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.
Daniel Bartlett
Can you tell us a little about your background and how you got started in GIS?
I prefer to say that “GIS found me”. I was first introduced to GIS while working in mosquito control operations in 2013. At that time, I had never taken a course in GIS or had any experience with the software or the subject matter. I began using GIS in operations, mosquito surveillance and was fortunate to be included in applied research projects. I have since earned a Certificate in GIS (Elmhurst University), Bachelor’s in GIS Technology (University of Arizona) and a Master’s in Spatial Data Science (Penn State University) all online while working full-time in GIS.
What is your current role, and how does GIS play a part in your work?
I am currently the GIS Manager for Cook County’s Bureau of Technology, where I work alongside our director and talented, dedicated team of GIS professionals. I see my role as a facilitator of the County’s GIS mission, along with everything that is required in a management position. Our team manages the County’s ArcGIS Enterprise while curating open geospatial data and supporting end-users. GIS is collaborative by nature, and we work with teams across the county.
How long have you been involved with ILGISA?
I became an ILGISA member when I joined the County in 2023. I have given presentations, participated in panel discussions and served as a moderator at regional and annual conferences since becoming a member.
What motivated you to join the ILGISA board?
My motivation was to help support the organization and membership, professionals and students alike. I started on the Professional Development committee in 2025. I was then elected as a Director on the Board at the Annual Meeting in 2025.
What challenges do GIS professionals face today, and how can organizations like ours help?
One technical challenge is the size or resolutions of geospatial data. As data become denser, they create new considerations for storage, compute and sharing. A professional challenge may be keeping current with evolving technologies while balancing day-to-day responsibilities. I am hoping that ILGISA and the Professional Development committee can create opportunities that allow for continuous learning for busy professionals!
What advice would you give to someone looking to enter the GIS field?
Go Outside! Starting my career in field operations taught me much more than I realized at the time including phenology, data collection with field applications, analyzing and reporting on those data and communicating to stakeholders, colleagues and members of the public how GIS was being used in our work. Do not shy away from field work opportunities. Learn how data behaves beyond the monitor and what it takes to collect it.
Are there any GIS tools or technologies you’re particularly excited about right now?
I have spent time learning about image segmentation and object-based image analysis (classifying groups of like pixels vs classifying each pixel individually). I am excited to follow how well this works as more models, such as the Segment Anything Model (SAM), are trained on remote sensing data. I plan to explore this in QGIS and ArcGIS Pro. I also would like to learn more about the spectral libraries available in ArcPro 3.6.
What’s your favorite GIS-related project you’ve worked on?
My favorite project is the next one. The use cases for GIS are vast, and each project brings new considerations, challenges and opportunities for creating solutions. At the county, I have enjoyed learning about Esri’s deep learning libraries, the success of our pilot project on land use land cover that will be expanding county-wide at 3-inch resolution in late 2026 and modernizing our applications including the update of CookViewer in 2025. Our GIS Team is always up to the task!
During my time in mosquito control, I led a project assessing product applications before flood events over several large areas of challenging terrain. That project required a lot of GIS to define study areas, capture data at the site, analyze it in the lab and a lot of cross-departmental coordination.
Outside of work, do you have any hobbies or interests you would like to share?
Anything that gets me away from the screen. Fishing is my favorite hobby. I also like day hikes in state parks on the weekend.
What’s one fun fact about you that people might not know?
I played rugby growing up and coached for about a decade. I hope to rejoin that community as a coach in the future.
What goals do you have for the organization moving forward?
I would like to help the organization with student and career development opportunities. I also hope that we can continue to reach GIS users who are not yet members of ILGISA. New members bring new perspectives which enable the organization to continue to meet the needs of membership.
How can members of the GIS community get more involved in ILGISA?
Joining a committee is a great way to get involved and learn more about the organization.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
The geospatial community is still a relatively closeknit group despite the growth it has seen in the past several decades. ILGISA is a great way to build your network and stay connected to other GIS Professionals.
