Geographers without Borders

In our third episode of the Award Series, I speak with Devika Jain, the recipient of the Distinguished Contributions Award from Women in GIS for 2025. Devika tells me about why she came to GIS and how her interest in systems to address real world problems drove her pursuit of knowledge in the geospatial realm. We also discuss her work applying Machine Learning to millions of tweets and what the data showed her team about sentiments in different locations.

Listen to hear her concerns about big data, when not to scale up, and how to approach big data biases.

If you're interested in learning more about grant and scholarship opportunities from Women in GIS, check us out always at womeningis.org.

Kris Manske is an emerging GIS Professional, with extensive experience in data management and communications. She discusses with us the challenges faced when laid off from a job, how jiu jitsu has helped her job hunt, and what advice she has for those who might be interested in changing their career trajectory.

In our second episode of the Award Series, I speak with Dolphine Mogina and Hannah Permaul Flores, who were both selected for the Young Professionals Award from Women in GIS in 2025. Together we discuss Hannah's lifelong fascination with maps and how Dolphine's grandmother affected her decision to pursue GIS as a tool. We also talk about tools they use to share their results, the impact of their continuing work, and what their plans are next!

Listen to hear how Dolphine is planning to bring 100% electrification to all of Africa and Hannah's thoughts on Nature as healthcare.

If you're interested in learning more about grant and scholarship opportunities from Women in GIS, check us out always at womeningis.org.

Hannah Permaul Flores is a published researcher and environmentalist whose work bridges geography, resilience, and the arts. She is currently pursuing her MSc in Geography at the University of Toronto, where she explores environmental determinants of health through a spatial lens. She holds an Honours Bachelor of Science degree from the U of T with a double major in Biology and Forest Conservation Science, and was named one of Canada’s Top 25 Environmentalists Under 25. Hannah has worked for leading organizations, including National Geographic and The Nature Conservancy, on climate-focused projects, and presented her undergraduate thesis on mapping wildfire smoke and cardiorespiratory health outcomes in the Amazon at the 2024 Esri User Conference. Her work combines field studies, spatial analysis, and storytelling to deepen our understanding of human–environment interactions and climate justice. She also serves on the University of Toronto President’s Advisory Committee on the Environment, Climate Change, and Sustainability, where she creates opportunities for students to become leaders in sustainability. Hannah will travel to the Amazon in 2026 to conduct her master's thesis fieldwork on the spatial patterns of access to clean drinking water in Peru.
Beyond her academic accolades, she is a celebrated spoken word poet and TEDx speaker who has collaborated with global brands such as NIKE, the Toronto Raptors, and FIFA, using her artistry to champion equity, inclusivity, and environmental awareness. As a proud Black and Latina scholar and artist, Hannah’s practice is grounded in amplifying underrepresented voices and creating barrier-free opportunities for communities to connect with the land, and each other.Dolphine Mongina is a Geospatial Data Scientist at VIDA, a company focused on accelerating electrification across Africa while assessing climate risks to critical infrastructure. In her current role, she provides high-quality geospatial data and analysis that underpin VIDA’s impact-driven work in energy access and climate resilience.

Previously, Dolphine worked at Dalberg Research on a Climate Action Project aimed at advancing a climate-positive growth agenda in Africa. She led and supported key workstreams, including assessing renewable energy and green hydrogen potential across the continent, as well as strategies for decarbonizing the steel and aluminum sectors. Insights from this work were featured at the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi.

Dolphine is particularly interested in leveraging cutting-edge geospatial technologies, machine learning, and primary research to mitigate the impacts of climate change in developing countries. She recently led a project focused on boosting economic growth and shaping livelihoods in the agricultural sector using machine learning in Kenya and Malawi, which was presented at the 2023 ESOMAR Annual Congress in Amsterdam. Her contributions to renewable energy research have also earned her recognition as a Global 30 Under 30 honorees by Significant Insights.

Outside of work, Dolphine enjoys watching and participating in theatre productions and finds listening to poetry a simple and relaxing way to unwind.

In this special episode I am speaking with Rakhat Zhanuzakova and Siqin 'Sisi' Wang, recipients of grants for their geospatial work from Women in GIS in 2025. Rakhats work focuses on using GIS to help rural communities make decisions and to measure the effectiveness of projects and their implementation. Sisi's work focuses on leveraging AI in rural communities in Tanzania to teach GIS to students, comparing success rates between human teachers and computer teachers.

Listen to see which is better at teaching students, how their work will be supported by the Grants awarded from Women in GIS and where their projects are at now.

Veronica Nixon, GISP, is a GIS professional in Phoenix, Arizona, whose work sits at the intersection of Geographic InformationScience, citizen science, and human-centered tech innovation. She holds a Master’s degree in Geography from the University of Iowa, where she focused on qualitative spatio-temporal reasoning. As a grad student craving practical applications, she once described her GIScience research as pure “GIS sci-fi”. Happily, that topic resurfaced in many unexpected ways throughout her 15-year GIS career and she has developed a strong appreciation for qualitative reasoning in many domains and for the ways in which GIS software has begun to support time and change.

