We're excited to continue the ILGISA Board Spotlight series, designed to introduce you to the dedicated members of our Board of Directors. Each installment will highlight a different board member, offering a glimpse into their professional background, current role, and passion for GIS. Through this series, we hope to foster stronger connections within our community and celebrate the individuals guiding our organization. 

Renée Büker, ILGISA Secretary

Can you tell us a little about your background and how you got started in GIS?

GIS is actually a second career for me.  I have a master's degree in library and information studies and worked as an academic reference librarian for a number of years.  In 2014, I decided to enroll in the graduate program in geography at Western Illinois University, with the thought that a second, subject-specialty master's degree would be beneficial in my academic library career.  I discovered I really enjoyed GIS -- the detail-oriented nature of the work, navigating table and database structures with boolean queries, and the importance of planning out good data organization on the back end made GIS feel like a natural fit for my background.  When I graduated, I was offered a position at the WIU GIS Center, and I have been working there since.

What is your current role, and how does GIS play a part in your work?

My current position is Senior GIS Manager at the Western Illinois University GIS Center.  The Center is a partnership between the university and the local city and county government, providing GIS services to the local area and giving current GIS students real-world experience working on these projects.  We also contract with other local entities for GIS projects and have been particularly involved recently in assisting PSAPs with NG911 GIS data.

How long have you been involved with ILGISA?

I have been involved with ILGISA since I was a student at WIU -- the first meeting I attended was a Regional Meeting held on the Western campus in 2016.

What motivated you to join the ILGISA board?

I was encouraged to run for the ILGISA board by Chad Sperry, the WIU GIS Center Director.  He and Kei Nozaki always spoke highly about their experiences serving on the board, and I felt like this would be a good opportunity to give back to the GIS community across the state.

What advice would you give to someone looking to enter the GIS field?

Look for opportunities to get some practical experience before graduating -- whether paid student positions, internships, classes that include field work, or even just volunteer projects.  Working with a real-world GIS need will give you great experience that you can use as talking points in interviews, as well as potential references for job applications.  GIS can be applied in so many different areas, so it will also give you a great idea of what area of GIS you will enjoy and what areas you'd rather pass on.

What’s your favorite GIS-related project you’ve worked on?

I'm a big fan of cartography, so I really enjoyed the map book projects I worked on for the GIS Center back around 2018.  There's a lot of detail work involved in a project like this, both in quality control of the input GIS and reviewing the design of the output layout, but seeing the final product printed and in use by local entities is really rewarding.

Outside of work, do you have any hobbies or interests you would like to share?

I enjoy gardening and can usually be found paging through seed catalogs or wandering through garden centers in the spring.  I also enjoy singing and have been a member of the McDonough Choral Society since 2009.

What’s one fun fact about you that people might not know?

I am a total language nerd.  I have a bachelor's degree in German, have taken classes in Chinese, American Sign Language, and Spanish, and currently have 8 different languages going in my Duolingo app.