GeoJava

2025 NSGIC Lifetime Service Award Winner: Neil MacGaffey (MassGIS Retired)

Neil MacGaffey is recognized with the NSGIC Lifetime Achievement Award for his 36-year career advancing the geospatial profession, including over two decades of leadership at MassGIS. Neil’s strategic vision, technical expertise, and collaborative spirit helped shape MassGIS into a multidisciplinary leader in public sector GIS. His contributions to NSGIC—as a board member, committee leader, and Chair of the GIO Academy—have had a lasting impact on the community. Even in retirement, Neil continues to serve with generosity and distinction. His legacy is one of innovation, integrity, and unwavering dedication to the geospatial field.

2025 NSGIC Outstanding Service Award Winner: Jonathan Duran

Jonathan became a NSGIC member serving on the Address and Transportation Committee and then later became Co-Chair and remains an active Co-Chair on that committee. To this day he’s an outspoken advocate for the National Address Database, the espouses the create it once and use it a bunch mantra. He ran for the NSGIC Board in 2018 and served a two-year term and ran again for the Board in 2020. He served another year as a Board Member until he ran for President-Elect in 2021. He then served the 2022-2023 Presidential term, and then subsequently became President of the National Geospatial Collaborative (NGC) in President 2023-2024. He is now serving as a Board member of the NGC. And, finally, most recently Jonathan was appointed as NSGIC Treasurer.

During his tenure NSGIC navigated a pandemic, saw Congress pass the National Geospatial Data Act, hired a new Executive Director, and founded the National Geospatial Collaborative. Most importantly, Jonathan has been an invited speaker at numerous state and national meetings, and at every one of these engagements he has promoted the benefits and value of NSGIC. For all these reasons Jonathan Duran has provided Outstanding Service to NSGIC, peer states, and to the Nation.

2025 NSGIC Geospatial Excellence Award Winners

Catalyst Award: Casey DunnGossin 

In 2023, the NSGIC Board of Directors began the development of a new strategic plan, which was completed and formally adopted at the 2024 NSGIC Annual Conference in San Antonio, TX. Following this milestone, the Board began crafting a detailed work plan to outline the critical tasks necessary to achieve the strategic vision.

Beyond the challenge of writing both the strategic and business plans, the Board was faced with another important question – how to effectively communicate the goals and track progress in a way that was both informative and engaging for members. As ideas were being discussed, Casey proactively began building a solution. What started as a simple dashboard evolved into a robust Esri Hub site, featuring embedded strategic plan content, Survey123 forms, and interactive dashboards. These tools empower NSGIC members to contribute updates, monitor goal status, and view progress on key initiatives.

While other Board members contributed to the process, Casey led the effort, dedicating countless hours (on Saturday mornings) to bring the vision to life. Her initiative, technical skill, and commitment enhanced NSGIC’s ability to communicate and execute its strategic goals.

In addition to her work on the Strategic Plan Hub Site, Casey is a respected leader in the geospatial community. She currently serves as President of the Nebraska GIS/LIS Association and Chair of the MidAmerica GIS Consortium’s (MAGIC) Membership Committee. Her leadership, dedication, and innovation exemplify the spirit of the NSGIC Geospatial Excellence Award.

Innovator Award: Susan Miller (GA)

Susan Miller has played a transformative role in advancing the Geospatial Maturity Assessment (GMA) process. In 2025, she helped lead the charge toward greater clarity and consistency by integrating AI tools – most notably ChatGPT – into the survey’s development. Her innovative approach improved question structure, reduced ambiguity, and inspired others to explore AI’s potential in geospatial work. Susan’s leadership and attention to detail have elevated the GMA to a new standard of excellence.

For more information about NSGIC Awards, please visit the Awards page.