Joanne Markert and her sons, Ryan and Joe

I was delighted to be given the opportunity to congratulate Joanne on her well-deserved Summit award.  I have worked with Joanne in her role as the GIO at the State of Washington for several years.  The following is my interview with Joanne.

Congratulations on being the 2024 Summit Award winner!  Can you describe your response to receiving the award?

Surprised!!  Also flattered and humbled.

Where do you plan to keep the statue?

It is in my home office.

Can you describe your start in the GIS industry, and any important initial lessons you experienced for our Young Professionals? 

I bumped into GIS when I started my career as a environmental planner and never looked back.  I was lucky enough to have support from my supervisors to pursue it as on-the-job training and a terrific mentor, that I can still count on today for help and advice – Elizabeth Lanzer with the Washington Departmet of Transportation. 

Can you describe how has your journey progressed?

I originally started out in applying GIS to environmental planning challenges such as noxious weed control.  After a couple of years, I was able to get a fulltime gig doing GIS with the primary focus being analyst type of work for environmental projects.  I then went to work for a private consulting company and did the work as well as learned Project and Program/ Team Management.  I returned to (working at) the state 7 years ago as the Geographic Information Officer (GIO) and love my job thoroughly.  Now the emphasis is on describing GIS to non-GIS people, encouraging cooperation across the state, and advocating the use of GIS to solve challenges our state faces, such as climate change and equity.

I know being a strong advocate for GIS at the State Level is a big part of your current job.  What kind of tips do you have for communicating the value of GIS to those outside of the field?

I try very hard to understand where the audience is coming from and then describe GIS in terms that can be more easily understood.  It is easy to be complicated with explanations, but it is hard to be direct, simple, approachable.  I bounce ideas off others that I work with and look for reactions from the people I’m talking with to see if I’m hitting the mark.  I prefer personal interactions for that reason – I can gauge better how the conversation is going.  Never underestimate enthusiasm for your subject matter!

While I know you have many still to come, can you describe any exciting or interesting GIS projects you have worked on?

Ialways like the archaeological predictive model that I worked on, but I like working on all aspects of GIS including seeing the relationship with AI.  I think the game changer that is about to come is integration with traditional IT data systems (SQL, etc.).  That will help bring GIS to the forefront!

When you are not working on your job, what do you do for fun and relaxation?

Of course, spending time with my family and friends take priority, but mainly I like to stay curious about the world around me and explore this great state through hiking and driving the back roads.  I just got back from a weekend trip out to Forks, WA and was able to go on some relaxing hikes enjoying the Hoh River and out to the coast to see the sea-stacks and plenty of the marine layer fog.  What a treasure we have right here in WA!  And there are so many of them that I have yet to explore!

I know collaboration is a key part of your role as the GIO for the State of Washington.  What advice to improve collaboration do you have for younger, less experienced GIS professionals?

It’s a small world after all.  You will see people again and again throughout your career.  Ultimately, we are all on the same team, so it makes sense to try to work through differences in a way that solves the problems, improves collaboration in the future and makes everyone happy to work with you the next time they see you.  You are not always right, and neither are they.  Humility and an open mind goes a long way.

Do you have any final thoughts on your experience as the Summit Winner?

It is really an honor to be nominated by my peers for this award and I am very grateful for that.  I’m also very grateful to be able to serve the state of Washington in the capacity of the GIO.  It is an incredible job and responsibility and I try very hard to represent the entire profession well so that doors will be open for those that come after me.

Thanks so much to Joanne for providing me with this information and a well deserved congratulations!