What's the most unique part about working at HOT?

Belen (B): The most unique part of working at HOT is the community. I've worked with communities throughout my career, but the HOT community is something special. People from all over the world, with different backgrounds, skills, and experiences, come together around a shared purpose: using open mapping to help others. After Venezuela's earthquake last June 24th we had the opportunity to discover this beautiful article which perfectly describes what makes our work unique.

What first attracted you to work at HOT? What's the best thing about your colleagues?

B: What first attracted me to HOT was that the role brought together everything I'd done throughout my career with a purpose I truly believe in. It combined my experience in geospatial technology, communities, partnerships, and employee engagement into one meaningful role where I could help create real impact.

What inspires me most about my colleagues is that, despite our different backgrounds and expertise, we all share the same goal: using geospatial data and collaboration to make the world a little better. Everyone brings their skills in service of others, and it's incredibly motivating to work alongside people who are so passionate and purpose-driven.

Tell us a bit about how your career/personal journey led you to HOT

B: One of my older brothers is a land surveyor, and when I was younger I was fascinated by the way he used mathematics and trigonometry to understand the world. Inspired by him, I decided to study Surveying and Geodetic Engineering.

While I was at university, I joined a startup developing Location-Based Services (LBS) for emergency management. It was an exciting time, with GPS-enabled mobile devices just beginning to appear, and I learned a huge amount. From there, I moved into the automotive industry, working on digital maps for navigation and autonomous driving at NAVTEQ, Nokia, and HERE Technologies. Working with open data communities showed me the incredible potential of collaborative mapping.

Later, I moved into employee engagement at Allianz Partners, but I soon realized I missed maps. Then, by another happy coincidence, I came across a Women in Geospatial post about a Corporate Engagement Manager role at HOT. It felt like the perfect combination of everything I'd done throughout my career and a purpose I truly believed in.

What inspires me most about HOT is that it's not just about maps—it's about people. Every day we see how open mapping helps improve lives in underserved communities, and being able to contribute to that mission alongside such passionate colleagues is incredibly meaningful.

What is the most interesting project you've worked on here?

B: As Corporate Engagement Manager, I spend a lot of my time building relationships with new corporate partners and keeping our existing partners engaged with HOT's mission. One of the things I enjoy the most is helping corporate volunteers see the real impact of the time and skills they contribute. It's really rewarding to connect people who want to help with projects that make a difference on the ground.

A great example was the response to the devastating earthquakes that hit Venezuela on June 24th. While our tech team was developing an AI model to assess building damage, we knew that human validation would be key to making the results reliable. Thanks to our fantastic network of corporate volunteers, we were able to bring people into the process to review and validate the AI predictions.

We reached out to our corporate partners for support, and the response was amazing. More than 1,000 volunteers joined the effort, helping us create high-quality datasets that have since been downloaded over 300 times by organizations supporting the response. Experiences like this are what make this role so rewarding for me. I also really enjoy exploring new ways to work with companies, understanding what motivates them, and finding opportunities where their people, skills, and expertise can create real impact.

What fulfills you most about your role?

B: I never get bored, I am meeting new corporates, sending proposals, meeting the requirements from current partners, working with the local hubs to identify opportunities for MapSwipe Projects, facilitating events, attending events…. It is impossible to get bored! Is amazing working with all the teams and externally meet so many interesting people

What advice would you give to someone who wants to work as a Corporate Engagement Manager?

B: Listen, connect the dots, fill the gaps your customers have, and create new win-win opportunities.

What's the motto you live by?

B: A few years ago, my son was working on a school project and came across the concept of Ubuntu. He shared it with our family, and it really stayed with me. Since then, "I am because we are" has become my life motto. The funny thing is that, even before I knew there was a name for it, Ubuntu had already been part of my life. I come from a big family, where helping each other, sharing what we had, and looking out for one another was just the way we grew up. Without realizing it, those values became the foundation of my education and the way I see the world.

What famous person in history (dead or alive) would you want to spend a day with?

B: I'd love to spend a day with Nina Simone. Beyond her incredible talent, I admire the courage she had to use her voice to stand up for justice and equality. I can perfectly imagine dancing some of her songs with my family…that would be really nice!

Learn more about Belen here and connect with her on LinkedIn.

Photos courtesy of Belen Soria Campos.