{"id":2982263,"date":"2026-10-29T02:00:25","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T09:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&#038;p=2982263"},"modified":"2026-10-29T03:29:39","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T10:29:39","slug":"meet-the-judges-of-the-2026-arcgis-storymaps-competition","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-storymaps\/sharing-collaboration\/meet-the-judges-of-the-2026-arcgis-storymaps-competition","title":{"rendered":"Meet the judges of the 2026 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition"},"author":9422,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":""},"categories":[37511],"tags":[42641,398132,538552,706371,27881],"industry":[],"product":[36611,380802],"class_list":["post-2982263","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sharing-collaboration","tag-arcgis-online","tag-arcgis-storymaps","tag-competition","tag-storymaps","tag-storytelling","product-story-maps","product-arcgis-storymaps"],"acf":{"short_description":"Meet the guest judges of the 2026 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition and get their advice for telling a winning story.","flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/preview.esri.com\/en-us\/arcgis\/products\/arcgis-storymaps\/contest\/overview\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2026 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition<\/a> opened in September with a question: <em>How do you use maps and GIS in the bold pursuit of a better world?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>In less than two months, we\u2019ve received story submissions from students and professionals in over 20 countries and in nine languages. Those stories fall evenly into our four competition categories, with the most submissions in &#8220;Designing a better future.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Haven\u2019t started your story? Still crafting the narrative and maps? No problem \u2014 we\u2019ve got you covered. Read the recent post, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/story-maps\/constituent-engagement\/arcgis-storymaps-competition-criteria\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Your guide to entering the ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition<\/a>, for important competition rules and storytelling tips.<\/p>\n<p>And get advice from this year\u2019s competition judges: Karina Amalbert, V\u00e9ronique Couttee-Jenkins, Dr. Dawn Wright, Charlie Mix, and Lauren Tierney.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2986358,"id":2986358,"title":"26_judges-cover","filename":"26_judges-cover.png","filesize":2310656,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/26_judges-cover.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-storymaps\/sharing-collaboration\/meet-the-judges-of-the-2026-arcgis-storymaps-competition\/26_judges-cover","alt":"A rectangular card with a collage of five people in geometric shapes and with the words Meet the Judges, 2026 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition","author":"9422","description":"","caption":"Explore our Meet the Judges collection with a short-form story about each guest judge.","name":"26_judges-cover","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2982263,"date":"2026-10-28 10:58:52","modified":"2026-10-28 14:44:11","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1920,"height":1080,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/26_judges-cover-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/26_judges-cover.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/26_judges-cover.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":432,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/26_judges-cover.png","large-width":1920,"large-height":1080,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/26_judges-cover-1536x864.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":864,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/26_judges-cover.png","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1080,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/26_judges-cover-826x465.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/26_judges-cover.png","wide_image-width":1920,"wide_image-height":1080}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/collections\/2c0a57f7d958430294b5a5a92e6898c7"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<p>We asked each guest judge four questions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What&#8217;s your advice for telling a geospatial story?<\/li>\n<li>Whose work inspires you?<\/li>\n<li>From among your projects, do you have a favorite?<\/li>\n<li>Why should individuals and organizations enter the competition?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>We&#8217;ve dropped their answers and fun biographical information into ArcGIS StoryMaps frames for short-form stories about each judge. Read them all in our <a href=\"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/collections\/2c0a57f7d958430294b5a5a92e6898c7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Meet the Judges collection<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Get started with a snapshot of the judges below.<\/strong><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2986353,"id":2986353,"title":"separator-blog-26-competition","filename":"separator-blog-26-competition.png","filesize":91662,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-storymaps\/sharing-collaboration\/meet-the-judges-of-the-2026-arcgis-storymaps-competition\/separator-blog-26-competition","alt":"","author":"9422","description":"","caption":"","name":"separator-blog-26-competition","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2982263,"date":"2026-10-28 10:50:03","modified":"2026-10-28 10:50:03","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1952,"height":237,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":56,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":93,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","large-width":1920,"large-height":233,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition-1536x186.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":186,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","2048x2048-width":1952,"2048x2048-height":237,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition-826x100.