The Spatial Connection

[00:00:00] Kelly: Welcome back to the Spatial Connection, the podcast where we explore the fascinating journeys of geospatial professionals and dive into the incredible ways location-based technologies are shaping our world. I'm your host, Kelly McGee, and today's guest is Raquel Perez. Raquel discovered GIS purely by chance.

[00:00:17] Kelly: What began is an internship with the Redlands California Police Department later turned into a role in the crime analysis unit. And that's where she first saw how powerful maps and spatial thinking could be through the use of GIS. That experience set her on a path that's led to an incredible career working for the developers of the very same software.

[00:00:36] Kelly: Raquel is now the senior marketing manager at Esri, where she helps share how GIS is transforming organizations everywhere.

[00:00:44] Kelly: She also founded the Esri's Young Professional Network, inspiring and connecting the next generation of geospatial professionals.

[00:00:52] Kelly: Welcome back to the podcast. Today I'm gonna have Raquel Perez from ESRI. And Raquel's got kind of a, an [00:01:00] interesting background, but we're also gonna talk about this program that she has called the Young Professionals Network. Raquel, thanks for being on the show. I'm really glad that you're able to join us.

[00:01:07] Kelly: I'm excited to hear more about the program and I think the listeners will as well. Raquel if you could tell us a little bit about yourself and also, you know, how did you get started in, in GIS and got? How did you get. ESRI.

[00:01:20] Raquel: Sure. Thanks Kelly. I appreciate that introduction. I'm so excited to be chatting with you, um, about YPN and just how I got my start in GIS and I am a senior marketing manager for Esri, and this October next month will mark the 14th year, so my 14 year anniversary with Esri. Really proud of that.

[00:01:41] Kelly: Wow.

[00:01:43] Raquel: Uh, in my previous career I was a crime analyst at Redlands Police Department and I got my start there through an internship.

[00:01:51] Raquel: So I was a senior at the University of Redlands looking for a part-time work study position to essentially just. get some [00:02:00] extra money for, for whatever I needed really quickly. Back in high school, I had done an internship similar to this at Beaumont Police Department, so I already had the PD bug in me.

[00:02:09] Raquel: Anyways, I interviewed, they liked me. ,,I landed an internship at the Crime Analysis Unit at Redlands PD. And so I'm scratching my head. I'm like, excited, but I'm like, what's crime analysis? You know, what is this all about? So I get there, I start learning about this amazing geospatial technology by a company called Esri and.

[00:02:32] Raquel: It was that a time? I'm going to age myself, but that's okay. We used to get the boxes in the mail. We would get the DVDs, we would have to upload, you know, the software, but it was like Christmas 'cause we're like, woo-hoo. We got the new, uh, update. And so then we would play with it and, you know, learn how to use all the new, uh, functionalities, which was great.

[00:02:52] Raquel: But. That's where I got my start. I had no clue what GIS was. I had no clue what this world of [00:03:00] crime mapping was, but simply using this technology, being exposed to it every single day, getting my hands on it, hadn't taken one GIS course, hadn't taken any, this was like a complete blank slate. Learning about all this technology and, and how to take crime and calls for service that were happening in Redlands.

[00:03:20] Raquel: Uh, the city of Redlands and, and visually seeing that on a map, and then the intelligence behind that. So calls for service, what crime? One of our things was that we would have to report every month to the Department of Justice through our crime analysis unit. The part one crime. So those are gonna be, you know, specific stats that the DOJ requires every police department and law enforcement across the state and country, if you will, to report on.

[00:03:50] Raquel: And so, uh, part of my job was helping to, to gather those stats, but I was really exposed to this Whole new world of insight, if you will, the intelligence behind the [00:04:00] map. And so I really loved it. I was using Esri technology for productive policing and, risk forecasting and identifying hotspots.

[00:04:09] Raquel: Um, I for a time specialized in vehicle crimes because that was a big. Majority of the crimes in Redlands. So looking at the trends, over time where they're occurring days a week, times a day, being able to work with our investigations unit and our patrol teams to say, Hey, we need to be more proactive as opposed to be reactive to just, you know, answering the call for service when a community member has their vehicle broken into or needed service elsewhere.

[00:04:40] Raquel: So we were like, how can we. Make an impact on what's happening in our city to make it safer, to be smarter about crime, to do crime prevention, outreach for the community, and just being more efficient and transparent. And so, I stayed there for about a total of 10 years. [00:05:00] Loved it. Being connected to the community so deeply working with the city, offices like city manager, uh, working with the constituents of the city.

[00:05:11] Raquel: Our community members would call in and wanna know, Hey, if I'm gonna look to buy a house in this neighborhood, can you tell me what's going on? So I really loved my time there and I had no clue that was really setting the foundation to, to expose me to this world of GIS. And that all started from an internship that I decided to take.

[00:05:33] Raquel: And so for me. Carrying through that through my career now and with my work developing the next generation of geospatial leaders and young professionals network, I always say whether, you know, if they're an undergrad student and they're, we're talking to 'em at conferences, I am always encouraging them to look for internships because it's a great way to get your foot in the door.

[00:05:56] Raquel: Learn about a career that you're interested in, and even if you're, you [00:06:00] have no interest in it. I did not honestly know that this is the department I was going to end up with. So it's kind of serendipitous, right? I, I like the PD hook of it, but I was fortunate enough to give the geospatial and GIS technology, the awareness, uh.

