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Laura and Nic interview Sunny Fleming, Kelly Easterday, and Healy Hamilton live from the Esri User Conference to explore how GIS, digital twins, biodiversity data, and conservation technology are reshaping the future of environmental work. From building community to using maps as powerful tools for storytelling and action, this episode dives into the people, ideas, and innovations helping conservationists see through the noise and move faster toward impact.

Welcome back to Environmental Professionals Radio, Connecting the Environmental Professionals Community Through Conversation, with your hosts Laura Thorne and Nic Frederick! 

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This podcast is produced by the National Association of Environmental Professions (NAEP). Check out all the NAEP has to offer at NAEP.org.

Connect with Sunny Fleming at https://www.linkedin.com/in/littlemissesri/

Guest Bio:
Sunny Fleming serves as the Director of Conservation Solutions at Esri. Her career has been shaped by a consistent theme of applying GIS to solve real‑world challenges across conservation, environmental regulation, and parks and recreation management. From monitoring species and natural resources in the field to supporting agencies in policy development, asset management, and strategy, GIS has been central to her work at every stage. She has a passion for uniting these interconnected disciplines and advancing their role in conservation efforts around the world, and she is committed to building a global community of GIS practitioners who collaborate, innovate, and support conservation through shared expertise and geospatial insight.

Connect with Kelly Easterday at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-easterday-68a06837/

Guest Bio:
Kelly Easterday is the Director of Conservation Technology at The Nature Conservancy's Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve. She has been with The Nature Conservancy for seven years. Previously, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley. 

Connect with Healy Hamilton at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/healy-hamilton-a1a20942/

Guest Bio:
Healy Hamilton serves as Chief Scientist at the Sustainable Forestry Initiative and vice president of the Society for Conservation GIS. She has 25 years of experience as a biodiversity data scientist. Prior to joining SFI, she worked as Chief Scientist at NatureServe for ten years. 

Music Credits
Intro: Givin Me Eyes by Grace Mesa
Outro: Never Ending Soul Groove by Mattijs Muller

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