URISA President John Nolte Talks About Rebranding to Geospatial Professional Network

URISA, the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association, has recently undergone a significant brand change, evolving into the Geospatial Professional Network (GPN). This transformation reflects the expanding role of geospatial technologies across industries and aims to better represent the diverse professionals now shaping the field.

We caught up with John Nolte, President of URISA, to discuss this pivotal shift and what it means for the geospatial community.

John Nolte, GISP, is the Director of Enterprise IT at Denver Water. His career spans multiple industries, with a focus on utilities, particularly water. John’s path has seen him rise from a GIS/CAD Analyst to his current leadership role. His involvement in URISA has played a key part in his career progression, offering new networking and educational opportunities.

In this interview, John shares insights into the rebranding process, the future of URISA (now GPN), and how this change will benefit the geospatial community.

Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your career before becoming involved with URISA? What has your experience been like as URISA’s President?

I am currently the Director of Enterprise IT at Denver Water. I started my career as a GIS/CAD Analyst for a small environmental consulting firm in New Jersey. Over the years, I have held various positions — GIS/CAD Technician, GIS Coordinator, Technical Manager, GIS Manager, and now, IT Director. My career has spanned multiple industries, but I have spent the most time in utilities, especially water. My involvement with URISA/GPN has significantly accelerated my career. Gaining exposure to the network that the GPN offers has opened many doors for career growth.

Can you provide some context about URISA’s history?

URISA began as a concept from a conference held in 1963 at the University of Southern California, known as the First Annual Conference on Urban Planning Information Systems and Programs. Edgar Horwood organized this conference and became URISA’s first president. Over the years, URISA has grown into a strong brand in the geospatial industry, with key initiatives like the annual GIS-Pro conference, the Location, Enterprise Address, and Public Safety (LEAP) conference, and training programs such as the GIS Leadership Academy and the new Advanced GIS Leadership Academy.

Initially formed by a small group of urban planners, URISA now represents the global GIS profession. It also offers opportunities for volunteering expertise in emergency response through GISCorps and provides international support. URISA was instrumental in creating the GISP certification and continues to partner with the GISCI to elevate the significance of certification in the industry.

At what point did you feel that URISA no longer reflected its mission, and what prompted the brand change?

URISA continues to reflect on the mission of the organization even while we undergo a brand change. The brand change is to address the transformation of the industry from the initial use of GIS as a planning tool, to robust software and platforms to perform complex analysis of spatial and non-spatial data. The industry has grown substantially over the past 60 years, and we wanted the current brand to reflect that transformation. URISA continues to support its mission of being the organization for GIS professionals as well as supporting professionals at every level of their career, but we wanted a brand to better reflect that mission.

How do you believe the change to the Geospatial Professional Network will benefit the organization?

It really comes down to how you identify. Do you identify yourself as a GIS professional or a user of GIS? We want to make sure that all aspects of the industry are included in the new brand. We started this journey about four years ago at an after-conference board meeting. We performed a market analysis to determine what our competitive advantage was; what sets us apart from the other organizations in the same or similar space.

One of the advantages of being part of an organization like URISA is the networking and educational opportunities that are offered. We have been incredibly successful with our GIS Leadership Academy and our annual conference and we decided to capitalize on that success by building out a brand that reflects what we deliver. URISA has always been about the people that you connect with and the opportunities that these connections create. The GPN builds upon that brand and mission and helps to create a new concept for the entire geospatial profession.

How long do you think it will take to fully transition to the new brand, and when can we expect to see these changes reflected in places like the website?

We anticipate that it will take the greater part of 2025 to transition to the new brand. The GPN also includes local and regional chapters that represent the organization. We want to ensure that the chapters have adequate time and the ability to make the transition to the new brand. We are also working with chapters on delivering value from the new brand and this will take some time. The organization is made up mostly of volunteer members and leaders. We want to make sure that we give adequate support to the volunteers that will be helping with the transition.

What new activities or opportunities can members expect to see under the GPN brand?

The GPN will continue to offer all the great services that we have in the past. The new brand will expand these offerings and include areas that have not been represented in URISA. We are planning to offer additional opportunities for members that are interested in data analytics and data science as well as expand out to the commercial industries and private sector. We want to increase our participation at the Annual conference by offering session tracts on new and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, while we also leverage our expertise in leadership and management.

The GPN will also be a stronger more unified brand for the chapters and communities we serve. One new concept that we are exploring is the idea of communities. These communities would be more along the lines of special interest groups such as GIS professionals in public service, or utilities. We would also offer communities to those that have an interest in a particular subject such as public health or climate change.

With chapters like Ontario and BC URISA adopting new brands, how do you anticipate other chapters and global partners will respond to this shift?

We are hoping that the new brand will unify the chapters as we communicate the value of being part of the larger organization and community. We are planning to expand our offerings to the chapters especially to our international partners. By expanding the organization to better serve our communities we feel that the chapter model will grow both domestically and internationally. As the GPN builds a more robust brand and creates greater opportunities for both education and networking we see larger participation from the local and regional members.

Where do you see the organization going in the future now that you’ve embarked on this new direction?

We are excited to see where this will take us. The timing is perfect for the rebrand as the technology continues to change and the profession becomes more important. GIS is used in nearly every industry and we want to represent everyone that uses GIS. We want to make sure that people can come together with common interests and walk away with a greater connection and network. We also want to make sure that our educational offerings reflect the current environment. By transitioning to the new brand we will be expanding our educational opportunities, increasing our network, and will continue to offer value to everyone in the GIS profession.