{"id":774881,"date":"2026-09-08T05:41:31","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T12:41:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=wherenext&p=774881"},"modified":"2026-09-08T05:41:31","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T12:41:31","slug":"michelle-riter-of-amazon","status":"publish","type":"wherenext","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/publications\/wherenext\/michelle-riter-of-amazon","title":{"rendered":"From the Air Force to Amazon: One Security Leader\u2019s Journey"},"author":501,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","transcript_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[],"tags":[285382,1161,493569,486052],"department":[476782],"wherenext-category":[],"industry":[],"class_list":["post-774881","wherenext","type-wherenext","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-corporate-security","tag-retail","tag-security-operations","tag-wherenext-profile","department-new-analyst"],"acf":{"short_description":"Michelle Riter has used GIS to see threats to the nation\u2019s armed forces\u2014and to the supply chain of the nation\u2019s largest company by revenue.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"For Michelle Riter, Arizona was supposed to be in the rearview mirror.\r\n\r\nNot long after her family moved to the Grand Canyon State in her youth, she began looking for a way out of the desert. She found her escape in the Air Force, enlisting three days after high school graduation. The military, she says, offered a chance to \"go everywhere, meet everyone, touch everything.\u201d"},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Left","content":"Snapshot<\/strong>: America\u2019s largest company uses GIS to keep operations running, employees safe, and customers happy. Inside the world of operations security at Amazon.","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Riter became an analyst in the Air Force\u2019s Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) unit. Her job: Analyze intelligence from airborne systems so commanders had real-time situational awareness. She worked in every time zone and spent seven years on the night shift, studying overseas drone feeds.\r\n\r\nAs she rose through the ranks to become a senior enlisted leader, she relied on mapping and analytics software known as geographic information system (GIS<\/a>) technology.\r\n\r\nWith GIS maps, she quickly brought military leaders up to speed, tailored data analysis to decision-makers, and provided context when uncertainty was high. \u201cAlmost every operational decision is based off a geographic component of some sort,\u201d she says.\r\n\r\nAfter 20 years in the Air Force, Riter made a transition that many in intelligence and law enforcement have in recent years, taking a role in corporate security operations. The job: global head of Threat Evaluation and Risk Assessment (TERA) for Amazon, America\u2019s largest company by revenue. The place: Arizona.\r\n

Anticipating Risks Through Security Operations<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nA common goal united Riter\u2019s operations security work in the Air Force and at Amazon: Identify and mitigate risks as they emerge\u2014before people, operations, or assets are negatively impacted. In military and security circles, this is known as being \u201cleft of boom.\u201d\r\n\r\nRiter saw that GIS could help operational<\/a> leaders anticipate risks with the potential to impact Amazon\u2019s sprawling logistics network. So she oversaw development of the geospatial platform that keeps Amazon\u2019s supply chain and workforce one step ahead of operational risks.\r\n\r\nJust down the hall from Riter\u2019s Arizona office, GIS maps light up the walls of Amazon\u2019s GSOC, or global security operations center. They show hundreds of operations facilities and the transportation network connecting them. This is the infrastructure behind Amazon\u2019s fast deliveries in dozens of countries.\r\n\r\nSecurity analysts in the GSOC examine data such as adverse weather conditions, infrastructure disruptions, and other environmental factors to detect and assess potential risks to their operations network around the globe.\r\n\r\nMany of the world\u2019s best-known companies use GIS in their security operations centers<\/a> for the same reason: With smart maps, executives can quickly grasp a situation and make informed decisions.\r\n\r\n\u201cLocation is one of the most powerful tools available when you\u2019re understanding risk,\u201d Riter says.\r\n\r\nAt Amazon, GIS helps protect the safety of over 1.5 million workers while preserving seamless customer experiences.\r\n\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s a must-have,\u201d says Ryan Nelson, head of Amazon\u2019s People Risk department and a transplant from law enforcement to the corporate world. \u201cIt\u2019s one of those things we absolutely cannot operate without.\u201d"},{"acf_fc_layout":"quote","image":774884,"text":"GIS visuals are critical to allowing leadership to draw immediate conclusions.","author_name":"Josh Popp, Amazon","author_profession_organization":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Safeguarding Employee and Customer Experiences: Geography\u2019s Role <\/strong><\/h3>\r\nOf the many potential risks that Amazon\u2019s operations security team monitors 24\/7, adverse weather might pose the most pernicious impacts to the supply chain.\r\n\r\nHurricanes, cyclones, floods, and snowstorms can affect many aspects of operations, including customer satisfaction, the bottom line, and employee safety.\r\n\r\n\u201cWhen we make a decision that it is not safe to operate in these sites or it is not safe to operate on these delivery paths, that impacts people\u2019s day-to-day,\u201d Riter says. \u201cIt\u2019s a heavy responsibility, and it\u2019s why we invest in getting it right.\u201d\r\n\r\nSo she set out to make Amazon\u2019s already rigorous risk assessments even more precise, especially during peak seasons like holiday shopping. She and the TERA team used GIS to build a winter risk assessment tool tuned to the unique realities of neighborhoods across the US. Six inches of snowfall in Bozeman, Montana, calls for a different response than six inches in Atlanta, Georgia.\r\n\r\nWith geographic precision on weather impacts, Amazon can safeguard employees and assets, maintain operational continuity, and keep its customer delivery promises. The ability to see around corners keeps the entire network resilient.\r\n\r\n\u201cWhen you can display on a map exactly the line of where the probability of storm-force winds [is] and then show why that's the threshold at Amazon . . . it allows people to say, \u2018I'm outside of that line and I know why. I'm inside that line and I know why,\u2019\u201d says Josh Popp, a risk manager and the technical architect behind the GIS platform.\r\n\r\nIf forecasts call for 15 inches of snow in an area where six inches is the threshold, Amazon\u2019s planners may shift operations by rerouting drivers in advance.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe can then ensure that we\u2019re meeting that customer promise even before it\u2019s snowing,\u201d Riter says. \u201cThere\u2019s no way that without GIS infrastructure you\u2019re really able to do that.\u201d\r\n\r\nWhen they identify a storm or other community disruption, analysts use GIS to define the precise operational boundary of the impacted area and monitor logistics routing to maintain delivery commitments during severe weather events\u2014a critical capability powered by geography.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe can simulate through GIS where the path of the storm could develop and what that might do to our supply chain,\u201d Popp says."},{"acf_fc_layout":"quote","image":774882,"text":"That common operating picture really allows leaders to understand visually and help shift the conversation from what\u2019s happening to what should we do about it.","author_name":"Michelle Riter. Amazon","author_profession_organization":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

