June 11, 2013 (Des Plaines, IL) - Essential education and valuable professional connections will be the takeaways at GIS-Pro 2013: URISA's 51st Annual Conference for GIS Professionals. GIS-Pro 2013 will take place September 16-19, 2013 at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence, Rhode Island. 
 
URISA is honored to announce our distinguished keynote speakers for GIS-Pro 2013:    

• Kristy Fifelski (aka GovGirl), New Media Director for Government Technology magazine                
  “What’s Next in Government Social Media?”
• David Salzer & Patrick Santoso of the University of New Hampshire Technology Transfer Center
  “New Hampshire Mosaic: The Power of a Composite Land Base”
• Professor John (Jack) Mustard, Professor of Geological Sciences at Brown University
  “Exploring Mars for Habitable Environments”                                                                   

URISA Certified Workshops are featured with both full and half-day offerings:

• GIS Strategic Planning - 2013 update
• Asset Management:  Planning, Strategy, and Implementation - 2013 update
• GIS & Surveying-Open Exchange between a Surveyor and GIS Manager -new 2013 workshop
• Introduction to Open Street Map for GIS Users - new 2013 workshop
• Address Standards: Implementing Quality and Data Sharing - 2013 update
• Emergency Preparedness for GIS (half-day)
• GIS Return on Investment (half-day)

This year's conference is co-hosted by the New England Chapter of URISA ( NEURISA), bringing both enthusiasm and important educational content to the event.
 
Concurrent educational sessions cover topics ranging from ‘Storytelling and Effective GIS Communication’ and ‘Developing Organizational Best Practices' to ‘Business Intelligence Technologies’ and ‘Solving Mobile Mapping Challenges’. An important conversation about ‘Ethics in GIS’ and a focused session for ‘Women in GIS’ are also on the schedule.  
 
A Demo Den is under development to celebrate and recognize start-up developers in the government technology arena. Ignite talks, luncheon presentations, thought leader panel discussions, networking events, and an Awards Breakfast recognizing award winners and celebrating  GISCorps’ Ten Year Anniversary add to the substantial GIS-Pro 2013 experience.    
 
Sponsors and exhibitors are an important focus of the conference with a new Vendor Spark session providing a valuable platform for organizations to highlight their products and services (exhibit discounts are available until July 1).

For complete conference details, including registration (early registration discounts through July 22), hotel and travel information, visit http://www.urisa.org/gispro2013.

Contact: 

Wendy Nelson
Executive Director - URISA
Email Contact   
www.urisa.org   
847-824-6300