2026 Keynote Speakers
Sunny Fleming, Director of Conservation Solutions, Esri
Sunny Fleming serves as the Director of Conservation Solutions at Esri. Her career has been shaped by a consistent theme of applying GIS to solve real‑world challenges across conservation, environmental regulation, and parks and recreation management. From monitoring species and natural resources in the field to supporting agencies in policy development, asset management, and strategy, GIS has been central to her work at every stage. She has a passion for uniting these interconnected disciplines and advancing their role in conservation efforts around the world, and she is committed to building a global community of GIS practitioners who collaborate, innovate, and support conservation through shared expertise and geospatial insight.
Presentation Title and Description
Mapping a Connected Future: GIS as Conservation Infrastructure
At its heart, the story of Conservation GIS is a story about people: a community willing to cross boundaries, share knowledge, and build something bigger than any one organization or tool. Today, as climate change, biodiversity loss, and social complexity converge, GIS has evolved from a technical capability into critical conservation infrastructure that connects science to action, supports collaboration across cultures and jurisdictions, and makes impact visible and measurable. In this talk, you will see real-world examples of how conservation organizations are applying GIS holistically, a glimpse into where this approach is headed, and practical ideas for pushing your own boundaries and getting started in a more connected, collaborative future.
Dr. Jodi Hilty, President and Chief Scientist, Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y)
Dr. Jodi Hilty is president and chief scientist of Y2Y. Trained as a conservation biologist specializing in ecological corridor and large landscape research, she has more than 30 years of experience managing large landscape conservation efforts. This work focuses on applying best available information to address complex conservation challenges through community-based and highly collaborative efforts, and also seeks to support Indigenous leadership in protected area and corridor conservation.
A co-editor or lead author on four books, her most recent is 2019’s Corridor Ecology: Linking Landscapes for Biodiversity Conservation and Climate Adaption and she led writing of the 2020 IUCN Guidelines for Conserving Connectivity through Ecological Networks and Corridors as the deputy chair of the IUCN Connectivity Conservation Specialist Group.
Jodi is personally invested and interested in growing diversity in science and conservation. This is realized in various ways, such as supporting and advising future leaders involved in conservation biology and conservation.
Presentation Title and Description
Yellowstone to Yukon: Connecting across Boundaries
Description coming soon!
2025 Keynote Speakers
Allen Carroll
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. Visit the team’s website.
Presentation Title and Description
Telling 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 Saah
David 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.
Presentation Title and Description
Advancing 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.
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