At CGIA, our standing committees are the heart of the association, driving our mission forward by engaging with and providing value to members, advocating, growing membership, and more. These committees are where the magic happens. Whether you're looking to contribute your expertise, get to know other geospatial professionals, or pave your way to a future board position, joining a committee is the perfect place to start. Explore the various committees below and discover how you can get involved and make a difference today!
Reach out to chair@cgia.org if you would like to be involved with any of the committees.
Member Engagement
The Member Engagement committee is the driving force behind many of CGIA's offerings to its members and the community at large, including the CGIA Event Request fund and the annual Speaker Series. Its core aim is to manage and expand CGIA membership by engaging with the GIS community at conferences and other industry events and providing existing general and sustaining members opportunities to connect, learn, and grow as professionals. This committee spearheads efforts to expand CGIA's membership which includes managing the payment, renewal, and cancellation process for current members.
Advocacy/Community Forum
The Advocacy committee tackles projects that are aligned with CGIA's mission to "promote the effective use of GIS in California." This includes actions to support the state's adoption of sound geospatial governance practices. Acknowledging that the purposes were aligned, CGIA combined the Community Forum,
formerly the CA GIS Council, and the Advocacy Committee starting in the 2025-2026 year. The Community Council/Forum and CGIA advocacy activities have long had a focus on the status of California’s Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI). The Forum is an open meeting space to showcase milestones and ongoing efforts to improve our SDI. Advocacy is focused on specific actions to advance the purpose of CGIA per its by-laws, Article 3, Section 2.
Awards/Events
The Awards committee facilitates CGIA's long-standing annual awards program and the event where prizes are awarded to winners. The awards program has run successfully since the late 1990s and recognizes the finest geospatial innovations, collaborations, students, teachers, and more. This committee is also responsible for coordinating in-person events and conferences.
Elections
The Elections committee facilitates the annual election process for the CGIA Board of Directors.
Tech
The Tech committee handles all of the work necessary to maintain and update the CGIA and Community Council websites. This committee also manages technical aspects of social media, administers passwords, integrates with other systems, and safeguards cybersecurity.
All committees meet regularly via Zoom. Members are welcome to join as many committees as they feel they can contribute to! If you are not a member, please join today. If you are, please contact chair@cgia.org if you would like to be involved with any of the committees.