March 10th , 2026
10:00 am
Jay Thacker
QGIS + QField for Health Department Well and Wastewater Programs: From Design, Relations and Forms to Fieldwork and Desktop Workflow
Discover how a district Health Department is building a budget-friendly, well-structured open-source GIS for septic and well mapping and permitting. Learn about:
Geopackage design (with future PostGIS integration)
Smart forms with constraints and relational structures
Field data collection using QField
Streamlined workflows for Environmental Health Specialists and office staff
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10:25 am
Doug Newcomb
A Quick QGIS Point Sampling Tool Plugin for Sampling Large Data Sets
Learn how to efficiently aggregate data across multiple raster and vector layers using the QGIS Point Sampling Tool plugin — even with extremely large datasets (127+ billion pixels).
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10:50 am
Bernie Drahola
From QGIS to Interactive GIS Dashboards with Google Looker Studio
Explore how GIS data managed in QGIS can be transformed into interactive, shareable dashboards using Google Looker Studio. This session covers:
Connecting QGIS to Microsoft SQL Server or PostgreSQL/PostGIS
Structuring spatial data for reporting
Creating powerful GIS dashboards for non-GIS decision-makers
Building scalable, cloud-based visualization workflows
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Jay Thacker, PG, REHS, B.S Geology Appalachian State University, with additional GIS and CS coursework, Senior Geologist practicing Geology, Geomorphology, Geophysics, post-process - modeling, and mapping for 15 years at Envirovation Geologic Consulting and Mapping, currently working in Environmental Health at AppHealthCare - a district health department in NC that serves Ashe, Alleghany and Watauga Counties, developing a GIS program.
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B.S. Geography University of Illinois, M. A. Geography , UNC-CH, Retired after 34 years, U.S. U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), (Hydrologist, IT Specialist, Cartographer), Former Co-Chair DOI Open Source Geospatial Software Subcommittee.
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Bernie Drahola is a geospatial technology strategist and founder of yey'maps, a cloud-based GIS platform empowering municipalities and utilities with intuitive mapping, data management, and AI-enhanced decision support tools.
With over 20 years of experience in the geospatial industry, Bernie specializes in helping small and mid-sized utilities modernize their operations through scalable, user-friendly digital solutions.
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