2026 Big Sky GeoCon Workshop Schedule

Monday, April 13

Tuesday, April 14

Workshop Descriptions

Monday, April 13

Workshop: Introduction to ArcGIS Data Management Using Python (Full Day)

Instructor: David Howes, David  Howes, LLC

Description: 

ArcGIS Pro allows users to meet data management requirements, such as creating, reading, loading, updating, and deleting feature classes and tables, manually using geoprocessing tools, editing operations, and data manipulation functionality. While this may work well for small datasets, it can become unwieldy as the number of values and number of required operations increases. This is where Python comes in, especially when accompanied by an appreciation for the value of well-crafted and versatile code. Being able to streamline and automate workflows can save significant amounts of time and effort, can increase confidence in outcomes, and can provide a valuable record of how and when processes have been run.

Intended Audience:

GIS professionals familiar with ArcGIS Pro and Python and wishing to manage ArcGIS data in a flexible and efficient manner.

Prerequisite Requirements: 

Anyone wishing to attend this workshop must also have attended the associated workshop, "Introduction to Python Programming." An exception to this requirement will be made if the instructor is satisfied that your level of Python experience is such that attending the introductory workshop is not necessary. If required, please contact David at info@gispd.com to request a waiver.

The "Introduction to Python Programming" workshop will be offered online via Northwest GIS on February 19th-20th, 2026. Please see https://nwgis.org/event-6459192 for details and registration. Details are also provided at GISPD.com/training.

Format and Technical Requirements:

The workshop will consist of a balance between lecture material and demonstrations, which forms the basis for a flexible and interactive training approach. There will be plenty of time for discussion and experimentation, which will result in a rich and rewarding experience for everyone involved.

Attendees must bring their own laptop.

Setup:

Setup steps will be provided and must be completed prior to the workshop and attendees will be contacted to ensure that the required software is installed and that they can save workshop files onto their machine. Attendees are asked, therefore, to make sure they can be reached via the email address and phone number they used to register for the workshop.

Instructor Bio:

David Howes is a geospatial information scientist and the sole owner at David Howes, LLC (dhowes.com) in Seattle, WA, specializing in the development of GIS tools, processes, and supporting infrastructure for a variety of clients from small operations to multinational corporations. With over 30 years of academic and private sector experience in both the United Kingdom and the United States in geography, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and fluvial geomorphology (including a Ph.D. in geomorphology from the State University of New York at Buffalo and an M.Sc. in GIS from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland), David has a diverse background that is well suited to developing innovative solutions to spatial problems. He is a regular supporter of and provider of GIS professional development activities and training, typically as part of his GISPD.com initiative.

Workshop: A Knowledge Workers Guide to Visual Management (Full Day)

Instructor: Brett Horr, Terracon

Description:  

“Visual Management is the application of Lean and Agile practices to build new ways of working for individuals and teams on-the-fly” (Modus Institute).

We take a system thinking approach to the complexities of new/unexplored work, (mis)understanding, decision-less meetings, interruptions, prioritization, communicating decisions and difficulty of collaboration. Through this highly interactive workshop, we will introduce the system of communications, system of meetings and the system of doing the right work at the right time. We will conduct practical exercises that focus on visualizing our work and limiting our work in progress. We will look at value stream mapping as an effective visualization and how to put those visualizations into action. There will be exercises to harvest ideas and tackle sticky problems. Ultimately, we will turn learning into action items.

Learning Objectives

Instructor Bio:

Brett is the Corporate GIS Manager for Terracon Consulting Engineers and has worked in the GIS field for over 2 decades. His duties include the management of GIS analysis, geohazard mapping, web and mobile mapping projects, & company GIS support. Brett is also a retired police officer with the York, Maine Police Department. He is a certified Forensic Investigator and certified Forensic Mapper for crash and crime scene investigations. He has provided assistance to many local, state, and federal agencies through the use of crime mapping and analysis. Brett has his FAA certification as a Remote Pilot in Command for small UAVs. Brett is a member of the GIS Leadership Academy committee, is a co-author for the Advanced GIS Leadership Academy, was the Secretary for the Northeast Arc Users (NEARC) Board of Directors from 2012 - 2014, was President for the NEARC Board of Directors from 2014 – 2016, was Past-President for the NEARC Board of Directors from 2016 - 2018, and was a member of the Board of Directors for the New England Chapter of the URISA from 2012 – 2014.