[00:06:15] Raquel: They basically opened up a second, crime analyst position for me and sent

[00:06:21] Kelly: Oh, wow.

[00:06:21] Raquel: Yeah. Sent me to UCR, university of California Riverside to get my. Crime and intelligence certificate analysis. So I was really fortunate in that instance and had a lot of opportunities to develop over the years there.

[00:06:35] Raquel: And so I'm, I'm really grateful for that opportunity.

[00:06:39] Kelly: So did you also get a chance to take like courses through esri? Yes. Or how did, how did you get your training then from GIS.

[00:06:46] Raquel: So my training in GIS, specifically as technical person was at Redlands Police Department. So those 10 years it was developing, growing

[00:06:55] Kelly: on the job?

[00:06:56] Raquel: Yes, on the job training, hands-on. Wow. [00:07:00] literally as an intern, hands-on first. And then they sent me to get that certificate, which is a series of courses. Um, I wanna say at the time it was about eight courses, specifically for crime analysts. Right. And so the coolest, coolest class that I always say that I loved because I'm such a, a crime junkie connoisseur, was the, uh, profiling.

[00:07:24] Raquel: So we had an instructor teach us about profiling, um, and her experience in profiling serial killers for the FBI, which I know that's not gonna be everybody's day job. Especially as a crime analyst, but it was just one of those cool things that helped me to realize I really love that kind of investigative part of it, but also that psychological and the people part behind why, why they do what they do in crimes, in calls for service.

[00:07:52] Raquel: So

[00:07:52] Kelly: very interesting.

[00:07:53] Raquel: So when it came to. Esri, I already had that like technology experience [00:08:00] hands-on being in the unit. And then I came to Esri for marketing specifically. And so Esri, I think really took a chance on me because I was a customer of Esri, right? And so they said, okay, you have this. This experience.

[00:08:15] Raquel: So we, we think you would be great in industry solutions, which is where I work now. I just, I'm not on the public safety team, but I am national government, so it's, it's kind of related, but essentially I'm away from that very technical aspect of GIS technology, but I'm doing a lot of the marketing behind it and still getting a little of the technical in, in crafting the messages behind a lot of the, uh, industries.

[00:08:42] Kelly: Very good. So I guess you, did you also know Lou Nelson then, I guess pretty well?

[00:08:46] Raquel: Yes.

[00:08:47] Raquel: Yeah.

[00:08:47] Raquel: Yeah. So Lou would come around to the police department, uh, when he was here in industry. So that's who used to be the, the department head for industry solutions. And Lou's an amazing leader [00:09:00] and I learned so much from him and always held him in high esteem.

[00:09:03] Raquel: And I knew when Lou was coming around, everybody, you know, would wanna talk to Lou. Well, yeah, so Lou is amazing and I really value his leadership and so

[00:09:13] Kelly: he was a big personality.

[00:09:15] Raquel: Yes. And I get to see him time to time, uh, whether it's running into him in Redlands or at user conference or I'll see some stuff on LinkedIn, so, yeah.

[00:09:24] Kelly: Very cool. So now you, you're at Esri. We're, we're gonna get to this Young Professionals Network.

[00:09:29] Raquel: Yes.

[00:09:30] Kelly: Maybe you can kind of tell us how did that come about? What, and maybe to start it off, what is the Young Professional Network?

[00:09:37] Raquel: So, Esri, uh, young Professionals Network, or YPN as we like to call it, I like to look at it now as a powerful global community of early career.

[00:09:46] Raquel: GIS professionals. It provides a space for GIS Learning and Skill Building. We facilitate professional connections and community collaboration, and we foster leadership development through mentoring, [00:10:00] speaking, and volunteering. So Esri, YPN was. Founded in 2015. Um, but to back up kind of how this all got started in 2014, I was contacted by a corporate leader who at the time had seen there was a gap that would be in the community of students and young professionals who were coming to our, our large Esri hosted conferences.

[00:10:24] Raquel: He noticed that there was this area where we could really provide a community. And a space to learn, connect, and lead for individuals in this, in this particular audience. And so we took that, those are our pillars. Learn, connect, lead. And I got a call and literally one day I was just like, Hey, I have this idea.

[00:10:45] Raquel: I, I would think it would be great if, if you really take the lead and run. on this program with, you know, for Esri and I need it in six weeks. And so I was like, [00:11:00] okay, let's do this. I think that's always been my, I guess it's like a can-do attitude, but I always have been challenged where it was like an idea. And you know, how we, how can we implement or start that idea and how we can grow it over the years.

[00:11:16] Raquel: So back then, I didn't know we would be here 10 years later to the extent that we're at, but I saw the vision, I saw there was a need, and especially for folks who, like myself, I'm a first generation Latina. I felt like I never had a mentor. I didn't quite feel like I could advocate or speak up for myself at times.

[00:11:41] Raquel: And if you threw me in a, at a conference of 5,000 at Fed GIS or 20,000 at Esri uc, I would feel way overwhelmed and not know where to start. So I was essentially that person, you know what I mean? Like that persona of why we [00:12:00] were creating YPN and so. Again, I just think it was serendipitous and I think at the heart of YPN is this opportunity for us to provide programs and professional development sessions and workshops and networking opportunities like socials specifically at conferences.

