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Celebrating Women in GIS: More than Maps

International Women’s Day

Hear inspiring stories from three NGIS ladies.

Celebrating International Women’s Day 2026

From tracking deforestation to building geospatial tools from the ground up, the women at NGIS are driving impactful real-world outcomes. 

This International Women’s Day, we spoke to three women across our Earth Observation, software engineering and spatial analysis solutions, to find out what first attracted them to GIS, what keeps them here, and what they’d tell their younger selves starting out.  

Their paths couldn’t be more diverse, but one thing is consistent: a drive to turn complex data into meaningful intelligence and shape the future of a rapidly evolving industry. 

Shawna Sanfey

Principal Consultant in Earth Observation

Can you tell us about your role at NGIS and what a typical day looks like for you? No two days are the same, but they’re always centred on ensuring our Earth Observation solutions solve real business problems. Based in Dublin, I often act as a bridge between business and technical teams, between requirements and implementation, and even between time zones. As a result, my days are wonderfully varied, moving between strategic C-suite conversations and detailed technical discussions. I love the flexibility, the variety, and the opportunity to constantly build on my skills and knowledge. 

What was your route into GIS, and what keeps you coming back every day?  I came to GIS through natural sciences. I developed a deep affinity for statistical analysis and modelling during my undergrad in Zoology, but I also saw how difficult it was to communicate complex results to a wider audience. During my Master’s, I used spatial analysis to identify gaps in sea turtle research effort on a continental scale and realised maps could tell stories that spreadsheets and p-values couldn’t.  

At the Irish Marine Institute and with government organisations across the UAE, I saw how GIS and remote sensing could distil complex environmental data into clear, actionable insights that led to real impact on the ground. The technology evolves, and the applications change, but the core appeal remains: geospatial data helps us understand and protect our planet’s resources, and that’s what keeps me here. 

Which part of your work makes you feel excited or proud? The most exciting moments are when clients have that ‘aha’ moment, when they see their entire supply chain mapped and realise, they can act on that information in real and meaningful ways. Hearing about the impact our work has had, both internally and on the ground, makes me very proud. More recently, successfully navigating challenging client negotiations and securing contract renewals felt validating too, not just commercially, but because it proved we were delivering genuine value under challenging global circumstances. 

What advice would you give young women starting out their careers? Don’t be afraid to take risks, make mistakes and try things you’re not 100% confident in yet. I picked up geospatial analysis to solve a specific problem, found it fascinating, and it ended up landing me a job in environmental consulting in Abu Dhabi. Since then, I’ve used that same approach, picking up new skills as I go, and it’s taken me in some incredible directions. I’ve represented Ireland as a delegate to the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas, pivoted into healthcare data visualisation during COVID, and now I get to work with global companies on everything from deforestation to flood and fire risk to carbon estimation

The steps don’t always seem logical at the time, but looking back each one taught me something valuable, and I draw on all of them every single day. And remember, your ‘soft skills’ aren’t soft. Being able to listen to what clients need, translate between technical and business teams, and build trusted relationships is just as valuable as any technical ability.

What’s surprised you most about working in GIS?  Understanding regulatory frameworks and compliance requirements. When I started at NGIS, I thought my value would come from environmental expertise and technical skills. But being able to navigate complex regulations like CSRD, Biodiversity Strategy 2030, and EUDR, understanding what specific articles require and translating those into technical specifications, has turned out to be critical.  

Clients don’t just need satellite monitoring or GIS; they need systems that will satisfy regulatory audits and stand up to EU scrutiny. Real-world impact often comes down to implementation details that seem mundane but are crucial, like structuring supplier engagement workflows or formatting data for regulatory submission. 

What is something you’re currently learning or excited to explore next? I’m focused on deepening my technical capabilities, particularly around Google Earth Engine and advanced geospatial analysis, dedicating more time to hands-on coding rather than leaving all the fun to the technical specialists. I’m also excited about the intersection of AI and Earth Observation, especially the use of machine learning to automate the interpretation of satellite imagery while keeping outputs transparent and explainable.  

Now that NGIS has joined the CLS Group, I’m eager to learn from their expertise in maritime monitoring and sustainable fisheries management, it feels like coming full circle to my marine science roots, and I can’t wait to explore how we can leverage satellite technology for ocean sustainability challenges. 

Daphne Yu

Software Engineer

Can you tell us about your role at NGIS and what a typical day looks like for you? I’m a Software Engineer at NGIS, and over the past five years, I’ve had the opportunity to contribute to several key projects, including TraceMark Flow. My day usually begins with a morning stand-up where the team aligns on progress, priorities, and any blockers, before I structure my time around developing new features, refining existing ones, reviewing code, and managing the backlog.  

A lot of what I work on feeds into NGIS’s transport and mobility solutions, building and improving the tools that help clients make sense of traffic patterns and travel time data at scale. 

What was your route into GIS, and what keeps you coming back every day? I came into GIS unexpectedly, just as I was finishing my degree in Computer Science and Data Science. I had no prior experience at the time, but I was curious and open to learning, gradually building my knowledge through hands-on experience. What has kept me here is the meaningful impact of the work. 

I enjoy analysing and presenting traffic and travel time data, but more importantly, I value knowing that what I build contributes to something tangible, connecting technology with everyday life and shaping how people move through the world.