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":100,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition-1920x233.png","wide_image-width":1920,"wide_image-height":233}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2986377,"id":2986377,"title":"karina quote 3","filename":"karina-quote-3.png","filesize":78571,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/karina-quote-3.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-storymaps\/sharing-collaboration\/meet-the-judges-of-the-2026-arcgis-storymaps-competition\/karina-quote-3","alt":"\"The competition pushed us to look at our story with even more detail and care than before, and that dedicated time helped us build a strong foundation for community-centric storytelling within Latinx communities.\" Karina Amalbert, Geospatial Project Manager for Latinos in Heritage Conservation","author":"9422","description":"","caption":"","name":"karina-quote-3","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2982263,"date":"2026-10-28 11:35:48","modified":"2026-10-28 11:36:50","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1062,"height":462,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/karina-quote-3-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/karina-quote-3.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":202,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/karina-quote-3.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":334,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/karina-quote-3.png","large-width":1062,"large-height":462,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/karina-quote-3.png","1536x1536-width":1062,"1536x1536-height":462,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/karina-quote-3.png","2048x2048-width":1062,"2048x2048-height":462,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/karina-quote-3-826x359.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":359,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/karina-quote-3.png","wide_image-width":1062,"wide_image-height":462}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2986374,"id":2986374,"title":"Karina","filename":"Karina.png","filesize":459672,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Karina.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-storymaps\/sharing-collaboration\/meet-the-judges-of-the-2026-arcgis-storymaps-competition\/karina","alt":"A stylized headshot of Karina Amalbert","author":"9422","description":"","caption":"Read Karina's story for competition advice.","name":"karina","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2982263,"date":"2026-10-28 11:29:34","modified":"2026-10-28 11:54:44","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":600,"height":536,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Karina-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Karina.png","medium-width":292,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Karina.png","medium_large-width":600,"medium_large-height":536,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Karina.png","large-width":600,"large-height":536,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Karina.png","1536x1536-width":600,"1536x1536-height":536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Karina.png","2048x2048-width":600,"2048x2048-height":536,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Karina-521x465.png","card_image-width":521,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Karina.png","wide_image-width":600,"wide_image-height":536}},"image_position":"right","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/frames\/b6ad6dc441fd4237873f0c4f1df00ec3"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<p>Karina Amalbert is the Geospatial Project Manager for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latinoheritage.us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Latinos in Heritage Conservation<\/a>, where she leads the Abuelas Project\u2019s online GIS platform, manages a growing digital archive, mentors emerging fellows, and builds strong, meaningful connections with communities.<\/p>\n<p>With a background in urban planning and a passion for sociology, economics, and cultural geography, Karina<span class=\"jsx-1f24ab0bc0e7a45f\">\u00a0<\/span>uses innovative mapping tools to uplift and preserve Latino heritage.<\/p>\n<p>She and the Latinos in Heritage Conservation group won the 2024 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition in the Humanities and Popular Culture category for their inspiring historical story <a class=\"jsx-3084201373 underline-solid\" href=\"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/stories\/4a2e09dcc5474a12a34993ec8eb06620\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-id=\"MT1HkI0\">Braceros Across the United States &#8211; Mexico Border<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/karina-amalbert\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Follow Karina on LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/frames\/b6ad6dc441fd4237873f0c4f1df00ec3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read and share Karina&#8217;s story<\/a>.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2986353,"id":2986353,"title":"separator-blog-26-competition","filename":"separator-blog-26-competition.png","filesize":91662,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-storymaps\/sharing-collaboration\/meet-the-judges-of-the-2026-arcgis-storymaps-competition\/separator-blog-26-competition","alt":"","author":"9422","description":"","caption":"","name":"separator-blog-26-competition","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2982263,"date":"2026-10-28 10:50:03","modified":"2026-10-28 10:50:03","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1952,"height":237,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":56,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":93,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","large-width":1920,"large-height":233,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition-1536x186.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":186,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","2048x2048-width":1952,"2048x2048-height":237,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition-826x100.