Redlands Forum

Educational and cultural programs for the community to learn and engage with the important topics of our time. Founded in 2009.

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Esri Chief Scientist Dr. Dawn Wright wearing a pink blouse, and background designs of orange circles and semi circles.

  • About the Redlands Forum

    Throughout the year, presenters and attendees come to the Esri campus for discussions that bring awareness to issues and offer practical action items. Attend talks from anthropologists, environmentalists, entrepreneurs, filmmakers, journalists, performers, and more.

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  • How to attend

    Attend the Redlands Forum in-person. Registration is no cost thanks to Esri and the University of Redlands Town & Gown.

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    Explore the list of previous presentations and panels.

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Up next

Telling Stories with Maps: Lessons from a Lifetime of Creating Place-Based Narratives

Allen Carol | Program Manager for Storytelling at Esri

January 29, 2026 | 5:30 p.m.–6:30 p.m.

From scraping patterns in sand and drawing intricate lines on vellum and paper to visualizing real-time, 3D animations for the web, humans have long used maps as a powerful storytelling medium. The advent of the digital age has revolutionized how maps are created, distributed, and consumed. Digital technology has opened enormous opportunities for storytelling, enabling maps to dance and weave alongside other multimedia elements—photos, video, audio, and text—to tell countless stories about our world.

Allen Carol, Program Manager for Storytelling at Esri, will share his decades-long passion for storytelling with maps, including 27 years at National Geographic and 15 years at Esri.

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A still image of a 3D map
Allen Carol taking a selfie

Explore the past events and speakers

We've had an incredible program this year and are thrilled to bring you even more engaging events in the new year.

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Being in the Esri auditorium is to experience the world on a Redlands stage.

Margie Gifford, Attendee

Event sponsors

Thank you to our sponsors for the support of this event.

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    Esri

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    University of Redlands

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    Town & Gown

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