Predicting Risks to Operations and Capital Investments<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nAs Riter adjusted to the fast pace of Amazon\u2019s Arizona operation, she found that the culture\u2014which rewards self-starters and independent thinking\u2014suited her well.\r\n\r\n\u201cIf I were to describe her, I\u2019d say she\u2019s a builder,\u201d Nelson says. \u201cAt our level, we\u2019re responsible to own it globally. No one\u2019s going to tell you what to do.\u201d"},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Right","content":"Related Read:<\/strong>\r\n\r\n\/\/ IRL: Protecting<\/a> employees, customers, operations","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Riter and the TERA team are focused on enhancing Amazon\u2019s ability to see around corners by merging internal operations data with external geographic data to predict location-specific risks.\r\n\r\nNelson, for instance, works with the TERA team to translate geographic intelligence into action\u2014using location-based insights to proactively strengthen operational readiness across the network.\r\n\r\nPredictive analytics can even flag emerging risks before they reach Amazon's supply chain. Analysts are using GIS to map correlations in geographic and environmental data to anticipate events and enable proactive operational adjustments.\r\n\r\nRiter\u2019s predictive work extends to site selection too. When Amazon considers building a facility in a new market, the TERA team models the operating environment based on indicators from markets it already knows.\r\n\r\n\u201cOne of the things that the GIS enablement really helps with is we have been able to build risk profiles that inform what a new environment needs before we're operational there, and keep employees and the community safe,\u201d Riter explains.\r\n\r\nWith location intelligence, Popp adds, \u201cthe confidence in decision-making just goes up exponentially.\u201d"},{"acf_fc_layout":"quote","image":774883,"text":"Her information is what helps define what risk looks like and how do we get ahead of it.","author_name":"Ryan Nelson, Amazon","author_profession_organization":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"

\u201cSecurity Is Never Solved\u201d<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nToday, Riter has discovered a newfound peace in Arizona. Her life looks much different than it did when she fled the desert at 18, but some things have remained consistent. Across military and corporate leadership roles, she\u2019s paired an innate curiosity with an urge to protect people and guard the livelihoods of colleagues.\r\n\r\nAt nearly every stage of her career, GIS has helped her stay ahead of threats to safety and operations.\r\n\r\nWhile Riter knows that \u201csecurity is never solved,\u201d she savors the challenge of harnessing location intelligence to analyze incoming risks.\r\n\r\n\u201cThere is an excitement of being able to know you are the one enabling those outcomes,\u201d she says. \u201cYou are the one who is helping make people safer.\u201d"}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"\nSeeing Around Corners at Amazon | Security Operations<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"With experience as a military analyst and a knack for location intelligence, Michelle Riter strengthens Amazon\u2019s security operations.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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