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":100,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition-1920x233.png","wide_image-width":1920,"wide_image-height":233}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2986400,"id":2986400,"title":"vero quote 2","filename":"vero-quote-2.png","filesize":71710,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/vero-quote-2.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-storymaps\/sharing-collaboration\/meet-the-judges-of-the-2026-arcgis-storymaps-competition\/vero-quote-2","alt":"\"The competition gives you a positive goal to work toward, and it\u2019s a way to share your story with a wider audience and bring visibility to the issues you care about.\" V\u00e9ronique Couttee-Jenkins, founder of Geospatial Equity Tech and AfriTech Fellowship","author":"9422","description":"","caption":"","name":"vero-quote-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2982263,"date":"2026-10-28 13:12:08","modified":"2026-10-28 13:12:15","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1067,"height":427,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/vero-quote-2-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/vero-quote-2.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":186,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/vero-quote-2.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":307,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/vero-quote-2.png","large-width":1067,"large-height":427,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/vero-quote-2.png","1536x1536-width":1067,"1536x1536-height":427,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/vero-quote-2.png","2048x2048-width":1067,"2048x2048-height":427,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/vero-quote-2-826x331.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":331,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/vero-quote-2.png","wide_image-width":1067,"wide_image-height":427}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2986382,"id":2986382,"title":"Veronique","filename":"Veronique.png","filesize":477736,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Veronique.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-storymaps\/sharing-collaboration\/meet-the-judges-of-the-2026-arcgis-storymaps-competition\/veronique","alt":"A stylized headshot of V\u00e9ronique Couttee-Jenkins","author":"9422","description":"","caption":"Read V\u00e9ronique's story for competition advice.","name":"veronique","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2982263,"date":"2026-10-28 11:55:33","modified":"2026-10-28 11:57:00","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":600,"height":536,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Veronique-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Veronique.png","medium-width":292,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Veronique.png","medium_large-width":600,"medium_large-height":536,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Veronique.png","large-width":600,"large-height":536,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Veronique.png","1536x1536-width":600,"1536x1536-height":536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Veronique.png","2048x2048-width":600,"2048x2048-height":536,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Veronique-521x465.png","card_image-width":521,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Veronique.png","wide_image-width":600,"wide_image-height":536}},"image_position":"left","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/frames\/d257eb7e50574696aaf7da3352575b8d"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<p>V\u00e9ronique Couttee-Jenkins, a Creole Mauritian woman, is a leadership, impact, and equity specialist. She founded\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.geoequitytech.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Geospatial Equity Tech<\/a><span class=\"jsx-1f24ab0bc0e7a45f\">\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.afritechfellowship.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">AfriTech Fellowship<\/a><span class=\"jsx-1f24ab0bc0e7a45f\">\u00a0<\/span> to apply spatial thinking and geospatial technology to social and environmental advocacy.<\/p>\n<p>Through the AfriTech Fellowship, V\u00e9ronique equips womxn from Africa and of African descent with skills in spatial technology, inclusive leadership, project management, and wellness. It has grown into a broader network supporting womxn in tech and innovation across the continent. Over 30 fellows have completed the program to drive digital transformation in their communities.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/veroniquecouttee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Follow V\u00e9ronique on LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/frames\/d257eb7e50574696aaf7da3352575b8d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read and share V\u00e9ronique&#8217;s story<\/a>.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2986353,"id":2986353,"title":"separator-blog-26-competition","filename":"separator-blog-26-competition.png","filesize":91662,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-storymaps\/sharing-collaboration\/meet-the-judges-of-the-2026-arcgis-storymaps-competition\/separator-blog-26-competition","alt":"","author":"9422","description":"","caption":"","name":"separator-blog-26-competition","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2982263,"date":"2026-10-28 10:50:03","modified":"2026-10-28 10:50:03","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1952,"height":237,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":56,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":93,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","large-width":1920,"large-height":233,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition-1536x186.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":186,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","2048x2048-width":1952,"2048x2048-height":237,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition-826x100.