Which part of your work makes you feel excited or proud?  I take pride in building thoughtfully and maintaining a high standard for quality, writing clean, maintainable code behind the scenes while ensuring the user experience feels intuitive and polished.  

I pay close attention to detail, from making workflows straightforward and designs consistent, to ensuring the underlying system can adapt and grow over time. It’s rewarding to know that what we deliver is not only functional but carefully considered and built to last. 

What advice would you give young women starting out their careers? Starting a career, whether for the first time or moving into a new field, it’s completely normal to feel unsure or underqualified. Many of us are quick to criticise ourselves for not knowing everything, but that expectation is neither realistic nor fair.  

Adopting a growth mindset makes a real difference; feeling like an imposter is often just part of the learning process, and it doesn’t last forever. With time, experience, and persistence, you grow into the capable professional you’ve always aspired to be.

What’s surprised you most about working in GIS? One thing I didn’t expect to be so important is documentation. Writing clear code comments and capturing both technical and non-technical context in our internal knowledge base makes a significant difference. It’s surprising how quickly even your own code can feel unfamiliar after a few months. Good documentation acts as a set of breadcrumbs, helping your future self, your teammates, and other developers understand not just what was done, but why. 

What is something you’re currently learning or excited to explore next? I’m currently exploring signal-based reactive state patterns in Angular to better support complex, evolving applications and ensure they remain scalable and maintainable. I’m also keen to deepen my understanding of cloud-native architecture, expanding beyond the Google Cloud services I use day to day, something I recently validated by achieving my Google Cloud Architect certification.  

I’m particularly excited about how predictive modelling and software simulation can enhance traffic insights, shifting from reactive visualisation to more forward-looking predictive intelligence 

Mary-June Stuart

GIS Analyst

Can you tell us about your role at NGIS and what a typical day looks like for you? As a GIS Analyst at NGIS, I currently provide full-time spatial support within the Internal Applications Support team. A typical day involves working within a ticket-based service desk environment, assisting a wide range of business units with spatial requests, troubleshooting, and system incidents across enterprise GIS platforms. 

Alongside this, I’m involved in project-based initiatives to improve workflows and develop new spatial tools. I work closely with clients to help them get the most out of their spatial systems, whether that’s resolving technical issues, improving processes, or helping teams integrate spatial data into their day-to-day work. 

What was your route into GIS, and what keeps you coming back every day? I first discovered GIS while studying Geographical Sciences at university and quickly found myself drawn to the practical applications of the technology, using spatial tools to create outputs that could communicate complex information in a clear and meaningful way.  

What has kept me in the industry is the incredible variety that GIS offers. Spatial technology is used across so many different sectors, which means there are always new challenges and new problems to solve. I enjoy the creativity involved in map design and spatial analysis, as well as the technical side of building solutions that make information more accessible and useful. No two days are ever quite the same, and that constant opportunity to learn something new is what keeps me engaged. 

Which part of your work makes you feel excited or proud? I feel most excited by the ongoing opportunities to learn and collaborate with new teams across the different accounts I support. Working with a variety of stakeholders exposes me to different ways of thinking about spatial data and how it can be applied to solve real-world problems.  

I feel particularly proud when I’m able to deliver work that genuinely improves someone’s workflow or helps a client achieve their spatial objectives more efficiently. Seeing the real impact that GIS solutions can have for clients in their everyday work is incredibly rewarding, as is the professional growth and relationships I’ve built with colleagues and clients along the way. 

What advice would you give young women starting out their careers? Don’t be afraid to ask questions or make mistakes when you’re starting out. It can feel like you’re expected to know everything straight away, but learning takes time and experience. Taking initiative to explore new tools or concepts, even when you don’t fully understand them yet, is an important part of professional growth. It’s also important to celebrate your achievements, no matter how small they may seem, and to maintain a healthy work-life balance. 

What’s surprised you most about working in GIS? One thing I’ve come to appreciate more over time is the value of understanding networking and security when working with enterprise GIS infrastructure. While GIS is often associated with analysis and visualisation, supporting the deployment and integration of spatial systems within broader organisational IT environments requires a real awareness of infrastructure, system architecture, and security requirements.  

It’s something I didn’t initially expect to need in a GIS role, but it’s become important when working with enterprise spatial systems. 

What is something you’re currently learning or excited to explore next?  Over the past six months, I’ve been developing my coding skills by working on a project to rebuild a geoprocessing data upload tool from C# to Python. While I had written smaller scripts in the past, this was my first opportunity to contribute to a larger development project, and through it, I’ve gained a much deeper appreciation for software development within GIS and discovered a real interest in building scalable tools that improve spatial workflows. It’s also been a great opportunity to develop my teamwork and project management skills, and I’m excited to continue exploring development as part of my future work in the industry. 

These stories shared reflect just a fraction of the expertise and dedication across the NGIS team. Every day, our people are applying spatial thinking to complex challenges, helping organisations make informed decisions 

Browse our case studies.to explore the projects behind the stories, and learn about how GIS is delivering impact across industries. We’re always on the lookout for people who want to be part of the NGIS story, explore our current opportunities and see where your skills could take you.  

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