Esri's Dr. Dawn Wright to Speak at the College of William & Mary

REDLANDS, Calif.—February 13, 2019—Esri, the global leader in location intelligence, today announced that Dr. Dawn Wright, the company's chief scientist, will speak at the College of William & Mary on February 14, 2019. Her talk will be part of the school's 100 Years of Women celebration and the United Nations' International Day of Women and Girls in Science. Part of her talk will announce the new book from Esri, Women and GIS: Mapping Their Stories.

The College of William & Mary began the yearlong 100 Years of Women celebration in August 2018. It commemorates the college's autumn 1918 semester, when the Virginia institute accepted its first female students and became the first public coeducational university in the state. Wright will present "Discovery, Technology, Hope," a journey through past explorations of the planet, especially its oceans. The presentation will discuss some of the most important women in science and describe advancements in mapping technology, allowing deeper exploration and increased understanding of the world in order to save and sustain the planet.

"I'm excited and honored to be part of the 100 Years of Women celebration," said Wright. "Increasing women's presence in STEM [science, technology, engineering, and mathematics] fields is a topic that is close to my heart, and it is trailblazing institutions like William & Mary that have made our progress on this issue possible."

Wright is a renowned geographer and oceanographer, an authority in geospatial data science and the use of GIS in marine science, and an accomplished and respected author in these fields. She has written the foreword to Women and GIS: Mapping Their Stories. The book tells the stories of how 23 women applied themselves and overcame obstacles, using maps, analysis, and GIS to contribute to their professions and the world. Sharing the experiences of their childhoods, the misstarts and challenges they faced, and the lessons they learned, each story shows how ordinary girls with very different passions have become extraordinary women who greatly impacted the world.

Wright's presentation will be free and open to the public. It will take place at 4:00 p.m. on campus at the Sadler Center in Williamsburg, Virginia. To learn more, visit events.wm.edu/event/view/100yearsofwomen/103268.

Women and GIS: Mapping Their Stories is now available at most online book retailers as an e-book (ISBN: 9781589485297, 232 pages, US$14.99). The book will be available in paperback in March 2019 (ISBN: 9781589485679, 232 pages, US$14.99). The print edition will be available for purchase at esri.com/esripress or by calling 1-800-447-9778. If outside the United States, visit esri.com/esripressorders for complete ordering options, or visit esri.com/distributors to contact your local Esri distributor. Interested retailers can contact Esri book distributor Ingram Publisher Services.