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":100,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition-1920x233.png","wide_image-width":1920,"wide_image-height":233}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2986386,"id":2986386,"title":"dawn quote","filename":"dawn-quote.png","filesize":68872,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/dawn-quote.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-storymaps\/sharing-collaboration\/meet-the-judges-of-the-2026-arcgis-storymaps-competition\/dawn-quote","alt":"\"People are moved by emotion, and we know from experience that one of the best ways to capture attention and gain emotional connection is start simply with 'Once upon a time\u2026'\" Dr. Dawn Wright, Chief Scientist at Esri","author":"9422","description":"","caption":"","name":"dawn-quote","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2982263,"date":"2026-10-28 12:13:16","modified":"2026-10-28 12:14:05","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1053,"height":494,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/dawn-quote-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/dawn-quote.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":218,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/dawn-quote.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":360,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/dawn-quote.png","large-width":1053,"large-height":494,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/dawn-quote.png","1536x1536-width":1053,"1536x1536-height":494,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/dawn-quote.png","2048x2048-width":1053,"2048x2048-height":494,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/dawn-quote-826x388.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":388,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/dawn-quote.png","wide_image-width":1053,"wide_image-height":494}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2986387,"id":2986387,"title":"Dawn","filename":"Dawn.png","filesize":485813,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Dawn.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-storymaps\/sharing-collaboration\/meet-the-judges-of-the-2026-arcgis-storymaps-competition\/dawn","alt":"A stylized head shot of Dr. Dawn Wright","author":"9422","description":"","caption":"Read Dawn's story for competition advice.","name":"dawn","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2982263,"date":"2026-10-28 12:14:43","modified":"2026-10-28 12:16:09","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":600,"height":536,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Dawn-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Dawn.png","medium-width":292,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Dawn.png","medium_large-width":600,"medium_large-height":536,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Dawn.png","large-width":600,"large-height":536,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Dawn.png","1536x1536-width":600,"1536x1536-height":536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Dawn.png","2048x2048-width":600,"2048x2048-height":536,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Dawn-521x465.png","card_image-width":521,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Dawn.png","wide_image-width":600,"wide_image-height":536}},"image_position":"right","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/frames\/daadc3e1b70641b99de78a80f4b4c076"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<p>Dr. Dawn Wright, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/about\/science\/overview\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chief Scientist of Esri<\/a>, is a specialist in marine geology, geography, and oceanography.<\/p>\n<p>To many, she is Deepsea Dawn \u2014 a name earned after completing numerous trips to the bottom of the ocean. Dawn made history in 2022 when she became the first Black person to visit Challenger Deep, the deepest and most unexplored place on Earth \u2014 a trip that took her over 10,000 meters beneath the Pacific Ocean\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n<p>Dawn works to strengthen the scientific foundation for Esri&#8217;s products and services. She led the team that created the Ecological Marine Units (EMUs), a 3D digital ocean that creates better understanding of marine environments and how to plan for more sustainable activities there in the wake of climate change.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/deepseadawn\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Follow Dawn on LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/frames\/daadc3e1b70641b99de78a80f4b4c076\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read and share Dawn&#8217;s story<\/a>.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2986353,"id":2986353,"title":"separator-blog-26-competition","filename":"separator-blog-26-competition.png","filesize":91662,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-storymaps\/sharing-collaboration\/meet-the-judges-of-the-2026-arcgis-storymaps-competition\/separator-blog-26-competition","alt":"","author":"9422","description":"","caption":"","name":"separator-blog-26-competition","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2982263,"date":"2026-10-28 10:50:03","modified":"2026-10-28 10:50:03","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1952,"height":237,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":56,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":93,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","large-width":1920,"large-height":233,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition-1536x186.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":186,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","2048x2048-width":1952,"2048x2048-height":237,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition-826x100.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":100,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition-1920x233.png","wide_image-width":1920,"wide_image-height":233}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2986392,"id":2986392,"title":"charlie quote 2","filename":"charlie-quote-2.png","filesize":64165,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/charlie-quote-2.