Workshop: GIS for NG9-1-1 and Addressing (Full Day)

Instructors: Bob Cochran & Michael Fashoway, Montana State Library

Required Software or Hardware: The Montana State Library will provide a computer lab with sample data. Participants are welcome to bring their own data and computer with ArcGIS Pro.

Description:

A full day lecture and hands on training for GIS addressing and becoming NG9-1-1 GIS compliant for local GIS professionals. The Montana State Library will be bringing its computer lab with sample data. You are welcome to bring your own data and computer with ArcGIS Pro . This training will focus on strong data management, constancy, MSL’s 9-1-1 GIS Data Validation and Aggregation Portal and other tools that are available to you.

Morning Session

NG9-1-1 The GIS Data

Planning for success

Data Maintenance and sharing

Afternoon Session

Montana GIS Data Validation and Aggregation Portal - Getting Started

Montana GIS Data Validation and Aggregation Portal - Advanced topics

ArcGIS Plug-in Submission Manager

Instructor Bios:

Michael Fashoway is a GIS Supervisor and the Land Information Lead at the Montana State Library where he leads the development and maintenance of Administrative Boundaries, Cadastral, Mapping Control, Structures/Addresses, and Transportation MSDI themes. He is also active in a state and national standards and advocacy organizations including: the National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC), the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), the FGDC Address Subcommittee, and the Montana 9-1-1 Advisory Council. 

Bob Cochran is in his fourth year as a 9-1-1 GIS Analyst at the Montana State Library where his duties are primarily supporting statewide 9-1-1 GIS needs. Bob specializes in GIS analysis, workflows, and general GIS support. Bob is eager to work individually with everyone to improve the state’s 9-1-1 GIS infrastructure.

Workshop: Introduction to COGO Editing in ArcGIS Pro (Full Day)

Instructor: Kara Utter, GeoSpatial Training Services

IMPORTANT: This course does not cover Parcel Fabric or tools that are unique to Parcel Fabric.

Intended Audience/Description: 

This course is intended for beginner students who want to learn how to use Coordinate Geometry (COGO) tools in ArcGIS Pro to create, edit, and check geometry using bearings, distances, and curves. It is also designed for those professionals who are transitioning from using COGO in ArcMap and need to learn how to use COGO in ArcGIS Pro.

Before beginning this course, you should be comfortable with basic ArcGIS Pro editing operations like creating and modifying features. While formal surveying education isn’t required, familiarity with concepts like bearings, distances, and angles will help you grasp the material more quickly. Knowledge of different measurement units – feet, meters, degrees – is important since survey data comes in various formats. If you’re new to any of these concepts, consider reviewing the ArcGIS Pro editing basics course before proceeding.

Software and Licenses/Technical Requirements: 

Students need to have their own computer hardware and access to ArcGIS Pro. An ArcGIS Pro Standard or Advanced license is sufficient.

Course Modules:

Summary:

This introductory course provides participants with a practical foundation in Coordinate Geometry (COGO) and traverse workflows within ArcGIS Pro. Designed for users who are new to COGO tools, the course emphasizes step-by-step workflows for entering bearings, distances, and curves; constructing traverses; validating geometry; and more.

Students will begin by learning the purpose of COGO in ArcGIS Pro and how to configure necessary and helpful Project settings before moving into feature creation and editing workflows. Hands-on exercises focus on using COGO-enabled tools, the Traverse pane, applying distance and direction-based edits, and ensuring accuracy through validation and adjustment methods. The course concludes with a bonus section that may be taught dependent on time. This bonus section focuses on generating polygons from linework, providing a complete workflow from setup to output.

By the end of the course, students will be able to confidently apply COGO methods in ArcGIS Pro to create, edit, check, and document geometry defined by bearings, distances, and curves.

