About me

From map design and remote sensing to motion graphics and 3D composites, I have more than a decade of experience creating award-winning visualizations.

I am passionate about combining insightful analysis with clean, clear visualizations to communicate about our dynamic planet.

I am currently the lead for data visualization and cartographic quality at NASA’s Earth Observatory. You can read more about my role at NASA in a recent interview.

Before joining NASA I was an NSF IGERT PhD fellow in Big Data Social Science and Geography at The Pennsylvania State University.

At Penn State I researched cartography and geovisual analytics with an emphasis on human-computer interaction, interactive affordances, and big data. My work focused on new forms of map interaction made possible by well constructed visual cues.

During this time I held joint research assistantships in Penn State’s GeoVISTA Center and Media Effects Lab. At the GeoVISTA Center I researched and designed map symbology for mobile devices. I also helped develop and design the Symbol Store, an online repository for finding and downloading map symbols. My research in the Media Effects Lab made use of social media and visual analytics to reveal the connections between user interaction and emotion.

Prior to my work at Penn State, I received a B.S in GIScience and a master’s in Geography with Dr. Kirk Goldsberry at Michigan State University. My master’s thesis was on traffic map design and methods for improving travel time visualization. You can read about some of the findings here.

I also help run things on DataIsBeautiful. Over the years our team of moderators has transformed the subreddit into one of the largest communities of data visualization enthusiasts in the world (12.8 million subscribers and growing).

Aside from geography and maps, I enjoy photography, fishing, geocaching, and gaming.