Blog

2025 was a year of alignment—full of meaningful work, growing communities, and steady progress across research, mapping, and systems-building. It was also a year of movement, travel, and personal indulgence, where I learned to slow down, savor good food, and make space for relationships. More than milestones, I’m grateful for how grounded the year felt.

Hosting State of the Map 2025 in the Philippines was both exhausting and deeply rewarding — a reminder of how far our local mapping community has come and how much heart it brings to the global stage. Despite the long hours and heavy coordination, seeing everything come together and hearing everyone’s positive stories made it all worth it.

Our visit to Naga City were a journey of learning, sharing, and connection. We capacitated local stakeholders on flooding, introduced NOAH tools, and received valuable feedback—especially on how Typhoon Kristine’s rainfall exceeded even our "worst-case" flood models. The trip was made even more memorable by meeting dedicated locals like "Mr. Typhoon" and ending with a surreal, inspiring encounter with Hon. Leni Robredo.

In places where data on critical infrastructure is hard to access, street-level imagery offers a low-cost and verifiable alternative. By building on tools like Mapillary, we explore how visual cues, like school signs or facility names, can support disaster resilience through open, community-led data collection.

I had the honor of representing the 2024 Rising Stars at the first-ever Geospatial World Forum Rising Stars Summit, sharing the story of our work in open mapping and being reminded that leadership is about inspiring others and serving our communities.