Instructor Bio:

Kara has 15 years of experience in data science technologies, with the majority of those years focusing on geospatial. She is the owner of Dynamic Visions GIS and has a diverse background, having provided services to all levels of government, wildfire, public safety, natural resources, fisheries, and nonprofits. Her capacity to complete GIS needs assessments, improve efficiency, and increase internal and public access to information has resulted in many successful project resolutions and National recognition through ESRI’s Special Achievements in GIS awards.

Kara is an active member of the GIS community through participation on multiple boards and committees. These experiences range from leading sub-committees and planning conferences for the Geospatial Professional Network (GPN) and GPN Gem State chapter, to participating in many officer positions on the board of GPN Gem State for the last 8 years.

Workshop: Imagery Management (1/2 Day PM)

Instructor: Ryan Richardon, Esri

Description: 

Workshop description coming soon...

Tuesday, April 15

Workshop: Introduction to ArcGIS Arcade (Full Day)

Instructor: David Howes, David  Howes, LLC

Description: 

The purpose of this workshop is to introduce GIS professionals to the Arcade expression language. According to Esri, "Arcade is a portable, lightweight, and secure expression language used to create custom content in ArcGIS applications." Expressions are written using JavaScript-like syntax to calculate values, such as data values that can be used in a field or a label, formatted text for use in a pop-up, or a set of data values that can serve as the data source for a dashboard. A range of standard scripting capabilities are available to the Arcade developer, allowing for the creation of single-line expressions through to complex multiline expressions involving, for example, custom :and branching. The workshop will provide attendees with a thorough grounding in the core Arcade features, enable them to recognize how to use Arcade in different contexts, and ensure that they are well prepared to take immediate advantage of new capabilities of this constantly evolving language.

Intended Audience:

Anyone wishing to learn the fundamentals of ArcGIS Arcade.

Prerequisite Requirements:

It will be assumed that attendees are generally familiar with using ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online, but have little experience with Arcade or are starting from scratch.

Associated Workshop:

Completion of this workshop is required for anyone wishing to attend the associated workshop: "Intermediate ArcGIS Arcade" (which is offered on Friday, April 17 at this conference). An exception to this requirement will be made if the instructor, David Howes, is satisfied that your level of Arcade experience is such that attending the introductory workshop is not necessary. If required, please contact David at info@gispd.com to request a waiver.

Format and Technical Requirements:

The workshop will consist of a balance between lecture material and demonstrations, forming the basis for a flexible and interactive training approach. There will be plenty of time for discussion and experimentation, which will result in a rich and rewarding experience for everyone involved.

Attendees must have their own license (Creator level or above) for ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online.

Attendees must bring their own laptop.

Setup:

Setup steps will be provided and must be completed prior to the workshop and attendees will be contacted to ensure that the required software is installed and that they can save workshop files onto their machine. Attendees are asked, therefore, to make sure they can be reached via the email address and phone number they used to register for the workshop.

Instructor Bio:

David Howes is a geospatial information scientist and the sole owner at David Howes, LLC (dhowes.com) in Seattle, WA, specializing in the development of GIS tools, processes, and supporting infrastructure for a variety of clients from small operations to multinational corporations. With over 30 years of academic and private sector experience in both the United Kingdom and the United States in geography, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and fluvial geomorphology (including a Ph.D. in geomorphology from the State University of New York at Buffalo and an M.Sc. in GIS from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland), David has a diverse background that is well suited to developing innovative solutions to spatial problems. He is a regular supporter of and provider of GIS professional development activities and training, typically as part of his GISPD.com initiative.

Workshop: Automating ArcGIS Pro Tasks with AI-Generated Python Code  (Full Day)

Instructor: Eric Pimpler, Geospatial Training Services

Intended Audience/Description: 

This course is specifically designed for GIS professionals who have little to no programming experience. If you’re a GIS analyst performing repetitive tasks, a GIS technician looking to increase productivity, or someone who has been intimidated by coding in the past, this course will show you how AI assistance makes automation accessible and achievable—no programming background required.

Even if you have some Python experience, you’ll discover a transformative new approach to development. Whether you’ve dabbled in Python and want to write better code faster, understand basic programming concepts but struggle with ArcPy syntax, or simply want to expand your automation capabilities quickly, leveraging AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude will accelerate your workflow development in ways traditional coding never could.

