Current Leadership

Nicholas Willette, Chairman

Nicholas Willette, GISP, received his Bachelor of Applied Arts and Science in 2019 and Master of Science in Information Science in 2021 from the University of North Texas. Nicholas has worked in GIS since joining the Marine Corps in 2007, and has also worked as a land surveyor in both the public and private sector. He was recently employed as a GIS Analyst with the Fort Worth Water Department, handling the mapping of public water and wastewater infrastructure and training the Water Department’s survey team. In November 2022, Nicholas began the role of GIS Manager for the City of Euless, Texas. Nicholas has been volunteering with URISA Texas since mid-2021 and was responsible for the website redesign efforts, and has served as the Officer Secretary, Communications Coordinator, and Vice Chairman. 

Sara Akin (Taylor), Vice-Chairman

Sara Akin (Taylor), GISP, is the GIS Manager at Texas811 in Richardson, Texas. She currently manages a team of GIS technicians responsible for the utility service areas in Texas, South Dakota, and West Virginia, as well as base mapping in those states. She has served with URISA Texas as the Board Treasurer (2022-2023), Director-at-Large (2021), and Outreach Coordinator (2021). At the national level, she is an elected director and Board Liaison. Previously she has served with URISA as the Chapter Development and Relations Council Chair (2022-2023) and as a volunteer on the GIS Pro Conference Committee (2019-2023) and OneURISA Committee (2021). Sara is a two-time recipient of the Barbara Hirsch Special Service Award for special contributions to URISA through a consummate level of service (2023, 2021). She has previously served on the URISA Mid-Atlantic Chapter’s Board of Trustees as the Past President (2021-2022), President (2019-2020), and Sponsorship Coordinator (2017). Sara received her Bachelor of Science from Rutgers University and is a 2016 graduate of Penn State’s Postbaccalaureate GIS program. She was certified as a GISP by GISCI in 2010.

Kristina Deitz, Past Chairman

Kristina Deitz, GISP, received her Master’s Degree in Geospatial Surveying Engineering from Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi in 2015. She discovered GIS back in 2007 and had several summer internships working with multiple companies ranging from environmental mapping to oil/gas while working on her Bachelor’s degree in GIS. While working on her Master’s degree she worked as a Teaching Assistant with various labs ranging from basic GIS concepts to the more advanced GIS classes. After graduating with her Master’s degree she went on to work in the consulting realm for AECOM for over 5 years. She has since moved on to the municipal government sector and is currently a Business Intelligence/GIS Analyst with the City of Plano. She has also been an active member of URISA’s GISCorps where she has previously served as a Data Manager for a Community Solutions partnering with the Northeast Hartford project.

Liz Parrish, Treasurer

Liz Parrish, MBA, GISP is the Manager of Geospatial Analytics & Insights for major Texas grocery retailer H-E-B which is known for commitment to the people and communities it serves. In a previous role with Esri's Professional Services, she had a portfolio of clients from Fortune 500 financial services companies, retailers, and commercial real estate firms. Liz is passionate about helping organizations and individuals achieve success through well-curated geospatial strategies that harness the power of location, data science, and technology to drive business results. She is excited about helping create Enterprise GIS Centers of Excellence, mentoring future geospatial leaders, and exploring topics such as GeoAI. Liz has been engaged with URISA Texas since moving to the state in 2020, serving in various roles from Communications Committee Chair, to Director-At-Large, to Board Secretary, and regularly engages with URISA International through events and volunteer opportunities. In additional to being a GISP, Liz is a graduate of the URISA GIS Leadership Academy, an Esri Certified Enterprise Geodata Management Professional, SAG Award winner, and URISA Mentor. She has also developed a passion for presenting and you can often find her presenting on geospatial or leadership topics at conferences, universities, or throughout the Geospatial community.

Harold Rogers, Secretary

Harold Rogers is a Research Scientist Associate II for the State of Texas Advanced Resource Recovery Group (STARR) at the Bureau of Economic Geology. Along with helping STARR with various GIS projects, Harold uses his skills in subsurface modeling, well analysis, animation, and visualization to assist a variety of Bureau research groups. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Radio-Television-Film and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Art from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Master's in Geospatial Information Science and Technology from North Carolina State University. Harold has been working in the field of GIS for 15 years and the Bureau of Economic Geology for over 11 years.

Garri Grossi, Director-At-Large

Garri Grossi, GISP, has over 20 years of Geographic Information Systems experience in both the public and private sectors. Areas of focus include Web Application Development, Asset Management, Location Analytics, Marketing Insights, Storytelling, and Minesweeper. He is a graduate of the University of North Texas' Geography Department and has earned a GISP, ESRI ArcGIS Desktop Associate, CompTIA CTT+ and Security +, is a Certified Professional Category Analyst, and is currently the Senior GIS Analyst for the City of Carrollton and the North Texas Representative for the South Central Arc User Group.

Katsuhiko "Kirk" Oda, Director-At-Large

Katsuhiko "Kirk" Oda is an associate professor of GIS and computer science and business department chair at Tarrant County College in Fort Worth, Texas. Kirk has over seven years of non-teaching GIS experience in the United States and Japan. Additionally, he has taught GIS at higher education institutions, including the University of Southern California, for over thirteen years. He graduated from Texas A&M University in 2011 and earned a GISP in 2015. Kirk is passionate about educating students for the next generation of GIS professionals.

Amy Cleare, Director-At-Large

Amy Cleare, GIS Manager of Houston Water with Houston Public Works, received her BS degree from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia in 2007. She has applied geographic principles as a GIS professional in many industries and projects. These include parcel fabric editing, seismic oil & gas, air navigational data, LiDAR/Imagery processing in the defense industry, epidemiological spatial analysis, archeological data conversion, and water and wastewater utility data.

Officers of URISA Texas

President - Nicholas Willette

Vice President - Vacant

Secretary - Kenna Nava

Communications Coordinator - Amy Cleare

Events Coordinator - TBD

Outreach Coordinator - TBD

Scholarship - TBD

Associate Officers - TBD