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-storymaps\/sharing-collaboration\/meet-the-judges-of-the-2026-arcgis-storymaps-competition\/charlie-quote-2","alt":"\"A good story evokes emotion and connects the audience to the issue at hand, leaving them with something to think about and sit with long after they read it.\" Charlie Mix, GIS Director at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga","author":"9422","description":"","caption":"","name":"charlie-quote-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2982263,"date":"2026-10-28 12:34:09","modified":"2026-10-28 12:34:55","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1058,"height":427,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/charlie-quote-2-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/charlie-quote-2.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":187,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/charlie-quote-2.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":310,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/charlie-quote-2.png","large-width":1058,"large-height":427,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/charlie-quote-2.png","1536x1536-width":1058,"1536x1536-height":427,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/charlie-quote-2.png","2048x2048-width":1058,"2048x2048-height":427,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/charlie-quote-2-826x333.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":333,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/charlie-quote-2.png","wide_image-width":1058,"wide_image-height":427}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2986390,"id":2986390,"title":"Charlie","filename":"Charlie.png","filesize":313184,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Charlie.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-storymaps\/sharing-collaboration\/meet-the-judges-of-the-2026-arcgis-storymaps-competition\/charlie","alt":"A stylized head shot of Charlie Mix","author":"9422","description":"","caption":"Read Charlie's story for competition advice.","name":"charlie","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2982263,"date":"2026-10-28 12:29:38","modified":"2026-10-28 12:35:44","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":600,"height":536,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Charlie-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Charlie.png","medium-width":292,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Charlie.png","medium_large-width":600,"medium_large-height":536,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Charlie.png","large-width":600,"large-height":536,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Charlie.png","1536x1536-width":600,"1536x1536-height":536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Charlie.png","2048x2048-width":600,"2048x2048-height":536,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Charlie-521x465.png","card_image-width":521,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Charlie.png","wide_image-width":600,"wide_image-height":536}},"image_position":"left","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/frames\/5ea210c336034d0689ac93da8528d8b6"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<p>Charlie Mix serves as GIS Director at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) and is the founding director of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.utc.edu\/research\/utc-center-for-applied-geospatial-data-science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UTC\u2019s Center for Applied Geospatial Data Science<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Charlie is a geospatial data scientist, cartographer, and educator who is passionate about storytelling through maps and advancing spatial thinking to support a more sustainable world. His work emphasizes impactful, real-world learning opportunities that connect students with meaningful community challenges.<\/p>\n<p>Charlie and his team at UTC won the Storytelling with Maps Innovation Award in Esri&#8217;s 2025 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition for <a class=\"jsx-3084201373 underline-solid\" href=\"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/stories\/6c80d339992b4d279ae4f7fd2b0bdd61\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" data-id=\"2mUqx_I\"><span class=\"jsx-1f24ab0bc0e7a45f\">\u00a0<\/span><em class=\"jsx-3ea0a99d3ffd0d56\" data-testid=\"CustomText-Italic\">Mapping Chattanooga\u2019s Urban Forests: Using GeoAI to Find the Best Places to Plant 5000 Trees for the Chattanooga Tree Project<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/charlie-mix\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Follow Charlie on LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/frames\/5ea210c336034d0689ac93da8528d8b6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read and share Charlie&#8217;s story<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2986353,"id":2986353,"title":"separator-blog-26-competition","filename":"separator-blog-26-competition.png","filesize":91662,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-storymaps\/sharing-collaboration\/meet-the-judges-of-the-2026-arcgis-storymaps-competition\/separator-blog-26-competition","alt":"","author":"9422","description":"","caption":"","name":"separator-blog-26-competition","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2982263,"date":"2026-10-28 10:50:03","modified":"2026-10-28 10:50:03","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1952,"height":237,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":56,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":93,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","large-width":1920,"large-height":233,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition-1536x186.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":186,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","2048x2048-width":1952,"2048x2048-height":237,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition-826x100.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":100,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition-1920x233.png","wide_image-width":1920,"wide_image-height":233}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2986396,"id":2986396,"title":"lauren quote 2","filename":"lauren-quote-2.png","filesize":49700,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/lauren-quote-2.