San Francisco, and Chair of the NASA Applied Sciences Advisory Committee. Broadly trained as an environmental scientist, David is recognized as a global leader in geospatial analysis, remote sensing, wildfire science, and natural hazard modeling. He has authored dozens of peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, and technical reports and is dedicated to broadly disseminating his research through presentations, publications, and workshops. David uses integrated geospatial science for multiscale landscape mapping, monitoring, and modeling. He has played a central role in advancing land monitoring and remote sensing projects with global reach, including SERVIR—a joint project of NASA and USAID that helps developing countries use remote sensing data—and Collect Earth Online, an open-source platform for interpreting satellite imagery. He is also the Principal Investigator of Pyregence, a consortium of researchers and technologists providing free and open-source access to the next generation of wildfire models and transforming our approach to wildfire mitigation and adaptation. In the vanguard of wildfire science, David's contributions span from foundational research to developing innovative tools that address the multifaceted challenges of wildfire management and climate adaptation. He is a driving force behind several pioneering projects, including Planscape, a wildfire resilience planning tool designed to optimize landscape treatments for fire risk mitigation and ecological sustainability. His work with the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force, in collaboration with federal and state entities, has led to the creation of a comprehensive geodatabase that supports strategic forest health treatments across California's diverse landscapes. Presentation Title and DescriptionAdvancing Conservation with Geospatial AI: From Earth Observations to Actionable Insights The rapid evolution of geospatial artificial intelligence (GeoAI) and Earth observation foundation models is transforming how we monitor, model, and manage landscapes for conservation and community resilience. This keynote will explore cutting-edge advancements in GeoAI, remote sensing, and machine learning that enable scalable, high-resolution environmental monitoring. Highlighting real-world applications—including risk modeling, land-use change detection, and biodiversity monitoring—Dr. David Saah will discuss how these innovations bridge science and decision-making to empower diverse groups in conservation. By integrating satellite imagery, AI-driven analytics, and open-source tools, we can enhance collaboration, improve environmental stewardship, and drive data-driven policy for a sustainable future. |