[00:12:21] Raquel: That's where it started, and then we have grown that over the years. And then just recently with, in the past three years, we've developed our Esri's YPN regional chapters. So those are 10 chapters across the United States that we are now engaging young professionals. So if they're unable to come out to DC for the Fed Conference or they're able unable to travel to uc at San Diego, we have meetups.

[00:12:49] Raquel: In-person meetups two uh, times a year at each location. So a total of 20 meetups over the year. And our young pros can come out, they can network [00:13:00] with other young pros, peers, just like them. They can network with ESRI staff, uh, subject matters and thought leaders or ESRI partners who happen to be presenting.

[00:13:10] Raquel: So there are so many opportunities.

[00:13:13] Kelly: So Raquel, where do you have, or where are these 10? Regional YPN, I guess. Chapters, programs, offices, chapters, chapters. That's what it was.

[00:13:20] Raquel: Yep. Uh, so we have 10 chapters across the United States. So we have one in Washington, dc We have one here at Redlands, the headquarters of Esri.

[00:13:29] Raquel: We have a Denver regional chapter, St. Louis. Philadelphia, Charlotte, San Antonio, New York, Minneapolis, and finally Portland, Maine. So we've worked hard over the past three, uh, years, three to four years to really establish how we can engage emerging professionals in various regions of, of the us And this was so that.

[00:13:52] Raquel: We could basically go to them, you know, if they're not able to get to a DC conference, which is our Fed conference or our uc [00:14:00] conference in San Diego, we wanted a way for them to be able to connect in person, come network, have some, um, networking opportunities, connect with subject matter experts, some thought leaders at Esri, but also business partners that we work with and all the amazing things they're doing with Vero Technology in partnership with Esri's technology.

[00:14:20] Kelly: Awesome. So that, that covers the country pretty well

[00:14:24] Raquel: We think. So we're, we're getting a few, um, you know, exploratory conversations like, Hey, can we start one in, in Chicago? Or, Hey, can we start one here, but for next year really cool is that we're looking at our international chapters and exploring that way.

[00:14:39] Raquel: So we'll talk a little bit more about that when we talk about what's next for YPN.

[00:14:44] Kelly: Awesome. So. Do you also work really closely with universities and other educational institutes?

[00:14:50] Raquel: Absolutely. We have an education team here in industry. The department I work with, um, or work in, and I work very closely with the education [00:15:00] staff, uh, who support that industry.

[00:15:02] Raquel: For Esri, we are working. Primarily with the higher education part of that team to talk about ways we partner, we engage, we go to third party conferences and we show up at different universities, colleges, et cetera. So one particular example, this is one where I'll talk a little bit about in the success story part of our conversation, but.

[00:15:27] Raquel: YPN has partnered with HR of Esri, and then we would go have representation at career fairs or other types of similar engagements where we get that face-to-face with students. We're able to talk about ESRI and Professionals Network in partnership with careers at Esri. And be able to use YPN as a first point of outreach for those young pros.

[00:15:51] Raquel: So sometimes we're talking to juniors, sometimes we're talking to seniors. So it's really, Hey, how can I leverage as a [00:16:00] junior in college or a senior as really young professionals network to start setting myself up for success? And what that looks like is we encourage them to join Esri YPN, come to a meetup if they're close to a a chapter.

[00:16:14] Raquel: Just start networking. And so the success that we see from that is we get to know these young pros and if there's some standouts, they're looking for additional ways to engage with YPN. So they might raise their hand and say. You know what? I'm a member at large. I joined the network of YPN, but what else can I do?

[00:16:34] Raquel: And so we developed, uh, what's called the YPN Ambassador Program to kind of level up your engagement. And that's, you know, content ambassador, that's community ambassador and an event ambassador. And I can talk a little bit more about that later, but. They're, they're getting these opportunities to really elevate themselves, which makes them stand out.

[00:16:56] Raquel: And these are things that they, they can highlight on their [00:17:00] resume. We encourage 'em to create a portfolio, a GIS portfolio, and that could be using Esri technology such as story maps or a hub. And this is a great way to visually. You know, send this story about you as an emerging pro, your projects that you're working on, things that you're really proud of, but.

[00:17:24] Raquel: Put it on your LinkedIn. If you don't have a LinkedIn, create a LinkedIn and put it on there. But these are the things we talk about, how to stand out as a young tro in GIS and yeah, so the, the meetups, the chapters, it's just essentially getting all the resources out there to our young pro community and just as much as possible having Esri support them in their GIS journey, as I like to call it.

[00:17:50] Kelly: Wow. So, have you seen the program grow a lot? Or, or how's, what's that look like?

[00:17:55] Raquel: Yeah. In 2014, it essentially started as an [00:18:00] ERG, an employee resource group. DC was like our hub, if you will. I was always in Redlands, so I was taking the, the lead in from Redlands, but kind of that's where it grew in. DC and so we started with employees as our community growing from zero to, we're almost at 20,000 members worldwide.

[00:18:21] Kelly: Wow.