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-storymaps\/sharing-collaboration\/meet-the-judges-of-the-2026-arcgis-storymaps-competition\/lauren-quote-2","alt":"\"Feedback and constructive critique are incredibly important to the storytelling and map-making process.\" Lauren Tierney, Senior Product Manager of Mapping and Cartography at Esri","author":"9422","description":"","caption":"","name":"lauren-quote-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2982263,"date":"2026-10-28 12:53:05","modified":"2026-10-28 12:53:51","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1052,"height":377,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/lauren-quote-2-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/lauren-quote-2.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":166,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/lauren-quote-2.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":275,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/lauren-quote-2.png","large-width":1052,"large-height":377,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/lauren-quote-2.png","1536x1536-width":1052,"1536x1536-height":377,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/lauren-quote-2.png","2048x2048-width":1052,"2048x2048-height":377,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/lauren-quote-2-826x296.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":296,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/lauren-quote-2.png","wide_image-width":1052,"wide_image-height":377}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2986397,"id":2986397,"title":"Lauren-v2","filename":"Lauren-v2.png","filesize":328222,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Lauren-v2.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-storymaps\/sharing-collaboration\/meet-the-judges-of-the-2026-arcgis-storymaps-competition\/lauren-v2","alt":"A stylized headshot of Lauren Tierney","author":"9422","description":"","caption":"Read Lauren's story for competition advice.","name":"lauren-v2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2982263,"date":"2026-10-28 12:54:50","modified":"2026-10-28 12:56:11","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":600,"height":536,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Lauren-v2-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Lauren-v2.png","medium-width":292,"medium-height":261,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Lauren-v2.png","medium_large-width":600,"medium_large-height":536,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Lauren-v2.png","large-width":600,"large-height":536,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Lauren-v2.png","1536x1536-width":600,"1536x1536-height":536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Lauren-v2.png","2048x2048-width":600,"2048x2048-height":536,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Lauren-v2-521x465.png","card_image-width":521,"card_image-height":465,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Lauren-v2.png","wide_image-width":600,"wide_image-height":536}},"image_position":"right","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/frames\/2202b4f422f642748649956925748e84"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/author\/ltierney\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lauren Tierney<\/a> is the Senior Product Manager of Mapping and Cartography at Esri.<\/p>\n<p>Before joining Esri, Lauren worked as a cartographer for The Washington Post and National Geographic. She has a masters degree in geography from the University of Oregon.<\/p>\n<p>Lauren enjoys telling stories with maps and specializes in mapping environment, climate, wildlife, and adventure topics.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/lauren-tierney-86411455\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Follow Lauren on LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/frames\/2202b4f422f642748649956925748e84\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read and share Lauren&#8217;s story<\/a>.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2986353,"id":2986353,"title":"separator-blog-26-competition","filename":"separator-blog-26-competition.png","filesize":91662,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-storymaps\/sharing-collaboration\/meet-the-judges-of-the-2026-arcgis-storymaps-competition\/separator-blog-26-competition","alt":"","author":"9422","description":"","caption":"","name":"separator-blog-26-competition","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2982263,"date":"2026-10-28 10:50:03","modified":"2026-10-28 10:50:03","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1952,"height":237,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":56,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":93,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","large-width":1920,"large-height":233,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition-1536x186.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":186,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition.png","2048x2048-width":1952,"2048x2048-height":237,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition-826x100.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":100,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/09\/separator-blog-26-competition-1920x233.png","wide_image-width":1920,"wide_image-height":233}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<p>A sincere thank you to the 2026 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition judges for sharing their time and expertise with our global geospatial storytelling community.<\/p>\n<p>Browse our <a href=\"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/collections\/2c0a57f7d958430294b5a5a92e6898c7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Meet the Judges collection<\/a> to read their stories and advice \u2014 all in one location.