24 Young Geospatial Professionals to Watch in 2024

Company: County of Los Angeles – Internal Services Department – Enterprise GIS Program 
Current position: Principal GIS analyst
Age: 37
Education: MS University of Southern California, geographic information science and technology. Certificate  courses in emergency management, Western Washington University

Marquez has an illustrious geospatial career spanning 14 years in local and state government, including tribal enterprise. Marquez demonstrates a passion for innovation and a commitment to giving back to the geospatial community, including presenting in elementary schools, leading high school hand-on workshops, and talking to university classes about the various work and project experience in the geospatial field. Rachel’s favorite story about the importance of geospatial information involves a whale and a well.

Marquez is the program coordinator for the County of Los Angeles’ groundbreaking Countywide Address Management System (CAMS). She has transformed CAMS into the board of supervisors-approved authoritative repository for physical (situs) address information, consolidating data from the 88 incorporated jurisdictions within the county. CAMS plays a pivotal role in safeguarding the health, security, and well-being of the County of Los Angeles’ residents and workforce.

Committed to the advancement of geospatial professionals, Marquez generously volunteers her time and expertise with URISA. Since 2018, she has been an active URISA Next Generation 9-1-1 Task Force member, contributing significantly to the URISA’s educational initiatives. Her daily work and professional contributions align in sharing her expertise and communicating nationwide best practice stories to jurisdictions throughout California, supporting the development of similar address repositories to CAMS.

Within URISA, she served on the Vanguard Cabinet of Young GIS Professionals from 2018 to 2021 and was chair from 2019-2020. URISA recognized Marquez as the Young Professional of the Year in 2020 and the URISA Service Award for the year 2021. For the California Chapter of URISA, she actively fosters educational and collaboration building, which speaks to her commitment to the geospatial profession.

Marquez is poised to lead the chapter in 2024 as she assumes the role of president. She dedicates time and energy to expanding the leadership role of women, young professionals, and neurodivergent persons in the geospatial profession.