MAGIP Board Elections

MAGIP elections are held annually in the spring. The primary purpose for elections is to elect incoming members of the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors may bring additional initiatives (e.g. revisions to the MAGIP Bylaws or Constitution) to the membership for a vote during annual elections. Annually, Nominations open for Board Positions in April so that Elections can be finalized prior to the June Board of Directors Annual meeting.

You must be a member of MAGIP to vote in the elections. Please visit the MAGIP Membership page if you would like to join.

2026 MAGIP Elections

Election Schedule | Open Positions | Meet the Candidates

2026 Elections open April 27 and close May 12

Note:

MAGIP Members in Good Standing will receive a ballot through their email address associated with their MAGIP account. The ballot is unique to each member. If you do not receive a ballot on April 27, please check your spam folder, and your MAGIP membership status, and then contact the MAGIP Administrator Michelle Quinn to have her send you one.

Nominations

Nominations closed on April 21 at 11:59 pm (MT)

Note:

While you may nominate yourself or a colleague, please note that all nominees must be members in good standing. Serving on the Board is a rewarding way to lead our community, but it does require a dedicated time commitment. Directors meet monthly for a one-hour Zoom session, with longer in-person meetings (4–5 hours) held quarterly. Additional opportunities for involvement include conference planning and GIS Day activities. We strongly recommend that nominees discuss this role with their employer to ensure full support for the required time and travel before submitting a nomination.

ELECTION Schedule

March 9 - Nominations Open/Send Out Call via email and on MAGIP website

April 21 - Nominations Close
April 27 - Election Begins (via email)
May 12 - Election Closes
May 19 - Election Results ratified at Board Meeting
May 20 - New Members Officially take office
June 16 - First Board Meeting for new Board Members

Open Board Positions

Vice President - Elected to three (3) year term (Vice President, President, Past President)

As Parliamentarian they need to be aware of bylaws and meeting procedures
Step in for presidential duties when necessary
Help plan MAGIP Events and Promote MAGIP

Web Administrator - Elected to a two (2) year term

Maintain an active, current, and informative website
Develop and implement policies and procedures
Provide administrative access to web pages
Research all aspects of technology to share info/ideas within the website
Report updates at the Board Meetings

Member Development Chair - Elected to two (2) year term

Ensure that the continuing education needs of the membership are met, GISP certification assistance
Liaison to social media person
Oversees the mentoring program and GIS Day activities
Report updates at Board Meetings

Conference Liaison – Elected to two (2) year term

Responsible for planning and coordinating the annual GIS conference
Responsible for the assembling the conference committee
Report updates at Board Meetings

Note: Elected Members of the Board must be MAGIP members in good standing for their entire period of membership. Meetings of the Board shall be held at times and places specified by the Board, but there should be no less than four (4) board meetings per year. Board members must attend at least one (1) board meeting in person. Presently, the Board meets in person quarterly from 10am -2pm. Additionally, they hold one (1) hour check in meetings during months when they do not meet in person. Currently, these occur on the third Tuesday of each month from 2-3pm.

Constitution & Bylaw Amendments to be Voted on by the Membership

None at this time

Meet the MAGIP Board Candidates

Vice President - Elected to three (3) year term (Vice President, President, Past President)

Liz Juers works as a GIS Analyst at the Montana Department of Transportation. Liz’s academic background is in biology and she began her career as a wildlife biology technician before transitioning to GIS. She has held roles in federal and state government, non-profit, and higher education settings, and has spent the past 13 years working in GIS in Montana. Liz previously served on the MAGIP board as a member-at-large from 2018-2020. Outside of work, she cycles through an excessive list of hobbies, a few of which include hiking, crocheting, DIY projects, playing guitar, and growing houseplants. Liz lives in Belgrade with her husband, their son, and three wonderful dogs. Liz values the relationships she’s built through MAGIP and wants to give back by continuing to support connection and collaboration among members.

Alexa Morris was born and raised in Montana and graduated from University of Montana in 2023 with a degree in Fish and Wildlife Biology and a Certificate in GIS. She has had the privilege of working on a variety of different GIS projects and have held positions with the DNRC Fire Bureau, Missoula County, the University of Montana, and she currently is the GIS Manager for Gallatin County. She started as the GIS Analyst at Gallatin County, and she was fortunate enough to get promoted to GIS Manager after a few months. She has been working on rebuilding a department that was deeply affected by department vacancies. With the help of her amazing team, they have been able to restart monthly processes, improve data quality, create a new Gallatin County Mapper, move to a new ESRI Enterprise system and so much more.

Web Administrator - Elected to a two (2) year term

Meghan Burns is a GIS Analyst and the Administrative Boundary Theme Steward within the Water Information Team at the Montana State Library (MSL), where she also works on Elevation, Hydrology, Hydrologic Units, Imagery, and Soils. One of her most recent roles is PM on the MSL Web GIS Web Redesign Project, which is part of the Strategic Plan adopting in 2023. Meghan has been a MAGIP member since 2008. She served on the MAGIP Board of Directors as a Member-at-Large/Secretary (2011-2013) and a three-year term as the Vice President, President, and Past President (2013-2016). She was the Web Sub-Committee Chair / Web Administrator from 2016-2024 and is currently serving a 2-year term on the MAGIP Board as the MAGIP Web Administrator (2024-2026). Should she be re-elected she would like to reestablish a Web Working Group, develop policies for Web analytics and privacy, and continue to improve the ADA accessibility of the website.

John Maloney is currently the GIS manager for the City of Billings, but he has 15 years experience as a full-time software engineer and web developer. I am new to the State's GIS professionals and MAGIP but would like to get involved in some way. Here is my Linked In which can give details about my experience and skillset : https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnpatrickmaloney/

Member Development Chair - Elected to two (2) year term

Helen Paris is a GIS Manager, innovator and geospatial solutions leader with over 15 years of experience leveraging GIS to solve complex problems across diverse fields, including engineering, environmental science, mineral exploration, and oil and gas exploration. Leveraging her expertise from these varied backgrounds, Helen excels at designing and implementing cutting-edge GIS solutions that address real-world challenges. Helen blends technical depth with creativity, systems thinking and a collaborative leadership style. With a background that bridges geology, environmental science, engineering and GIS, Helen brings a multidisciplinary perspective to geospatial problem solving. She is a licensed professional geologist as well as a holds a certified GISP. Helen has been an active leader in the MAGIP, serving on the Board of Directors as Member Development Chair for the last two years and contributing to the MAGIP Conference Planning Committee for the past five years.

Conference Liaison – Elected to two (2) year term

Jeff Hedstrom is a GIS Analyst at the Montana State Library in Helena. His primary focus includes maintaining the Cadastral and CadNSDI datasets within the MSDI framework. Prior to joining the MSL team, he was the GIS Coordinator for the City of Great Falls for six years. He has served on the MAGIP Board as the Professional Development Chair from 2016-18, Vice President/President from 2020-23 and Conference Liaison from 2024-2026. He is seeking re-election as Conference Liaison in the upcoming election. During his time on the board, he has led the planning efforts for the past two Big Sky GeoCons (2025 in Helena & 2026 in Whitefish), he helped organize the Montana Salary Survey in 2019 and was one of several advocates for MAGIP re-branding their conference and migrating towards hosting an annual conference.

For more information, please contact Gail Jorgenson, Past President and Election Committee Chair.

Links

Board of Directors

Past Elections