Where passion meets precision

For Lisa Berry ’13, geographic information systems (GIS) isn’t just a career, it’s what drives her as a passionate data storyteller and race car driver. As Senior GIS Engineer and ArcGIS Living Atlas Evangelist at Esri, Berry helps users across industries transform data into action. Off the clock, she races with Berry Family Racing, a team that includes her father, husband, sisters, and brother-in-law. There, GIS is front and center, turning race data into real-time strategy.

“I’m super passionate about GIS, but also super passionate about racing,” she said. “GIS fuels me and brings fire into everything I do, including being on the track. With our racing data on a tablet, we can make real-time decisions about which turns to accelerate, where to back off, and ultimately how to go faster on our next run.”

Discover how alumna Lisa Berry ’13 uses her GIS expertise to fuel her passion for racing.

Berry credits her Bulldog education for bringing together her dual passion for geospatial science and high-speed competition, reflecting the unique intersection of personal drive and professional expertise. As a graduate of the Master of Science in Geographic Information Systems (MSGIS) program, she said the experience equipped her with both the technical tools and the mindset needed to thrive in a fast-evolving field.

“The MSGIS program has been a critical part of my journey in GIS,” she said. “It gave me the tools and resources to be successful, help me find my job, and through my advisor, Rujin Ma, provided support even to this day. It’s special to feel like I’m part of something big and belong in a group of people who will be part of my life forever.”

Berry put those tools to work immediately—within her first year at Esri, she used Python skills from her capstone project to automate parts of her job, an experience that accelerated her impact and growth in the company.

“That foundation from Redlands gave me the confidence to solve problems creatively,” she said. “It wasn’t just about learning software, it was about learning how to think spatially.”

That same mindset powers her performance on the track. Whether she’s reviewing data mid-race or comparing split times with her teammates, Berry brings the same analytical lens to racing that she applies in her work.

 “I'm lucky enough to be able to use my education every day at work and also in my personal life,” she said. “The skills I learned in my master's program at U of R gave me all those tools for success and I'm so grateful to have been part of a program that gave me everything I needed to do the things that I love.”

As she prepares for the 2025 Esri User Conference, Berry is set on showing the world what GIS can do in the workplace and beyond.

“For students who are new to GIS, be curious, learn all the skills, and map anything and everything,” she said. “Explore, because you may fall in love with GIS like I did.”

Learn how Redlands ignites students’ curiosities and drives them towards success—discover GIS programs at Redlands.