Meet the alumni

Rising Stars Directory

Discover the professionals shaping the future of the geospatial and space industry.

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2026 edition

Rising Stars

50 profiles

Abdourahmane Tahir User Organizations – Business Enterprise

2026 Rising Star

Abdourahmane Tahir

Head of Digital Services

Applus

Saudi Arabia

Aman Chaudhary International & Development Organisations / Multilateral Agencies / Professional Societies

2026 Rising Star

Aman Chaudhary

Geospatial Solutions Developer, Consultant, Global Water Informatics

The World Bank

India

Amany Mohamed Dyab Industry

2026 Rising Star

Amany Mohamed Dyab

Database Engineer

HERE Technologies

Egypt

ANAND SEBASTIAN Academia & Research

2026 Rising Star

ANAND SEBASTIAN

Senior Scientist & Head, Geospatial Science and Technology Division,

INTEGRATED RURAL TECHNOLOGY CENTRE,PALAKKAD

India

Angel M. Davila T. User Enterprise – Government

2026 Rising Star

Angel M. Davila T.

Secretary General

National Land Administration Authority (ANATI),Government of Panama.

Panama

Bibian Njiru Robert International & Development Organisations / Multilateral Agencies / Professional Societies

2026 Rising Star

Bibian Njiru Robert

Geospatial Consultant

UNFPA, East And Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO),

Kenya

Boddepalli Navjoth Industry

2026 Rising Star

Boddepalli Navjoth

Senior Geospatial Data Scientist

Garudalytics Private Limited

India

Caitlin Ballard User Enterprise – Government

2026 Rising Star

Caitlin Ballard

International Senior Policy Advisor

Government Digital Service

UK

Chaz Mateer Industry

2026 Rising Star

Chaz Mateer

Solution Architect

Timmons Group

USA

Dariusz Tanajewski Industry

2026 Rising Star

Dariusz Tanajewski

Principal Geospatial Data Scientist

TerraEye

Poland

Dolores Leneuoti User Enterprise – Government

2026 Rising Star

Dolores Leneuoti

Chief Land Management Officer,

Department of Lands and Survey (LSD),Government of Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Dr Jessie Jane Khaki Academia & Research

2026 Rising Star

Dr Jessie Jane Khaki

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Malawi Liverpool Wellcome (MLW) Trust

Malawi

Dr. Anna Shcherbacheva Industry

2026 Rising Star

Dr. Anna Shcherbacheva

R&D And AI Developer

Terrasolid Ltd.

Finland

Dr. Harsh Shah Industry

2026 Rising Star

Dr. Harsh Shah

Founder and CEO

AgroCast Analytics Pvt Ltd

India

Dr. Santanu Roy Industry

2026 Rising Star

Dr. Santanu Roy

Chief Executive Officer

DHINEU SOLUTIONS PRIVATE LIMITED

INDIA

Elena Field Academia & Research

2026 Rising Star

Elena Field

GIS and Web Mapping Specialist

British Antarctic Survey

UK

Emmanuel Ayodele Jolaiya International & Development Organisations / Multilateral Agencies / Professional Societies

2026 Rising Star

Emmanuel Ayodele Jolaiya

Founder & CEO, Spatialnode Inc., Geospatial Engineer, Spatialnode Inc

United Nations Global Service Centre (UNGSC), Spatialnode

Spain

Greta  Forbes User Organizations – Business Enterprise

2026 Rising Star

Greta Forbes

Senior GIS Analyst

TRC Companies

USA

Hannah Walters User Organizations – Business Enterprise

2026 Rising Star

Hannah Walters

GIS Analyst

Denver Water

USA

Ivan Bamweyana Academia & Research

2026 Rising Star

Ivan Bamweyana

Lecturer/ Geospatial Data Science and Earth Observation

Makerere University

Uganda

Jimeng Shi Academia & Research

2026 Rising Star

Jimeng Shi

Postdoctoral Research Associate

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

USA

Johannes Van Geertsom User Enterprise – Government

2026 Rising Star

Johannes Van Geertsom

Coordinator International

National Geographic Institute

Belgium

Jyoti Rohodia User Organizations – Business Enterprise

2026 Rising Star

Jyoti Rohodia

Lead GIS Engineer

Boskalis

United Arab Emirates

Kamil Raczycki Industry

2026 Rising Star

Kamil Raczycki

Senior Data Scientist

Kraina AI

Poland

Karolína Lehotská Industry

2026 Rising Star

Karolína Lehotská

Customer Success Manager

EOX IT Services GmbH

Slovakia

Katie Decker Industry

2026 Rising Star

Katie Decker

Senior Global Partner Manager, Esri Startup Program

Esri

USA

Katie Grillo User Enterprise – Government

2026 Rising Star

Katie Grillo

GIS Web Technology Specialist

City of Cambridge, MA

USA

Lauren Regiec Industry

2026 Rising Star

Lauren Regiec

Team Lead and Vertical Manager of Geospatial, Autonomy and Robotics and Space Tech at Carahsoft

Carahsoft Technology Corp.