[00:18:21] Raquel: And, uh, we do have a map on our website that, that shows, it plots all of our members. So you can see there is just membership all across the world. And we're really proud of that because it essentially. It took 10 years and baby stepping it and doing all the things and just being consistent and showing up for young pros and just, just showing them that.

[00:18:43] Raquel: We wanna hear what you're interested in. You know, give us what you're looking for. Are you wanting professional development? Are you wanting leadership skill development? What, what is it that you're interested in? And so then taking that feedback over the years and, and. [00:19:00] Redefining our sessions and providing webinars for those who are global, so we could still have an outreach to them still be, uh, useful and resourceful and give them, you know, things that, that they could use as well.

[00:19:14] Raquel: So it has been quite the growth over the 10 years and I just, I, you know, I'm so proud of it and it's really cool to sit here on the 10th anniversary this year and, and look, look back at all of those things.

[00:19:28] Kelly: Yeah. So you know that you think about it, 10 years is a long time to see a program evolve Yeah.

[00:19:33] Kelly: And see some of the, uh, the results from it. Mm-hmm. So with that, you know, I'm, when some of these young professionals get into the program, what's the exit for 'em? What does, so do they like graduate out of this? Is it one of those things that they just stop, communicate? How does that look?

[00:19:50] Raquel: Yep. So technically there is no exit or aging out of YPN.

[00:19:55] Raquel: What we say is if you're at, maybe, you know, [00:20:00] you're seven to 10 years in, or you're mid-career, or we like to say, you would transition then to a mentor role. Or a subject matter expert or a thought leader who is now giving back to the next gen. So we don't wanna see you necessarily exit the YPN network because we feel like you have a very valuable perspective for our, for our emerging pros or the next gen.

[00:20:27] Raquel: So you can be a speaker at a panel of ours, you can write a blog that speaks to your career journey and how you went from different. You know, places to get different experience points and, and so you don't age out. We don't say, you know, thank you for your service. You, you know, bye. We, we just encourage you to stay in the network and think of ways you can be active as.

[00:20:55] Raquel: As having that different experience, mentorship is probably the, the [00:21:00] biggest one. Right. I was mentioning before, I didn't really know what a mentor was. Again, I was a first generation Latina. My parents only went to middle school. I, I had to discover what going to college was about all on my own and, and just forging that, like trailblazing through that.

[00:21:19] Raquel: And that's okay because I wouldn't want it any other way. Like I'm. Really grateful for that experience.

[00:21:25] Kelly: A lot of values to that.

[00:21:26] Raquel: Absolutely. I would say resilience, grit, grace, like, determination, like let's go. Right? Right. Put one step in front of the other. But now you know, we know mentorship. Mentorship is such a great relationship.

[00:21:41] Raquel: You know, between a mentee and a mentor and it's a two-way path. Like a mentor can learn things from a mentee just as much as the mentee. I agree. The mentor and, but the mentor has this very, you know, great perspective that can help guide a young pro and maybe. [00:22:00] Um, avoid some common mistakes that might happen, um, be that sounding board.

[00:22:06] Raquel: Have that, you know, well, this is kinda how I went through my career and here are the things that I, that I saw. And so it's such a valuable relationship and so we, we definitely encourage that as well. Through, through YPN

[00:22:20] Raquel: I think that's awesome

[00:22:21] Kelly: because, you know, the, that's kinda why we started this podcast and Hmm.

[00:22:25] Kelly: You know, trying to get that in info information out to people, and especially the young professionals and those students, you know, how do we get started? And if you don't know who to reach out to, it could us a little daunting. So this opportunity for these prior, uh, YPN participants to become mentors is awesome because.

[00:22:43] Kelly: That gives them an additional skillset, I think for their futures.

[00:22:47] Raquel: We have mentors who are of all ages, right? Like I've seen young mentors who join YPN and they'll come to me and tell me their story about how their mentoring [00:23:00] high school students, because at one point they were that high school student in a underprivileged community, for example, and they realized the community they come from.

[00:23:11] Raquel: Really needs resources. And so they're always making sure to like go back and, you know, be a mentor there. So I see it in all ages. Right. And so I say honestly, I don't think you're too young to be a mentor, whether you're a college student or you know, you in your career, but also, yeah, it's, it's a great, great way to, for us, who are more seasoned to, to give back.

[00:23:37] Kelly: I totally agree with that. So. Now that you've kind of had this program grow, you're seeing some, some results from it. What's, what's the future look like? You mentioned earlier you got the international side, so is it, are you growing outside the US boundaries now and going internationally and, and what does that look like?

[00:23:54] Raquel: So next steps for Esri, YPN, um, really looking forward to [00:24:00] 2026 as we're exploring our international chapters and establishing. At least one or two. The first that I've kind of set some ground, laid the groundwork and and had some meetings and things like that, is our Esri APAC region, and that covers three different offices.

[00:24:17] Raquel: And this is working closely with our distributors in that area, but they see there's a need for this young professional engagement and involvement in that particular region. And so. The hope is we will have an inaugural event spring or fall of next year.

[00:24:34] Kelly: Oh, wow.

[00:24:35] Raquel: And then, yeah, and then there's of course other areas.

