Join us for the TUGIS Conference! Come see us at this year’s conference, held at Towson University’s University Union on August 5-6, 2025. We’ve geared up an inventive lineup of presentations and an exhibit that you won’t want to miss. Visit the booth to learn from our subject matter experts!

Here's the presentation lineup:

TRAINING SESSION | Tuesday, August 4, 1-4 pm

This training is designed primarily to help participants prepare for the GISP exam, with a focus on study strategies, key knowledge areas, preparation resources and what to expect on test day. We will review the core topics covered on the exam, discuss effective ways to study and share practical tips to improve your chances of success.

The session will also provide guidance on building your GISP portfolio for initial certification or recertification. We will briefly cover the submission areas — education, experience and contributions to the profession — as well as touch on ethics and professional standards. Anyone planning to take the GISP exam, or looking to better understand the overall certification process, is encouraged to attend.

About the instructors:

• Shannon Doyle, PhD, GISP, PMP (JMT), has worked across a wide range of fields — from transportation and engineering to defense, intelligence, and even space systems — in her 25-year career in GIS. Shannon is passionate about advancing the GIS profession through talent management and GISP community engagement. She currently serves on the GISCI Board and has been involved in developing the GISCI certification exam since 2014, and has played a large role in the recent accreditation of the GISP certification.  In December 2025, Shannon’s contributions and enthusiasm for the GISP certification were recognized by GISCI and the GIS community, and she was awarded GISP of the Year. During the past four years at JMT Technology Group, Shannon has grown from GIS Project Manager to Director of Client Engagement, where she works closely with clients in transportation, aviation, and higher education.
• Kyle Satterfield, GISP, is a GIS professional and content creator known for developing practical, accessible study resources for the GISP certification exam. After earning his GISP certification in 2024, he noticed a gap in accessible and easily understandable preparation materials for the GISP exam and set out to produce user-friendly preparation resources. He is the author of The Ultimate GISP Study Guide, a comprehensive resource that consolidates the core concepts across all exam knowledge areas into a single, structured format. He also produces a YouTube channel featuring audio-based study notes designed to make exam preparation more efficient and approachable. Through his writing and educational content, Satterfield continues to support GIS professionals in navigating the GISP certification process with clarity and confidence.

Wednesday, August 5th

Supercharging ArcGIS Dashboards with Embedded Survey123

Ballroom C | 1:45 PM – 2:15 PM

ArcGIS Dashboards has taken a major step forward with the June 2024 update of in-table and in-map editing but even with those capabilities, full editing control remains out of reach. Adding new records and deleting existing ones still require leaving the Dashboard entirely, which breaks the user experience.

This session shows how embedding Survey123 within an ArcGIS Dashboard bridges that gap, giving you the best of both worlds: the visual power of a Dashboard with the full editing flexibility of a form. Using a real-world dashboard, we'll walk through how to configure Survey123 forms for a desktop-first experience moving beyond the default mobile app feel to something polished and purpose-built. You'll learn how to use hidden questions, read-only fields, and pre-populated calculations to create a tailored editing experience, and how to wire up custom HTML buttons that trigger add, edit, and delete workflows seamlessly from the dashboard interface.

We'll also touch on how the same approach applies to Experience Builder using its built-in button widget and survey URL linking so the skills transfer regardless of which app builder you prefer.

Attendees should have intermediate familiarity with ArcGIS Dashboards and Survey123. You'll leave with practical techniques you can apply immediately to inspections, project monitoring, plan reviews, and beyond.

Attendees will be able to:

1. 1. 1. Configure Survey123 forms for a dashboard context.
      2. Build custom HTML buttons in ArcGIS Dashboards that trigger Survey123 workflows for adding, editing, and deleting records.
      3. Apply these same techniques in Experience Builder using the button widget and survey URL linking.

Speaker: Chelsea Connor, JMT, Senior GIS Analyst

 

Thursday, August 6th

Evolving Data Collection and Management Through GIS for Large-Scale Post-Disaster Construction Management

Ballroom C I 10:30 AM – 11:00 AM

Tropical Storm Helene, which struck the Southeastern United States in September 2024, was one of the deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history since Hurricane Katrina (NOAA, 2025). In response, the North Carolina Private Road and Bridge Program (NC-PRB) was established under the Disaster Recovery Act of 2025 (Parts I and II), including a later-added reimbursement program to support property owners in recovery. JMT partnered with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety’s Emergency Management Division (NCEM) to design and administer the program, leading nine engineering firms in reviewing 6,527 interest forms and identifying 4,007 unique sites across 39 disaster-declared counties. This presentation will focus on how evolving data collection and management through GIS can create a more effective Construction Management process for tracking and completing projects post-disaster. The three main topics will focus on paper data collection to digital data collection, Excel spreadsheets to centralized GIS operations, and transitioning from data silos to integrated, automated storage systems.

