IMAGIN 2022

Keynote Speakers

Each day of the IMAGIN Conference, we start with a keynote speaker.  Our keynote speakers feature innovative or inspiring topics that help you to focus and motivate you.

Monday, June 8 - Breakfast Guest Speaker
John Nelson, Maps & UX (Esri)

Mapping in Michigan Couldn't be Any Cooler

It’s clear we live and work in the most cartographically interesting state in the union. We’ll jump around through some practical and impractical ways to represent our mitten shaped home.

John Nelson is a map maker, software experience designer, and writer at Esri creating fringe geographic data, curious web experiences, marginally-educational blogs, and debatably-instructional videos. He works in a small woodshed on the margin of Lansing and relishes the opportunity to chat with map folks...especially those from the glorious mitten state.

Monday, June 8 - Lunch Guest Speaker

Jacob Heck, Ph. D, Geodesist (National Geodetic Survey)

In this presentation, Jacob will provide an overview of the National Spatial Reference System, NGS's efforts to modernize it, and the tools that NGS maintains to meet the positioning needs of the geospatial community.

Jacob Heck is a geodesist at the National Geodetic Survey (NGS), within the Department of Commerce - NOAA, where he serves as the Geodetic Advisor for the Great Lakes Region (Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin). He works out of NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) in Ann Arbor, MI, and provides support to surveying and geospatial professionals, as well as local, state, and Federal agencies, and other users of the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS). Having worked at NGS since 2016, Jacob has also served as a GNSS researcher, as well as acting chief of the Geosciences Research Division. Jacob holds a B.S. in Surveying Engineering from Michigan Technological University, a Ph.D. in Geodetic Science from The Ohio State University, and is a licensed Professional Surveyor.

Tuesday, June 9 - Breakfast Guest Speaker

Dr. Lynn Evans, Ph. D, Curator of Archaeology (Mackinac State Historic Parks)

Digging through History

The Straits of Mackinac is one of the most historic places in Michigan. One of the ways Mackinac State Historic Parks has learned more about the everyday lives of the people there is through archaeological excavation. Colonial Michilimackinac, in Mackinaw City, is the site of one of the longest archaeological excavations in North America. Numerous smaller scale excavations have been carried out on Mackinac Island as well. In this keynote, MSHP Curator of Archaeology Lynn Evans will present an overview of several of these projects.

Lynn L.M. Evans is the Curator of Archaeology for Mackinac State Historic Parks, a position she has held since 1996. She began excavating at Michilimackinac in 1989 while conducting research on craft industries. A native of Cincinnati, Lynn holds a B.A. in anthropology and museum studies from Beloit College and a Ph.D. in American Civilization – Historical Archaeology from the University of Pennsylvania. She resides with her husband, Jim, in Mackinaw City.