Lauren Bennett is the Product Engineering Director for Spatial Analysis and Data Science at Esri, where she leads teams building and advancing the analytical foundations of GIS, including spatial statistics, machine learning, big data analytics, and web-based spatial analysis. Her work focuses on strengthening the science and practice of spatial analysis, including guiding how AI‑driven methods are incorporated into analytical workflows in ways that are rigorous, transparent, and useful in practice. Lauren is passionate about the role of spatial data science in informing better decisions around complex challenges such as public health, racial equity, and climate change. She holds degrees from McGill University, George Mason University, and Claremont Graduate University, and is the coauthor of Spatial Statistics Illustrated, which makes core concepts in spatial statistics accessible to a broad audience.Jeremy Crampton is a Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the U.S. Department of Energy where he works on trusted research environments in scientific computing. A former academic with 30 years of experience in GIScience and spatial science, he has authored over 70 papers and several books on critical cartography and GIS, digital geographies, algorithmic governance, and AI. He is currently interested in developing trusted and integrated research infrastructures across government, academia, and industry in the age of AI.