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":{"ID":2986410,"id":2986410,"title":"meet the judges collection","filename":"meet-the-judges-collection.png","filesize":850008,"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/meet-the-judges-collection.png","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/products\/arcgis-storymaps\/sharing-collaboration\/meet-the-judges-of-the-2026-arcgis-storymaps-competition\/meet-the-judges-collection","alt":"A screenshot of an ArcGIS StoryMaps collection with a map on the left and a collection description with gallery cards on the left","author":"9422","description":"","caption":"Browse our Meet the Judges collection of short stories.","name":"meet-the-judges-collection","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":2982263,"date":"2026-10-28 14:01:36","modified":"2026-10-28 14:13:06","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/png","type":"image","subtype":"png","icon":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1888,"height":925,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/meet-the-judges-collection-213x200.png","thumbnail-width":213,"thumbnail-height":200,"medium":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/meet-the-judges-collection.png","medium-width":464,"medium-height":227,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/meet-the-judges-collection.png","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":376,"large":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/meet-the-judges-collection.png","large-width":1888,"large-height":925,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/meet-the-judges-collection-1536x753.png","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":753,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/meet-the-judges-collection.png","2048x2048-width":1888,"2048x2048-height":925,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/meet-the-judges-collection-826x405.png","card_image-width":826,"card_image-height":405,"wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/meet-the-judges-collection.png","wide_image-width":1888,"wide_image-height":925}},"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":"https:\/\/storymaps.arcgis.com\/collections\/2c0a57f7d958430294b5a5a92e6898c7"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<p>Submit your story to the <a href=\"https:\/\/preview.esri.com\/en-us\/arcgis\/products\/arcgis-storymaps\/contest\/overview\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2026 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition<\/a> by December 11, 2026, to become a Storyteller of the Year! We can\u2019t wait to see what you create.<\/p>\n"}],"authors":[{"ID":9422,"user_firstname":"Michelle","user_lastname":"Thomas","nickname":"Michelle Thomas","user_nicename":"mthomas","display_name":"Michelle Thomas","user_email":"mthomas@esri.com","user_url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/arcgis\/products\/arcgis-storymaps\/overview","user_registered":"2019-04-05 16:54:26","user_description":"Michelle Thomas is a senior content strategist and customer engagement lead on Esri's ArcGIS Storytelling team. She manages the annual ArcGIS StoryMaps competition, digital platforms, and storytelling campaigns that feature storytellers globally.\r\n\r\nPrior to joining Esri, Michelle created digital campaigns at the U.S. Interior Department and U.S. Department of Agriculture. She leveraged Esri's storytelling tools at both agencies, connecting people, resources, and places through stories. She joined Esri's ArcGIS Storytelling team to share those experiences widely and empower storytellers to make a difference with maps and GIS.","user_avatar":"<img data-del=\"avatar\" src='https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2020\/09\/mthomaspic.jpg' class='avatar pp-user-avatar avatar-96 photo ' height='96' width='96'\/>"}],"related_articles":[{"ID":1700062,"post_author":"32401","post_date":"2026-10-12 18:00:51","post_date_gmt":"2026-10-13 01:00:51","post_content":"","post_title":"Your guide to entering the 2026 ArcGIS StoryMaps competition","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"arcgis-storymaps-competition-criteria","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2026-10-12 20:32:39","post_modified_gmt":"2026-10-13 03:32:39","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&#038;p=1700062","menu_order":0,"post_type":"blog","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":2967323,"post_author":"9422","post_date":"2026-09-08 06:00:42","post_date_gmt":"2026-09-08 13:00:42","post_content":"","post_title":"Submit your geospatial story to the 2026 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"2026-arcgis-storymaps-competition","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2026-09-08 09:42:43","post_modified_gmt":"2026-09-08 16:42:43","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&#038;p=2967323","menu_order":0,"post_type":"blog","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":2960522,"post_author":"9422","post_date":"2026-04-22 06:00:27","post_date_gmt":"2026-04-22 13:00:27","post_content":"","post_title":"Get inspired by the 2025 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition winners","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"get-inspired-by-the-2025-arcgis-storymaps-competition-winners","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2026-04-23 16:01:42","post_modified_gmt":"2026-04-23 23:01:42","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&#038;p=2960522","menu_order":0,"post_type":"blog","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"},{"ID":2835122,"post_author":"9422","post_date":"2025-06-17 03:04:48","post_date_gmt":"2025-06-17 10:04:48","post_content":"","post_title":"Seven things we learned from the 2024 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition winners","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"seven-things-we-learned-from-the-2024-arcgis-storymaps-competition-winners","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2026-07-28 06:56:08","post_modified_gmt":"2026-07-28 13:56:08","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/?post_type=blog&#038;p=2835122","menu_order":0,"post_type":"blog","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"show_article_image":false,"card_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/26_judges-thumbnail.png","wide_image":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/arcgis-blog\/app\/uploads\/2026\/10\/26_judges-cover.png"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.9 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Meet the judges of the 2026 ArcGIS StoryMaps Competition<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" 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