Commemorating the 20th Anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina & Rita

The National Alliance for Public Safety GIS (NAPSG) Foundation is pleased to announce the 10th annual Innovation Summit for Preparedness & Resilience (InSPIRE), which will be held May 28 & 29 in collaboration with local, state, federal, and private sector GIS professionals who were called to duty for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

This year’s summit will commemorate Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the devastating storms that changed disaster response in so many ways. Attendees will have the unique opportunity to learn how GIS was used for response and recovery, and ways it shaped how we use GIS today.

InSPIRE 2025 sessions will focus on sharing experiences from these “watershed events” in GIS technology, discussing how GIS and public safety have evolved over two decades. Lessons learned and lessons that remain to be learned will be spotlighted.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

InSPIRE 2025 is open to public sector participants from Federal, state, local, and tribal governments at no cost. Registration priority will be given to the public sector and summit sponsors, with any availability then open to non-sponsor private sector registrants.

For details on sponsorship opportunities, please contact our Executive Director, Peter O’Rourke — porourke@publicsafetygis.org.

We encourage small teams from each agency or jurisdiction that represent the following:

  • Public Safety Officials & First Responders
  • Emergency Management Planners
  • GIS Practitioners & Technologists
  • Federal Agencies
  • Infrastructure Operators
  • Volunteers who support disasters

AGENDA

The InSPIRE 2025 sessions are the result of a collaborative effort involving local, state, federal, and private-sector GIS professionals who responded to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. An agenda is being developed by a Steering Committee comprised of the following people:

  • Jim Mitchell, LA Office of Technology Services (Chair)
  • Ron Langhelm, DHS S&T
  • Catherine Bohn, Dewberry (Sponsor)
  • Victor Leotta, Location-Design
  • Richard Butgereit, Sanborn (Sponsor)
  • Brant Mitchell, LSU, Stephenson Disaster Management Institute
  • Michelle Fischer, USGS
  • Rand Napoli, NAPSG Foundation
  • Jay Grymes, LA GOHSEP
  • Tim Osborn, NOAA
  • Tommy Hicks, NAPSG Foundation
  • Joe Thompson, E. Baton Rouge 911
  • Ryan Lanclos, Esri (Sponsor)

POINTS OF CONTACT

Agenda & Sponsorship Opportunities:
Peter O’Rourke porourke@publicsafetygis.org		 General Information:
Angela Pervél apervel@publicsafetygis.org

THANK YOU, SPONSORS

We are so grateful to our sponsors for helping us fulfill our mission of improving the safety, resilience, and well-being of our communities. Our sponsors’ contribution allows us to support the public safety community at no cost and offer travel scholarships to colleagues who lack funding to attend InSPIRE 2025. To learn more about our sponsors, please click here.