You’ll particularly benefit from this course if you perform repetitive geoprocessing tasks regularly, need to process multiple datasets with the same workflow, or create maps and layouts that require frequent updates. This training is also ideal if you want to standardize and document your GIS workflows or have been curious about AI-assisted coding but don’t know where to start. The bottom line: you don’t need to be a programmer to automate your work—you just need to know how to describe what you want and validate the results, and we’ll teach you exactly how to do that.

Software and Licenses/Technical Requirements: 

Students will need a computer with ArcGIS Pro installed and licensed. This should be verified prior to the start of class. Students will also need a login to either ChatGPT or Claude. The free version of either will work fine.

Course Modules:

Summary:

Accelerate your ArcGIS Pro automation skills by leveraging Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and Claude as your AI coding assistants. In this intensive one-day workshop, you’ll learn to automate geoprocessing tasks, manipulate data with cursors, and control map layouts—all using Python and ArcPy with AI assistance. Whether you’re new to programming or have some Python experience, you’ll leave with practical scripts and the confidence to automate your daily workflows.

Workshop: Introduction to the ArcGIS Parcel Fabric (1/2 Day AM)

Instructor: Frank Conkling, Panda Consulting

NOTE: This workshop can be taken virtually as well, as Frank will be teaching the workshop remotely from his Florida office. Frank will provide the Zoom meeting link to participates the week of the conference.

Description: 

The ArcGIS Pro Parcel Fabric is the next-generation solution for editing and maintaining Land Records and Parcels in ArcGIS Pro. This half-day workshop will introduce the functionality, structure, implementation options, and workflows in the Parcel Fabric. With the workshop, a Dropbox download link to a sample parcel fabric and project file will be provided for demonstration and a work-along experience for attendees.

Technical Requirements: 

If the attendees wish to participate in the workshop, they must provide a laptop containing a fully licensed copy of ArcGIS Pro 3.x or above. Several parcel maintenance workflows will be demonstrated and explored to understand how the Parcel Fabric works.

Instructor Bio:

Frank J. Conkling, the Owner and Founder of Panda Consulting, a GIS Professional Services company established in 1998, possesses recognized expertise in GIS, Surveying, and Mapping technologies, particularly in mapping various land ownership interests.

Frank’s involvement in GIS and Parcel Mapping dates back to 1974. Throughout his career, he has dedicated himself to studying, guiding the creation, implementation, and maintenance of some of the nation’s most effective GIS systems and highly accurate land ownership databases.

Frank holds the licenses of Professional Surveyor and Mapper in Florida and GIS Surveyor in South Carolina. He has served as the Past President of the Florida Association of Cadastral Mappers, an organization dedicated to cadastral mapping throughout the State of Florida. Additionally, he is a Member Emeritus of the Florida Board of Professional Surveyors and Mappers, the regulatory body overseeing all Surveyors and Mappers in the State. Notably, Panda Consulting stands as the first organization in the nation to receive the Esri Parcel Management Specialty Designation.

Workshop: Cartography Extravaganza (1/2 Day AM & PM)

Instructor: John Nelson, Esri

NOTE: This half day workshop is being offer twice at the conference. The morning workshop will be replicated in the afternoon. Please only register for one of the half day workshops.

Description:

Who doesn't love playing with Legos (or remember loving it, anyway) to make whatever our imaginations could conjure real, with just plastic bricks and some gumption. In this workshop we'll think modularly to get software to bend to our will. We'll walk through a bunch of different ways you can bring special visual attention to the focal subject of your map. As a key player in many maps, the area of interest deserves its role in the hot sun, and we'll learn practical and easy-to-apply techniques to bring them to life. Piece by piece.

Prerequisite Requirements:

A base level knowledge of Survey123 and ArcGIS Online will be very helpful.

Technical Requirements: 

Attendees must bring their own laptop and have Survey Connect downloaded and installed on the machine. Additional, attendees must have access to either an ArcGIS Organizational or ArcGIS Enterprise Account with publishing privileges.

