Esri Rail GIS Heroes

Graphic of red stripes radiating outward from a central point beside an abstract blue graphic suggestive of a street map overlaid with many small thumbnail images of smiling people

Esri rail GIS heroes inspire

These heroes are leaders within the GIS community and true GIS champions. As proven problem solvers, they have gained deep respect from colleagues, and their genuine love of GIS technology inspires others to imagine how it can help them achieve their own goals. Join Esri in celebrating these industry leaders who are making a difference in the rail community every day.

GIS Hero | Spring 2025

Leah Twombly

Director, Enterprise Services | OmniTRAX, Inc.

At OmniTRAX, Inc., Leah used disparate sources such as valuation maps, deeds, real-time data, and more to digitize and integrate them into user-friendly applications that provide transparency for their teams. She has also overseen the design, architecture, and development of the Enterprise GIS at OmniTRAX.

Portrait of Leah Twombly smiling in a red, blue, and white checkered blazer over a black blouse with a flat red background

GIS Hero | Spring 2025

David Dooley

Senior Information Technology Manager of GIS | BNSF Railway

David leads the Enterprise GIS team at BNSF. His vision and leadership drives growth of enterprise GIS as the foundation to BNSF’s technology modernization efforts.

Portrait of David Dooley smiling in a white collared shirt with a flat red background

GIS Hero | Spring 2025

Raquel Wright

GIS Program Manager | Federal Railroad Administration

Raquel’s crowning achievement is creating and maintaining the North American Rail Network (NARN). Her work is also instrumental in creating other products to support the FRA, State DOTs, the rail industry and academia.

Portrait of Raquel Wright smiling in a black blouse with a flat red background

Nominate the next Esri rail GIS hero

If you know someone who uses GIS to create innovative solutions and inspire others, nominate them to be Esri’s next rail GIS hero.

Nominate a rail GIS hero