Veronica began her professional GIS journey in the research department of a major botanical garden, where she and a team of volunteers and interns built a small geographic information system to support daily garden operations, botanical research, conservation work, and plant-collecting expeditions across the Southwest.

Most recently, Veronica spent nearly five years supporting enterprise GIS infrastructure for Arizona’s water-resourcescommunity. She recently stepped back from the traditional 9–5 to take a GIS Sabbatical, update her technical skills, and explore wide-ranging geospatial interests before choosing her next professional chapter.

Outside of her formal career, Veronica organizes PHXGeo, an highly inclusive and dynamic GIS meetup community for thePhoenix Valley. PHXGeo welcomes anyone—from seasoned GIS practitioners to curious students—and has hosted everything from saguaro surveys to drone best-practice sessions, GIS trivia nights, insider industry tours, GIS softwareshowdowns, and orienteering adventures in the Sonoran Desert. Veronica and her PHXGeo collaborators aim to provide a space where over 500 past and present members can kick back and enjoy sharing their highly diverse geospatialinterests with each other.

Beyond GIS, Veronica describes herself as a “language hobbyist”, with a particular interest in French language and culture. With her European heritage, love of travel, and a degree in international studies, Veronica tentatively hopes to have the opportunity at some point in her career to merge her GIS expertise with her international interests. And inthe meantime, she is thoroughly enjoying using her GIS Sabbatical time to pursue these interests - including coming on the Geography Without Borders Podcast.

Dr. Golnaz Badr is a GIS & Data Systems Specialist withover 15 years of experience spanning geospatial analytics, smart mobility, environmental modeling, and enterprise data solutions. She currently supports statewide geospatial systems and data modernization efforts at the WashingtonState Department of Transportation (WSDOT), where she applies her expertise in GIS, remote sensing, and data analytics to improve asset management, and right-of-way workflows. Previously, Dr. Badr served as an Analytics Product Ownerb and Senior Geospatial Data Scientist at Ford Motor Company, leading smart mobility analytics products and delivering data-driven insights for AutonomousVehicles analytics and fleet intelligence. Her work has bridged research, industry, and public-sector applications, with prior roles including Postdoctoral Associate at Cornell University, Research Intern at IBM’s Thomas J. Watson Research Center, and Visiting Assistant Professor in environmentalscience. She holds a PhD in Systems Engineering from Washington State University and master’s degrees in both Agricultural Engineering and Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation. Dr. Badr has published  in geospatial and environmental domains, led multiple cross-functionalcollaborations, and serves as a volunteer on Mentorship Committee for Women in GIS (WiGIS).

Her work is driven by a passion for using spatial data,advanced analytics, and thoughtful system design to solve complex real-world challenges across transportation, mobility, and environmental systems.

Olivia (Hughes) Morris, GISP, is a GIS Developer and GISS at the Washington State Department of Natural Resources. She specializes in environmental GIS and volunteers as a responder to wildland fire emergencies with the National Wildfire Coordinating Group. Olivia has a Bachelors of Science in Biology with a Chemistry minor from Washington College, and a Certificate of Data Science and Visualization from UC Berkeley.

Aisha Jenkins, PMP, CTT is a tech equity consultant, specializing in GIS & Digital Strategy, Academic and Workforce development, podcasting, and more. Aisha is guided by a need to be part of the solution, rather than stay comfortable or silent. GIS has been her tool for truth-telling, innovation, and equity. Aisha believes when we center Black and marginalized voices, we open the door for true diversity.Aisha has a Bachelor of Science in Biology/ Chemistry from Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Science in Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh.

Mamata is Head of Cartography at Felt. With over 15 yearsin the geosciences, Mamata has experience in cartographic systems, design, developing cartographic tools and products, and started her career in basemaps, and transitioned into thematic cartography and building cartographic thinking into tools. You may have seen her work if you’ve used ESRI’s dark basemaps or are familiar with the web maps produced for the National Park Service. Mamatahas a BA in Geography from UC Santa Barbara and an MS in Geography from Penn State. Mamata was also named as one of the 40 under 40 of remarkable geospatial professionals in 2017.

Catherine DuBreck, GISP, is an experienced change designer, facilitator, manager, and guru. She has a passion for GIS and it’s more people-y as a board member, teacher, volunteer, author, and consultant. Catherine is especially devoted to connecting with young people through teaching, presenting at conferences, and sharing her story. As a GIS change manager for TRC Companies, Catherine helps clients navigate their business needs as they modernize and update their systems and processes. Catherine also volunteers her skills and capabilities as a member of the Board of Directors of the New York State GIS Association. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Geography from SUNY Geneseo, a Master’s Degree in Geography from Western University, and an array of GIS certificates and microcredentials. Catherine is also one of Geospatial World’s 50 Rising Stars for 2025.