Instructor Bio:

John Nelson is a cartographer, software experience designer, and writer at Esri creating fringe geographic data, curious web experiences, marginally educational blogs, and debatably instructional videos. He works in a small woodshed in Michigan and relishes the opportunity to get out of it and chat with other map folks.

Workshop: Intermediate Survey123 (1/2 Day PM)

Instructors: Curtis DeVault, Pickett & Associates, LLC

Description: 

During this workshop we will master Survey123 Connect. The workshop focuses on creating forms that enhance the user experience, making data collection easy. We'll cover everything from simple input fields to smart logic and dynamic questions, ensuring your forms adapt to your users' needs. But that's not all – we'll also dive into automating workflows, so you can spend less time on manual tasks. Think automated validations, smart notifications, and seamless data analysis. By the end of the workshop, you'll have the skills to design forms that users actually enjoy filling out, and you'll know how to automate processes to supercharge your data collection efforts. Whether you're a beginner or a pro, this workshop will take your Survey123 game to the next level.

Prerequisite Requirements:

A base level knowledge of Survey123 and ArcGIS Online will be very helpful.

Technical Requirements: 

Attendees must bring their own laptop and have Survey Connect downloaded and installed on the machine. Additional, attendees must have access to either an ArcGIS Organizational or ArcGIS Enterprise Account with publishing privileges.

Instructor Bio:

Curtis has over ten years of experience developing and managing geospatial and relational database solutions. He is currently the GIS Administrator at Pickett and Associates. Using ArcGIS Pro, Survey123, Field Maps, SQL, and Python he has built and maintained data collection, analysis, and management solutions. He has expanded his GIS and database skills by teaching Advanced GIS and Spatial Analysis at Montana State university and volunteers his time as a UAV pilot and communications search and rescue volunteer.

Friday, April 18

Workshop: Intermediate Experience Builder (Full Day)

Instructor: Kara Utter, GeoSpatial Training Services

Intended Audience/Description: 

This course is intended for students who have some knowledge of ArcGIS Online and have already taken Introduction to Experience Builder or have been working in the application builder a little and want to take their skills to the next level. No scripting skills necessary.

Prerequisite Requirements:

Must have taken the Introduction to Experience Builder or similar introductory course on the subject matter.

Software and Licenses/Technical Requirements:

Students need to have their own computer hardware, an ArcGIS Online Creator user-type or higher, and a role of Publisher or higher assigned to their Creator user-type. Students will need to log into their organization’s AGOL account, so they need to have their AGOL URL and valid login available at the start of class.

Course Modules:

Summary:

This full-day course takes you through the process of building a highly dynamic application utilizing sections and views, related tables, trigger and actions, attribute and spatial queries, editing, and more. Our introductory course was created to help instill muscle memory for navigating the Experience Builder interface, which is quite different from any of ESRI’s other application builders. With this new course, we take you through the steps necessary to build a high-level application that will impress your managers, users, and clients.

Instructor Bio:

Kara has 15 years of experience in data science technologies, with the majority of those years focusing on geospatial. She is the owner of Dynamic Visions GIS and has a diverse background, having provided services to all levels of government, wildfire, public safety, natural resources, fisheries, and nonprofits. Her capacity to complete GIS needs assessments, improve efficiency, and increase internal and public access to information has resulted in many successful project resolutions and National recognition through ESRI’s Special Achievements in GIS awards.

Kara is an active member of the GIS community through participation on multiple boards and committees. These experiences range from leading sub-committees and planning conferences for the Geospatial Professional Network (GPN) and GPN Gem State chapter, to participating in many officer positions on the board of GPN Gem State for the last 8 years.

Workshop: Intermediate ArcGIS Arcade (Full Day)

Instructor: David Howes, David  Howes, LLC

Description: 

A defining characteristic of ArcGIS Arcade is the ability to apply simple or powerful operations to a set of features using single-line or short multiline expressions. This is a result of the relatively straightforward syntax, the core scripting capabilities, and the nature of the large number of built-in functions, which were addressed in the prerequisite Introduction to ArcGIS Arcade workshop. Building on the introductory foundation, this workshop will cover a range of intermediate topics, including (1) further focus on built-in functions and language fundamentals, (2) the value of and creation of user-defined functions, (3) the use of geometry functions for geoprocessing and feature creation operations, (4) the use of feature set functions to access datasets, (5) debugging expression code, and (6) monitoring and enhancing expression performance. The associated explanations and demonstrations will be supported by examples drawn from a variety of ArcGIS use cases.