[00:24:39] Raquel: I just had a conversation today, uh, with one of the industry directors here who. Who manages a event out or infrastructure in Esri, Germany office, and then region. And so Germany, we're looking at exploring there. And so yeah, the honestly, like I always say with everything in my, [00:25:00] one of my mottoes I would say is the sky's the limit, but obviously we're gonna do this where it's. It's you know, makes sense. And so that's kind of where the exploratory part comes in apac. I know it makes sense. We'll have we already have a good audience of young pros that, that we know will be highly engaged with Esri, Germany in that event? We'll, we'll go there and de Barto and with maybe like a special inter interest group at a conference that we're already hosting so we can see.

[00:25:31] Raquel: Is there a need and a desire to have this young pro community, which I'm hoping so, I, feel like it translate.

[00:25:37] Kelly: Oh, I'm sure there will be

[00:25:38] Raquel: translates across, you know, everywhere. And so I'm really excited for, for next year. But just having those conversations now to. To set us up for next year. So I would say the, big thing is the international chapters and then just, you know, try new things.

[00:25:57] Raquel: Uh, we like to see what [00:26:00] works. We love to get a feedback from our community members if there's something that they wanna try, topics they're interested in. AI, of course is a huge topic. So like how do we set our young pro community up for that wave of AI that we're currently in? Is there anything specific like content or resources or things like that that we can be putting out there?

[00:26:21] Raquel: So I think those are are the main things. And I would say for YPN. For me, what I realized is it's really never too early to start your path to success. And I've talked about like how we engage very much with higher ed students, but I had this amazing connection at our federal user conference in this past February in DC and it was with a student and he was a high school student.

[00:26:49] Raquel: His name is Duke Tang. And. He, you just know when you meet somebody and they have this light and passion and initiative and drive, and I'm talking to [00:27:00] him, he's, he's telling me all about how he came to this conference, um, by himself to, to learn about GIS 'cause he already knows he has an interest, but he really wants to explore where to go.

[00:27:13] Raquel: And I'm looking at him like. Wow, like this is amazing. You're in high school, you're exploring this already. You know what I mean?

[00:27:23] Kelly: Definitely a self-starter. A

[00:27:24] Raquel: self-starter in a suit, you know, well-spoken. Just like, just putting himself out there. And that's what I loved is that he, he was very appreciative of everybody's time and you know, if he, like, I think he mentioned a specific industry and I was like, oh, I have this person you could talk to.

[00:27:43] Raquel: Let's go meet them. But his. Follow up. He, again, he was a high school student. He has recently graduated. He's now going to University of Maryland. He is, has all these amazing, like College Success Scholar, he was an AM Amazon future [00:28:00] engineer.

[00:28:00] Kelly: Oh wow.

[00:28:00] Raquel: All these the, and I'm just like, wait, how old are you? You know?

[00:28:04] Raquel: I'm like, hold on a minute. But what that helped me realize too, is now we can also start building more on, uh, resources and engaging high school students and setting them up, you know, for success in that college career and to, open their eyes to geography, careers, GIS, technology, all the trends and connecting.

[00:28:27] Raquel: I literally told him, I said. You are essentially doing everything we talk about in the YPN program. Go to that conference. Like if you see something like, you're like, well, I kind of wanna go. I don't know, I'm afraid. Just do it. Go attend network. Talk to people, ask questions if you're interested.

[00:28:47] Raquel: he's interested in engineering. He's just asking all the questions and it's coming from from this great point. And you'll find that when you ask people about. Their careers or interest or what they [00:29:00] do on a daily basis, they're very much willing to help you out. And so that's what I always tell people too on LinkedIn, if you have questions, you see somebody doing the job you want, but you're not quite sure what it all entails, reach out to them and, and just have a conversation.

[00:29:16] Raquel: And, more, more likely than not, they're gonna. Respond back to you because they wanna be helpful and and encouraging. So

[00:29:23] Kelly: yeah, most definitely.

[00:29:24] Raquel: Yeah. Mm-hmm.

[00:29:25] Kelly: I think that's very interesting because kind of in involved in somewhat of an educational outreach program here in St. Louis area and what we're focusing on is the high school students, because that's my thought is like trying to reach out to people when they are at that junior, senior level and, university.

[00:29:42] Kelly: It's kind of hard to get 'em. introduce to GIS as if they haven't already started that process.

[00:29:47] Raquel: Right.

[00:29:47] Kelly: So working in a high school level, there's a lot of kids at that age, they have no idea what they want to do, and they're not aware of what the possibilities are.

[00:29:57] Raquel: Exactly.

[00:29:57] Kelly: And unfortunately there's a lot of [00:30:00] people, how would I put this?

[00:30:01] Kelly: You know, even the high school level geography is kinda like. We always said, where's the capital of, you know, so and so?

[00:30:07] Raquel: Yeah.

[00:30:08] Kelly: It's more than that. And what we wanna be able to do is try to say, Hey, when you talk about geography, there's a lot more to it. And GIS is one of the tools we use. That's awesome.

[00:30:17] Kelly: And you know, a lot of, you know, a lot of possibilities there.

[00:30:20] Raquel: Absolutely.

[00:30:21] Kelly: So that's cool to hear that, you're seeing that as well.

[00:30:23] Raquel: Yeah. I think that's a big trend. And like you said, it's, it's getting them interested or at least opening their eyes to the possibility right earlier, so that when they get to college, they're like, Hey, maybe I should just explore and take a GIS class or a geography class that involves some.

