Happy New Year!
I’m Esri’s new director of the public transit industry.
My first responsibility is to the community; I’m driven by the public good. Over the years I’ve learned to embrace its challenges and manage unpredictability by staying agile, and by designing flexible, resilient solutions. That’s why I love transit: it, too, must be agile, adaptable, and centered on serving communities. I’m here to share my take on that philosophy with you.
No two transit agencies are the same. Different demographics, O/D patterns, operating environments, and local politics. But they do share one common goal: providing excellent service to the regions they serve. At the core of all transit agencies’ work is a question of “where?” Pick a department, any department: for every team, through every workflow, for every customer, where things happen matters most.
I’m inspired by a GIS-minded riff on “six degrees of separation,” a concept that seems tailor-made for both transit and GIS. Every point on a map connects to layers of data, people, and stories — land use, ridership patterns, service gaps, community assets, and lived experience. When we link those layers, we can bridge gaps across agencies and neighborhoods, surface root causes rather than symptoms, and turn scattered insights into integrated, location-driven solutions that improve planning, operations, equity, and community engagement. Recomposing for GIS, we’re connected not only by social circles but by the contours of maps and data — limited only by imagination (and perhaps a Wi‑Fi signal).
Each of us brings experiences and perspectives to innovate and influence our communities in practical, meaningful ways. We’re well equipped to optimize this industry and embody those six degrees of location-based connection. As we move forward, our challenge will be to harness these connections to create integrated solutions that reflect the diverse needs of our communities.
The future of GIS in transit isn’t just prettier maps — it’s synthesizing data to enable collaboration and innovation that improve mobility and equity. My goal is to inspire you to move pilots into production, equip you with ideas for decision-ready tools, and support you to keep building networks that scale impact across regions.
So, here’s to us, architects of the GIS in transit’s future! Whether you work in planning, operations, or you lead your agency, every detail counts, and every connection we make matters.
Let’s connect.
