Dr. Lauren Bennett leads the Spatial Analysis and Data Science product engineering team at Esri. In her role, she oversees the R&D of the ArcGIS geoprocessing framework, which includes spatial and spatiotemporal statistics, raster and multidimensional analysis, machine learning and big data analytics. Lauren is passionate about the power of spatial data science to make an impact on our world, from racial equity and social justice to public health to climate change. Lauren received a BA in Geography from McGill University, an MS in Geographic and Cartographic Science from George Mason University, and her PhD in Information Systems and Technology from Claremont Graduate University.

Flora Vale is a Product Engineer on Esri's Spatial Analysis and Data Science team. She is passionate about using spatial analysis and data visualization to answer questions and solve problems. In addition to building software, Flora loves teaching analytical methods through conceptual illustrations, and believes that anyone can learn how to think spatially and make data-drive decisions. Flora studied Geography and GIS at University of Maryland, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Information Systems and Technology at Claremont Graduate University.