David Gadsden

David Gadsden serves as the Director of Conservation Solutions at Esri, the Environmental Systems Research Institute, where he leads global conservation initiatives and partnerships. As an applied geographer with over 30 years of experience working with geographic information systems (GIS), he has advanced solutions to a wide array of humanitarian and environmental challenges. David leads the development of geographic solutions to pressing conservation challenges, spanning from ecological monitoring, human-wildlife conflict, and regional conservation prioritization and planning.

After earning his Geography degree from the University of Washington in 1995, David served as a Peace Corps volunteer in rural Tanzania, working on a community-based natural resource management program. Over his 20+ year career at Esri, Gadsden has championed the development of advanced geospatial solutions with both Indigenous Communities and leading institutions, including the United Nations, IUCN, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Jane Goodall Institute. In 2010, Gadsden crafted the Esri Nonprofit Program to provide low-cost access to Esri’s technology to now over 16,000 organizations worldwide.