[00:30:41] Raquel: Some Esri tech and get my experience, and those are some of the conversations that we have. And they said, well, I've taken one Geograph geography class, or I, I have taken a couple, and I know absolutely without a doubt, I want to do this, you know, as a, career. [00:31:00] So I, think it's really beneficial to, get the.

[00:31:03] Raquel: Experience early and awareness of where they can go in their career.

[00:31:10] Kelly: Yes. So we've got, you're expanding out internationally now, Uhhuh, it's definitely showing that this program's a, a success.

[00:31:18] Kelly:

[00:31:18] Kelly: And next year you've got the, the international scene that you're pushing towards. Uh, where do you see things after that?

[00:31:25] Kelly: Is there, do you have a vision where you would like to see this go? Or is it just. Kind of going along the same path and just continue to expand as far as the number of young people you can reach.

[00:31:35] Raquel: Yeah, I think, again, 10 year anniversary is really a great time to reflect on what we've done up until now, and then also look forward to the future.

[00:31:45] Raquel: And so it's, it's a moment I think I've taken to, to reflect on how YPN has really empowered thousands. We've built bridges across. Many experience levels. We've really reinforced the [00:32:00] power of community in the GIS profession. And then, yeah, looking forward to envision how we will continue to influence the future of geospatial technology and leadership.

[00:32:10] Raquel: So. Yes, it is those international chapters. It's continuing to grow the community. It's continuing to professionally develop and, and create leaders in GIS technology. I think we've come from a niche group into, uh, cornerstone of Esri's community and cultural and the leader leadership ecosystem. And so I would say.

[00:32:35] Raquel: Yeah. Again, the sky's the limit. I think it's growing, growing, growing. It's the international chapters. It's more community members. Yeah. TBD on other things that are coming. But what I do, what I would like to say is that we also are really. Really supportive and have strong partnerships with other organizations that align and have [00:33:00] similar goals like YPN, which, uh, GPN, geospatial Professionals Network is one of 'em.

[00:33:05] Raquel: They have an amazing mentor. Program, and so we always push folks to that mentoring program. We are partnering with USGIF the United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation and their next, next generation event they'll be having next month. We partner with AAG We partner with Edge Geospatial and women in GIS.

[00:33:32] Raquel: I'm on the women in GIS Mentor Committee. Again, I love to. Provide those mentorship opportunities to young pros, but it, that's also a very big part of the YPN programming is collaborating, partnering with our, our partners.

[00:33:50] Kelly: Well, this is really good information, Raquel, and one of the things that I, I'd like to ask, having had the opportunity to talk with so many young professionals that have been in this [00:34:00] program, do you have some success stories that come to mind that you'd like to share?

[00:34:04] Raquel: Yes. Thank you for asking. One in particular, Jocelyn Torres. I met Jocelyn at a career fair at the University of Redlands, which is here in Redlands, at close to the headquarters of Esri. Um, so Jocelyn at the time was a college junior. She came, um, imagine a tabletop, it's hr, a couple HR recruiters from Esri.

[00:34:27] Raquel: It's myself representing YPN, just speaking to. The network and how they can join and leverage all the resources that we provide. And so Jocelyn walks up the majority of people, uh, to the Esri table and all the other surrounding tables have their resume ready. They just want us to review, give feedback, and just talk about, you know, what they're doing.

[00:34:49] Raquel: And so I was fortunate enough to have Jocelyn in my line, and so Jocelyn came up, she handed me her resume. I see she's on marketing and communications. [00:35:00] Getting those degrees, if you will. And then she is Uber involved. She's, you know, doing a ton of programs and different initiatives at University Red of Redlands.

[00:35:11] Raquel: I have a conversation with her and I'm just really impressed with everything that she's telling me that she has going on and. And she mentioned that she hasn't really heard of Esri. She definitely doesn't know what GIS is. She's, she knows marketing and communications and she's doing actually a work, uh, study position while she's there at University of Redlands.

[00:35:34] Raquel: In their marketing department. So she's already been featured in videos on their website. She is got all the social media experience. She's doing a ton of stuff. She is in student organizations, she's a resident advisor. Just amazing things.

[00:35:53] Kelly: So she's very involved,

[00:35:55] Raquel: Extremely involved. And she starts telling me about her story, and this is [00:36:00] probably where.

[00:36:01] Raquel: I saw a little bit of myself in Jocelyn. She mentioned she's from the, the Palm Springs. Uh. Area or that Coachella Valley. Um, she comes from a community that is disadvantaged and she was fortunate enough as a high school student to have a fantastic mentor who just guided her in every which way possible.

[00:36:26] Raquel: And, as she was ready to start her university career journey, this mentor. You know, encouraged her and said, you know, Jocelyn, you can do it. All you have to do is, take those opportunities that come to you, put yourself out there, but be a go-getter. And so this mentor really helped set herself up to be that person.

[00:36:48] Raquel: And so. She almost did not go to University of Redlands because she thought, okay, this is gonna be too expensive. I don't think I can afford this. I don't have enough scholarships. And then [00:37:00] one call to her mentor, after having worked with her mentor for a couple years in high school, the mentor was like, no, no, no, hold on.

