New Light Technologies Inc. (NLT) is honored to serve as a Platinum Sponsor of the 10th annual Innovation Summit for Preparedness & Resilience (InSPIRE), taking place May 28–29, 2025, at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. Organized by the National Alliance for Public Safety GIS (NAPSG) Foundation, InSPIRE brings together leaders from across the public and private sectors to advance the role of geospatial technology in public safety and disaster resilience.
This year’s summit is especially significant as it looks back at the 20 years since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, recognizing the transformative role these devastating events played in shaping today’s emergency management practices. Many of the professionals attending and organizing InSPIRE 2025 were directly involved in the response to those historic storms.
Spotlight on Innovation and Lessons from the Past
InSPIRE 2025 will convene public safety officials, emergency managers, homeland security leaders, and GIS professionals from around the country to collaborate, share best practices, and explore cutting-edge solutions that support disaster preparedness and response.
The conference will focus on the enduring influence of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, two of the most devastating hurricanes in U.S. history. Both storms occurred during the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, leaving deep and lasting impacts on the Gulf Coast—particularly in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas—and reshaping federal, state, and local emergency management strategies. During Hurricane Katrina, more than 1,800 people lost their lives and damages across the Gulf Coast topped $108 billion. Hurricane Rita caused around 120 deaths across four states.
Through panel discussions and case studies, the summit will explore:
- How GIS was used during the response and recovery efforts
- The evolution of public safety GIS over the past two decades
- Innovations that emerged from the challenges of those events
This reflection provides a unique opportunity to evaluate how far the geospatial community has come and to chart a path forward for continued progress.
NLT’s Role in Advancing Public Safety
As a platinum sponsor, NLT proudly supports InSPIRE’s mission to foster innovation, collaboration, and real-world solutions for public safety challenges. Our sponsorship ensures that all participants can attend the summit at no cost, making critical knowledge, tools, and training accessible to a wide audience.
NLT has long been at the forefront of geospatial disaster management, combining deep scientific expertise with cutting-edge technology and mission-driven services. Our work with federal agencies, state and local governments has led to the development of advanced tools for preparedness, response, and recovery.
From building AI-driven analytics platforms to supporting real-time disaster operations, NLT continues to shape the future of public safety GIS.
Meet Our Team at InSPIRE
This year, Chief Scientist Ran Goldblatt, Executive Vice President Rob Pitts and Principal Data Scientist Garrett Tate will represent NLT at the conference. Rob, Garrett and Ran have extensive hands-on experience when it comes to disaster management in response to major hurricanes like Katrina and Rita.
Together, they bring decades of experience in disaster response and geospatial strategy, with extensive work supporting programs such as FEMA’s Response Geospatial Office (RGO). Their firsthand knowledge of how GIS has evolved since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita provides valuable insights into current trends and future directions in the field.
NLT’s team will be actively engaged in breakout sessions, workshops, and discussions—collaborating with peers to explore new applications of geospatial technology for disaster management and resilience.
Session Highlight: Advancing Geospatial Analytics for Catastrophic Events
On the second day, Rob Pitts will discuss, together with representatives from the Louisiana Department of Health, some of the advancements in geospatial analytics & decision support systems for catastrophic disaster missions. Their session will demonstrate case studies that highlight improvements and innovations in geospatial technologies, data and predictive modeling and reporting at the federal and state/local levels, including recent implementation of an innovative tool developed by NLT for the State of Louisiana that depicts the potential exposure of healthcare facilities to emerging natural disasters.
Driving Resilience Through Innovation
At NLT, our mission is to empower emergency managers and public safety professionals with the tools and insights they need to protect communities and save lives. Our work enhances decision-making at every stage of a disaster—from early warnings to long-term recovery—ensuring that communities are better prepared and more resilient in the face of future crises. By combining advanced technologies with practical, on-the-ground expertise, NLT is helping to define the next generation of public safety GIS. NLT`s Incident Management, Prioritization, Alerting and Coordination Tool (IMPACT), for example, is a comprehensive decision support tool that provides real-time alerts and intelligence on emerging threats and their impacts on vulnerable communities and critical infrastructure. The tool is increasingly being used by federal, state and local agencies to respond to and recover from disasters.
Looking Ahead
The InSPIRE conference is the premier venue for emergency managers seeking to understand the value of geospatial strategies in enhancing preparedness, response, and recovery operations. Attendees will gain insights into the role of GIS in situational awareness, mitigation planning, continuity of operations and other aspects related to emergency operations.
NLT is excited to be part of InSPIRE 2025 and proud to contribute to the national dialogue on geospatial innovation and public safety. We look forward to connecting with fellow leaders, sharing our experiences, and learning from the community.
Join us in Baton Rouge as we continue working toward a safer, more resilient future.
About New Light Technologies (NLT)
NLT is a leading provider of integrated science, technology, and mission services with over 20 years of experience serving government and commercial organizations. Offering renowned expertise in cloud, agile software development, cybersecurity, data science, geospatial, and remote sensing, NLT provides comprehensive consulting, research, digital transformation services, and fit-for-purpose analytics solutions for various industries, from emergency management to economics to health. NLT offers distinctive capabilities in delivering secure cloud-native platforms and web-based decision support tools and has pioneered predictive disaster risk analytics in support of homeland security missions. To learn more, visit www.NewLightTechnologies.com
