Christy Heaton

Christy Heaton has a diverse work experience across various organizations and roles. Christy started their career as a GIS Intern at King County in 2013 before moving on to become a Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Washington that same year. In 2014, Christy worked as a Student Assistant at Esri User Conference and as a GIS Project Manager at Schlosser Geographic Systems, Inc (SGSI). Christy also briefly served as a Visiting Lecturer in GIS at Universitat Jaume I de Castellón.

From 2015 to 2017, Christy worked at the University of Washington as a Faculty Lecturer and Curriculum Developer in the Master of Geographic Information Systems program. During this time, they also contributed as a Blogger for the Python Software Foundation blog, producing regular posts on various topics.

In 2018, Christy joined Floyd|Snider as a GIS/Data Analyst, where they served as an expert in GIS, Python, and data visualization. Christy worked closely with project managers to create complex data visualizations using tools such as Python, Pandas, GeoPandas, Matplotlib, and Jupyter Notebooks. Christy also utilized Esri mapping software and Microsoft Access/SQL for their work.

Currently, Christy is working at Woven by Toyota as a Geospatial Developer, starting in 2022.

Christy Heaton began their education at Vermillion High School, where they obtained their high school degree. Christy then attended the University of South Dakota from 2000 to 2004, where they pursued a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Anthropology and Spanish. In 2003, they participated in an exchange program/study abroad at Universidade de Vigo, focusing on Spanish Language and Literature. Continuing their education, Christy attended the University of Utah from 2006 to 2009, obtaining a Certificate in Geographic Information Science and Cartography. Christy later enrolled at the University of Washington from 2012 to 2014, where they earned a Masters degree in Geographic Information Science and Sustainability Management. In addition to their formal education, Christy also received certifications in "The Data Scientist's Toolbox" from Coursera in March 2015 and "Learn to Program: The Fundamentals" from Coursera in December 2012.