USA

Leigh-Anne McKnight User Organizations – Business Enterprise

2026 Rising Star

Leigh-Anne McKnight

Co-Founder, UTILITX

Deloitte

Canada

Lukumon  Olaitan Lateef Industry

2026 Rising Star

Lukumon Olaitan Lateef

Geospatial Consultant

SATLAT Limited

Nigeria

Melese Getenet Academia & Research

2026 Rising Star

Melese Getenet

Geospatial Researcher

Space Science and Geospatial Institute (SSGI)

Ethiopia

Michael Jurua International & Development Organisations / Multilateral Agencies / Professional Societies

2026 Rising Star

Michael Jurua

GIS Manager

Jane Goodall Institute Uganda

Uganda

Mmasechaba Moropane Academia & Research

2026 Rising Star

Mmasechaba Moropane

PhD and Research Assistant in Earth Sciences Department, University of the Western Cape

University of the Western Cape

South Africa

Mohamad Alnasser User Enterprise – Government

2026 Rising Star

Mohamad Alnasser

Geospatial Engineer

Storsthlms geodataråd (Geodata Council of Stockholm County)

Sweden

Nirdesh  Kumar Sharma Academia & Research

2026 Rising Star

Nirdesh Kumar Sharma

CEO (EarthSense Labs)/PhD (IIT Delhi)

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi

India

Olga Tambazidis User Enterprise – Government

2026 Rising Star

Olga Tambazidis

Lead GIS Technician II

Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health

USA

Oluwatosin Oluyemisi Ayo User Organizations – Business Enterprise

2026 Rising Star

Oluwatosin Oluyemisi Ayo

Survey/Geospatial Professional

Jacobs Engineering Group, Inc,

USA

Pandiyan Kesavan User Organizations – Business Enterprise

2026 Rising Star

Pandiyan Kesavan

GIS Analyst/Developer

Waggoner Engineering Inc

USA

Pawan  Muddu Industry

2026 Rising Star

Pawan Muddu

GIS Analyst & Marketing Executive

Drago Drones

India

Pratiksha chalke User Organizations – Business Enterprise

2026 Rising Star

Pratiksha chalke

Lead - GIS And Remote Sensing

Sustaina Greens LLP

India

Rachel  Balestrieri Industry

2026 Rising Star

Rachel Balestrieri

Program Manager

General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT)

USA

Rafaela  Almeida de Carvalho User Organizations – Business Enterprise

2026 Rising Star

Rafaela Almeida de Carvalho

GIS Coordinator

Voltalia SA

Brazil

Rahul Chakraborty Academia & Research

2026 Rising Star

Rahul Chakraborty

Director

Integrated Institute for Advanced Research and Information (IIARI) Pvt Ltd

India

Ren  Uechi Industry

2026 Rising Star

Ren Uechi

CEO

Solafune, Inc.

Japan

Sheryl  Rose Reyes, PhD International & Development Organisations / Multilateral Agencies / Professional Societies

2026 Rising Star

Sheryl Rose Reyes, PhD

Remote Sensing Expert

United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)

Philippines

Sirelda Bele User Enterprise – Government

2026 Rising Star

Sirelda Bele

Director of Geoinfomatization Directorate

Albanian Geological Survey

Albania

Suvi-Tuulia Haakana User Organizations – Business Enterprise

2026 Rising Star

Suvi-Tuulia Haakana

GIS Specialist & Information Security Manager

Fortum

Finland

Thiagarajan Krishanmurthy Industry

2026 Rising Star

Thiagarajan Krishanmurthy

Lead Product Manager Data & AI

HudHud Maps

India

Vamshi Karanam Academia & Research

2026 Rising Star

Vamshi Karanam

Researcher

Southern Methodist University

USA

Victor Wanderi Wahome Industry

2026 Rising Star

Victor Wanderi Wahome

CEO/Founder

Aegir Consult Ltd

Kenya