Stacey Stark: Touching the Future Through GIS Education and Mentorship

In this edition of GeoInspirations, columnist Joseph Kerski highlights the work and influence of Stacey Stark, instructor of GIS and geography and director of the Geospatial Analysis Center (GAC) at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Through her leadership, teaching, and mentorship, Stark has helped shape the academic and professional journeys of hundreds of students while expanding the role of geospatial analysis across disciplines.

As director of the GAC, Stark oversees GIS support for teaching and research across all colleges at the university, providing services ranging from grant proposal assistance to advanced spatial data analysis. The center also collaborates with counties across Minnesota to update Hazard Mitigation Plans, applying GIS to analyze natural hazards such as flooding, tornadoes, and wind events while identifying vulnerable populations and critical infrastructure.

Stark’s path into GIS began during her early work in water resources management, where she discovered the power of spatial analysis for watershed conservation. After gaining experience as a GIS specialist in an EPA research laboratory, she joined the university’s geography department, gradually expanding a small GIS lab into a campus-wide resource that now supports interdisciplinary research in fields including economics, ecology, journalism, emergency management, and planning.

Professional collaboration has been central to Stark’s career. Her long-standing involvement with the Minnesota GIS/LIS Consortium has strengthened connections between academia, government, and private-sector professionals, while also creating opportunities for student engagement through scholarships, conferences, and mentoring initiatives. Among her proudest accomplishments is founding the Young Professionals Mentor Program at the annual GIS/LIS conference, which pairs students and early-career professionals with experienced GIS practitioners, helping new entrants build networks and confidence as they begin their careers.

Stark emphasizes that communication and storytelling remain essential skills for geospatial professionals. She encourages GIS practitioners to actively explain the value of spatial analysis to non-GIS audiences and to demonstrate how maps and data-driven insights can improve planning, funding decisions, and public safety outcomes. Her guidance to new professionals is simple: engage with the local GIS community, share your expertise, and integrate geospatial thinking into every project you undertake.

Through her dedication to teaching, collaboration, and mentorship, Stacey Stark continues to influence not only the students she works with directly but also the broader geospatial community—ensuring that the next generation of GIS professionals is prepared to lead, innovate, and apply spatial thinking to the challenges of the future.