HELLO!
I’m Lee, a geographer harnessing emerging technologies to address environmental concerns and design resilient communities.
My experience lies in launching, implementing, and scaling initiatives that are the first of their kind. I love making technologies and technical processes accessible.
Over the course of my career, I’ve:
- taught thousands of citizens how to build their own tiny homes, navigating seemingly insurmountable issues such as zoning
- managed geospatial and data visualization projects, helping hundreds of people to do their own mapping and data analysis with online tools
- developed training programs on community tourism and community mapping, promoting economic development and facilitating local management of environmental resources
My specialty is community building. With all projects, I’ve been able to creatively acquire resources and attract key stakeholders who become passionate about my visions and active participants in bringing them to life. I have a knack for visioning beyond current constraints to make abstract futures attainable realities today.
What I love about emerging technologies is that they offer a way to design for a more resilient future. They help us to imagine future scenarios that we might not have envisioned otherwise. The challenge, however, is to use these technologies to create real-world solutions. We need water and food security and sustainable housing on Earth, not just in the metaverse.
If you’ve got something you’d like to build, let’s chat!
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I see her unleashing her talents in a place that piques her curiosity and with people who are driven to build under that same vision. She is very smart, works hard, and has the emotional intelligence to lead diverse groups.
Keep building beautiful things that improve our world, Lee!”
- a respondent in a 360 survey, 2018
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Click each topic to learn more:
Areas of Expertise
Work I Love Doing
Ideal Work Environment
My Values
PERSONAL MESSAGE
(what does a geographer DO?)
I am just as comfortable traveling for days on rivers to map environmental resources with rural communities as I am speaking in front of thousands of people at festivals, or presenting to senior leadership in government agencies.
I grew up around the world, exposed to many ways of living. Moving so often made me adaptable, resourceful and able to seamlessly transition between diverse environments. It inspired my decision to become a geographer, working across disciplines and cultures.
As geographers, we study and model not just the physical environment, but the social, cultural and political landscapes as well. It’s important for me to be able to ground my work. If we focus solely on technology, we can forget the people and communities at the heart of what and why we build.
In the past few years, I’ve intentionally revisited places I grew up to reconnect with the lands and traditions. I’ve learned about the design of off-grid water systems in Mexico, worked the reindeer roundup in my grandparents’ homeland of Sápmi, and connected with friends from the Pacific Islands over the oral history of climate adaptation strategies.
These personal experiences, along with learning and contributing to the growing Web3 and AI ecosystems, have led me to explore how we can incorporate traditional ecological knowledge with emerging technologies to better address the challenges ahead.
PROJECTS BY CATEGORY
Click the categories below to see a sampling of projects under each
Worked with Afro-Colombian and Indigenous communities to standardize mapping of communally-held territories and resources for the 2011 Land Restitution Law
Mercy Corps
Created the first national database of mining concessions and affiliated companies and subsidiaries in Ecuador (data was not publicly available before this effort for citizens or organizations)
Accion Ecologica (NGO)
Cartographer responsible for data management and map design (print and online)
InfoGraphics Lab
Created GIS services for determining where to situate new TBI (Tramautic Brain Injury) centers and telehealth services for veterans with PTSD
Department of Veterans Affairs
Created online maps to support policy initiatives like the Waters of the US Ruling. Worked with program offices on data collection and standardization of high priority datasets like drinking water and Superfund data. Created maps and applications for routine reporting for programs like the US/Mexico Border program. Worked with tribal partners on many mapping and GIS initiatives.
US Environmental Protection Agency
Worked with leaders of the Xukuru Nation in Brazil to develop a community mapping program for their territories
Xukuru Nation