Intended Audience:

GIS professionals familiar with using Arcade in ArcGIS applications and wishing to extend their capabilities beyond the introductory level.

Prerequisite Requirements: 

Anyone wishing to attend this workshop must also attend or have attended the associated workshop, "Introduction to ArcGIS Arcade." An exception to this requirement will be made if the instructor is satisfied that your level of Arcade experience is such that attending the introductory workshop is not necessary. If required, please contact David at info@gispd.com to request a waiver.

The "Introduction to ArcGIS Arcade" workshop will be offered in person at the Big Sky GeoCon conference and also online via Northwest GIS on February 17th-18th, 2026. Please see https://nwgis.org/event-6459184 for details and registration for the latter. Details are also provided at GISPD.com/training.

Format and Technical Requirements: 

The workshop will consist of a balance between lecture material and demonstrations, forming the basis for a flexible and interactive training approach. There will be plenty of time for discussion and experimentation, which will result in a rich and rewarding experience for everyone involved.

Attendees must bring their own laptop.

Setup:

Setup steps will be provided and must be completed prior to the workshop and attendees will be contacted to ensure that the required software is installed and that they can save workshop files onto their machine. Attendees are asked, therefore, to make sure they can be reached via the email address and phone number they used to register for the workshop.

Instructor Bio:

David Howes is a geospatial information scientist and the sole owner at David Howes, LLC (dhowes.com) in Seattle, WA, specializing in the development of GIS tools, processes, and supporting infrastructure for a variety of clients from small operations to multinational corporations. With over 30 years of academic and private sector experience in both the United Kingdom and the United States in geography, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and fluvial geomorphology (including a Ph.D. in geomorphology from the State University of New York at Buffalo and an M.Sc. in GIS from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland), David has a diverse background that is well suited to developing innovative solutions to spatial problems. He is a regular supporter of and provider of GIS professional development activities and training, typically as part of his GISPD.com initiative.

Workshop: Advanced Level ArcGIS Pro Parcel Fabric (1/2 Day AM)

Instructor: Frank J. Conkling

NOTE: This workshop can be taken virtually as well, as Frank will be teaching the workshop remotely from his Florida office. Frank will provide the Zoom meeting link to participates the week of the conference.

Description: 

This half-day workshop will extend the attendee's understanding of Esri's ArcGIS Pro Parcel Fabric and examine the effect and impact of the arcade language, attribute rules, the configuration of the project file, a discussion on branch versioning, options for dimensioning in an Enterprise environment, the line labeling expression, a review of procedures to correct issues within the parcel fabric and a discussion on condominium unit mapping. While a link to download the sample data and project file will be provided, it is recommended that the attendee primarily treat this as a lecture/demo/questions workshop.

Instructor Bio:

Frank J. Conkling, the Owner and Founder of Panda Consulting, a GIS Professional Services company established in 1998, possesses recognized expertise in GIS, Surveying, and Mapping technologies, particularly in mapping various land ownership interests.

Frank’s involvement in GIS and Parcel Mapping dates back to 1974. Throughout his career, he has dedicated himself to studying, guiding the creation, implementation, and maintenance of some of the nation’s most effective GIS systems and highly accurate land ownership databases.

Frank holds the licenses of Professional Surveyor and Mapper in Florida and GIS Surveyor in South Carolina. He has served as the Past President of the Florida Association of Cadastral Mappers, an organization dedicated to cadastral mapping throughout the State of Florida. Additionally, he is a Member Emeritus of the Florida Board of Professional Surveyors and Mappers, the regulatory body overseeing all Surveyors and Mappers in the State. Notably, Panda Consulting stands as the first organization in the nation to receive the Esri Parcel Management Specialty Designation.

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