[00:37:07] Raquel: The mentor is heavily involved with, working with colleges across the region and was able to research a. Scholarship that Jocelyn applied for, that Jocelyn ended up getting so Jocelyn could continue to apply and get accepted to University of Redlands. What it ended up happening from that mentor relationship, instead of Jocelyn giving up and saying, no, I'm just gonna go to this community college or figure it out.

[00:37:34] Raquel: She was helped and guided with, you know, let me help you to see what's out there that we can get you there. Like, don't accept, no. Like, let's, let's see what we can find to get you there. And so

[00:37:46] Kelly: That's a great example of a mentor.

[00:37:48] Raquel: Yes. A perfect example of how when you might just be ready to give up and just throw in the towel and say, this is just not possible.

[00:37:56] Raquel: I can't do it. And you just can't see past it. [00:38:00] A mentor could come in and encourage you, but also have those resources where they can say, you know what, I think there's something that we can find for you to, for you to get there. And so fast forward to four years later, um, well three years 'cause she was a junior when I met her.

[00:38:16] Raquel: I met her and was, was so inspired by her, her story, but she, she's a go-getter and she had this. Passion, and she still does, has this tenacity to learn everything. She wants to know everything. She's like, throw me in it. I'll do it. And just has that can-do attitude that I'm like, man, if everybody has this, like sky's the limit.

[00:38:41] Raquel: There's no holding anybody back. And so she joined YPN, which she hadn't heard about at all. She hadn't heard about ery even in being in Redlands at the university. She was like, and I said, I was like, come on. you haven't pa you know, passed by Esri like, got in. She's like, no, I promise. And [00:39:00] I was like, wow.

[00:39:01] Raquel: And so I, in that conversation, I said, have you ever thought about working for Esri? And she said, no. What would I do there? And I was like, well, you're looking at a person that does what you're doing right now, but I'm doing the marketing at Esri. I said, yes, I was technical in my previous career, but that doesn't mean you can't still be there.

[00:39:21] Raquel: So anyways, fast forward, she joined YPN. The next week we happened to have the YPN chapter meetup in Redlands, and I said, you know what? I would love to have you as a special guest at the meetup come. I'm like, even if you wanna invite friends because you feel like you, you might be, out of sorts or whatever.

[00:39:38] Raquel: She came. She loved it. She connected with people and then she was already asking soon after that, like, what else can I do? And so we had just started the ambassador program and so we said, well, you can always be a content contributor, which means you write a blog. So she wrote a blog about being a University student.

[00:39:59] Raquel: [00:40:00] Uh, joining the network and what opportunities, uh, others could get who were like her from this network. Then she became a speaker at our next meetup, which was the following spring, and so then she became an event ambassador because she spoke at one of the YPN events. Then follow fast forward to the following summer.

[00:40:22] Raquel: She's like, you know, I really love what I'm finding out about Esri, what I'm learning, what I've learned to date, and I wanna do more. And so, Esri has an amazing, student assistantship program, and this is where undergrad students can apply for a program to come to one of our conferences, Fed GIS ,UC, or the developer summit.

[00:40:44] Raquel: They can come attend some sessions and then also work some hours to get some experience. So it's a whole program and I would encourage many people out there to look into this if they're interested. But she was, she applied. You have to apply, you have to [00:41:00] interview and get accepted. She was accepted as a student assistant and then it was at our Esri user conference, so she was able to see that massive.

[00:41:09] Raquel: International conference where we're putting out, you know, our professional development sessions, all the things for our users.

[00:41:18] Kelly: That's a massive example of marketing there.

[00:41:22] Raquel: She was able to attend all the YPN things. We usually have two sessions. We have our booth, we have a networking social. Of course, she was like, I love this.

[00:41:34] Raquel: I want to be a part of this. And so she finished her student assistantship. She wrote a blog, another one about the student assistantship experience and what that looks like. And so what that does is it help others who might be considering it, but they might say, I don't think I'm gonna get this.

[00:41:53] Raquel: I don't think I can do this. I don't think this, or I don't think that, or maybe I'm not too. GIS technically savvy, so I [00:42:00] don't think Esri's gonna accept me. But that was a prime example of how her being tenacious and taking initiative and just showing up and just putting herself out there and what she does and who she is and what she brings to the table helped her get that assistantship and then.

[00:42:17] Raquel: Fast forward to this past summer. She applied as an intern, so she did 12 weeks as an intern. And then wonderfully enough, thankfully Esri hired her full-time and she actually started this past Monday as a full-time employee and on that's. Literally within the past two and a half, two years or so. So that obviously is a very quick, journey.

[00:42:41] Raquel: All those touch points just kind of helped her to kick off that GIS journey, right? She, she knew marketing and communications. She had that experience. And just having those conversations with Esri Careers and Esri YPN and being exposed to it through Esri YPN. She saw [00:43:00] something that she was like, yeah, I would love to continue this, and whether it's for her entire career or she gets her start here and she, does stuff elsewhere, I just think.

[00:43:09] Raquel: Jocelyn Torres's story. Her example is just a shining example of what I like to say, A YPN trailblazer, because we meet people who've been in the program, been with the network for 10 years, and you, I've seen their progression in their career, and now they're leaders and directors and on boards and doing all these amazing things, and so.