To address the scale and urgency of this effort, the project evolved from traditional, fragmented data practices to an integrated GIS-based data management system. The first major shift was the transition from paper-based field assessments to digital data collection using tools such as Survey123 and Field Maps, enabling offline data capture in remote areas and significantly improving data accessibility, accuracy, and usability. This shift eliminated delays associated with re-entering paper forms and improved the organization of field data and imagery, enabling faster, more informed decision-making.

The second advancement involved moving from spreadsheet-based tracking to centralized GIS operations. Previously, multiple teams relied on disconnected Excel workflows, leading to version-control challenges and inconsistent data. The GIS-based system, leveraging Experience Builder, Survey123, Power Automate, and more, introduced enhanced data management, governance, and security while supporting over 150 data editors and 450 editable fields. This centralized approach reduced errors, broke down operational silos, and improved coordination across permitting, engineering, and review teams.

Finally, the project addressed fragmented document storage by transitioning from multiple disconnected SharePoint sites to an integrated and automated storage system tied to standardized submittal forms and project site identifiers. This ensured that documents and supporting materials were consistently organized, easily retrievable, and accessible to leadership and project teams.

Overall, this effort reflects an ongoing transformation from traditional, siloed workflows to a modern, GIS-enabled digital ecosystem. While implementation required significant adaptation across teams, these improvements have increased efficiency, reduced costs, and enhanced decision-making—ultimately accelerating recovery efforts and supporting the reconstruction of roads, bridges, and culverts for impacted communities in western North Carolina.

Speakers:

Jen Pfister, JMT Technology Group, GISP, Associate, Sr. GIS Analyst

Casey Corkin, JMT Technology Group, Project Manager

 

From Data to Decisions: Enhancing Post-Disaster Construction Management with GIS and Dashboards

Theater | 2:15 PM – 2:45 PM

Tropical Storm Helene, which struck the Southeastern United States in September 2024, was one of the deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history since Hurricane Katrina (NOAA, 2025). In response, the North Carolina Private Road and Bridge Program (NC-PRB) was established under the Disaster Recovery Act of 2025 (Parts I and II) to support property owners, including the addition of a reimbursement program. JMT partnered with the North Carolina Department of Public Safety’s Emergency Management Division (NCEM) to design and administer the program, leading a team of nine engineering firms that reviewed 6,527 submissions and identified 4,007 unique sites across 39 disaster-declared counties. This presentation will focus on how GIS and Data visualization tools were utilized to turn data into decisions to help enhance the client's Construction Management post-disaster. The three main topics will focus on centralized GIS data operations, data-driven decision-making through interactive dashboards and GIS insights, and transforming external support through GIS viewers and dashboards.

To manage this large-scale, data-intensive effort, a centralized GIS data operations framework was implemented to enhance data management, governance, and security. Supporting more than 150 data editors and 450 editable fields, the system improved data quality, streamlined workflows, and reduced silos across teams.

Interactive dashboards further enabled data-driven decision-making by providing real-time insights through executive and program-level views, including project status tracking, cost widgets, and dynamic filtering tools. These capabilities allowed stakeholders to efficiently prioritize sites and allocate resources based on multiple, evolving factors.

In addition, GIS applications and dashboards expanded external collaboration by enabling nonprofit organizations and county officials to obtain secure access and contribute insights into a limited number of fields. For the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other organizations, viewing access was granted to fields necessary for these organizations to support certain aspects of the program, such as permitting to move projects along more quickly.   

Together, these integrated GIS and dashboard solutions demonstrate how complex data can be transformed into timely, actionable decisions, significantly improving post-disaster construction management and recovery outcomes.

Speakers:

Casey Corkin, JMT Technology Group, Project Manager

Jen Pfister, JMT Technology Group, GISP, Associate, Sr. GIS Analyst

 

GIS Applications for Facility Assessments and Asset Management

Ballroom C | 11:30 AM – 12:00 PM

Organizations with a large footprint and multiple facilities across multiple campuses, have a vast number of assets for which they are responsible. A well-run facilities management program is essential if the organization is going to be an effective custodian of these assets. GIS solutions for Facilities and Asset management are becoming increasingly sophisticated and allow organizations to better understand and manage the facilities which they own. The Asset Management team and the GIS team at JMT, working with the Maryland Transportation Administration, have developed tools for the assessment of facilities and their assets across MTA's footprint. The scope of this project has been to focus on FTA and Light Rail facilities. The wide array of assets being assessed necessitated the development of a complex matrix of systems, subsystems, and components. The project team scanned facilities, processed AutoCAD DWG’s, and converted the CAD to GIS where it was consumed in a Field Maps application designed for use by assessors working on site. The team developed QA/QC measures to review the assessment data and a dashboard for stakeholders to review the status of assessments. Automated tools were also designed for extraction of photo attachments and for averaging of scores across systems and subsystems. This presentation will cover the requirements of the task, the steps taken in the project, and the solutions built out by the project team.

Speakers:

Jeffrey Koch, Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson, GIS Analyst

Jason Ramsey, Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson, Senior Systems Engineer