[00:43:33] Raquel: I love to see how YPN was there for that initial journey and how we impacted them over that entire journey. And so for me, absolutely my favorite part of, of being able to still be involved in this network as a founder, as a manager, and just continue to see all these amazing stories. So

[00:43:56] Kelly: Well, that's awesome.

[00:43:57] Raquel: Mm-hmm.

[00:43:58] Kelly: And you know, hopefully you'll see a lot [00:44:00] more amazing stories throughout this program.

[00:44:02] Raquel: Yeah, yeah. There are a ton. This one is just kind of the more recent one, but yes, there is absolutely a ton. One eye-opening moment was when a colleague who has been, I would say, A YPN Trail pleaser. His name is Sid Ponde.

[00:44:16] Raquel: He is a GPN Board of Directors or on the board of directors. And he mentioned, yeah, like, you know, first. First conference out of the gate after I graduated from college was my, was fed GIS and YPN was in its first year. So we were in our infancy and we were still trying to figure things out of course, but he was like, your networking, uh, social at that at that time helped me to connect with people who it eventually inter turned into my first job.

[00:44:47] Raquel: And then furthermore it helped inspire him to. Start his own college at his alum, a networking Young pro networking, similar to YPN. So stories like that where it's just so [00:45:00] impactful, so meaningful and emotional, I think. Really, really, I just, you know, am so proud of all the things that, that we've been able to accomplish over the past 10 years.

[00:45:15] Raquel: So.

[00:45:16] Kelly: Well, you should be, that's a, that's a huge accomplishment.

[00:45:18] Kelly: I think giving this resource to young people and even just young professionals, maybe they're not so young.

[00:45:24] Raquel: Yeah.

[00:45:25] Kelly: You know, just starting out, but

[00:45:27] Kelly:

[00:45:27] Kelly: I think several things I've heard throughout your story.

[00:45:30] Kelly: It's about making those connections.

[00:45:32] Kelly: Yes.

[00:45:33] Kelly: And that is so key, I think, no matter what industry you're in. And I think that when a more seasoned professional, or somebody you know, like myself, older, we've been in the industry for quite some time. Us telling students some of these stories is one thing, but if they have somebody that's closer to their age, so, you know, and perhaps in like something like the YPN program mm-hmm.

[00:45:55] Kelly: Uh, they relate to that a little bit better. Right. And so the more people that can [00:46:00] be in programs like the YPN, that's better because it gives the next generation somebody else that they can look up to, but still close enough in age that they can relate to.

[00:46:09] Raquel: Exactly.

[00:46:09] Kelly: I think that's a. A great asset for the next generation.

[00:46:13] Raquel: Absolutely.

[00:46:15] Kelly: Well, Raquel, I think we've kind of, we've made a good journey here along this discussion here, and I have learned some stuff, I've learned more about the program in which I was kind of really looking forward to getting a chance to talk to you about this you know, how did you come up with it?

[00:46:28] Kelly: We've learned about that. We, we've seen kind of where it's going. We see that it's continuing to expand. Now you're looking at going into international chapters. That's awesome. You have, you know, shared some success stories with us and I, I'm sure I could sit down with you for another couple hours.

[00:46:42] Kelly: You'd probably come up, uh, quite a few more. So with that, we'll probably get ready to wind down for the episode. We'll make sure that we put in some of these resources that, you and I have talked about earlier, and also someone that you mentioned during the show. Uh, we'll make sure we put those in the show notes.

[00:46:59] Kelly: If [00:47:00] you're okay with it, we, we will share like your LinkedIn connection for people to reach out to you and, any other ways that you'd like to share, please let us know. We'll put those in the share notes or the listeners. We wanna try to get your information out there and let more people know about the YPN program.

[00:47:13] Kelly: I think that that's, a great program. I think you've done a tremendous job and I hope that it goes for many more years and you get to see the, the next generation take over. The lead.

[00:47:23] Raquel: Yes. That's exactly it. Uh, elevating those next gen so we they can take that lead and carry the torch, right?

[00:47:31] Kelly: Yes.

[00:47:32] Raquel: But yeah, I wanna say thank you so much Kelly and Kate for, for the opportunity to talk about YPN and.

[00:47:40] Raquel: It sounds like we have very similar goals and missions in our work and just developing the next gen and I'll be happy to, to share those resources as well as my LinkedIn account. I encourage anyone out there if you have any questions, you're looking for anything on mentorship. Internships, [00:48:00] networking opportunities, uh, how to make yourself stand out, how to build a GS portfolio.

[00:48:05] Raquel: I am more than happy to chat with you, send you some resources, so please connect on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is one of my favorite platforms to be able to share so many wonderful things for young pros and topics that I'm passionate about, like community engagement and, professional growth. So thank you so much for this opportunity.

[00:48:24] Kelly: thank you for being here. I'll end this with, this is one of the things I always enjoy, talking with other people that are passionate about their jobs. That's what makes this job so much fun. Absolutely. You've definitely held up that end of it. So thank you. Thank you. And, we'll keep in touch and I'd like to hear more about the program as time goes by.

[00:48:40] Kelly: So, great. with that I'll end this here and we'll talk again soon. Thank

[00:48:44] Kelly: you.

[00:48:44] Kelly: Alright, thank you.