How Does 'Where' Matter? Exploring GIS and Data Equity
Geography is the “science of where.” And while many of us consume maps when we explore the news, Covid cases and vaccines, and elections, we may not think to ask “how does ‘where’ matter” in our own data explorations. Yet when we are considering applying an equity lens to our data work, “where” does matter. Patterns may be hidden in plain sight in our data that we don’t see unless we ask ourselves whether “where” matters.
We are excited to host Alfredo Herrera, Connecticut's first Geographic Information Officer, Dr. Yaprak Onat, Assistant Director of Research for the Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA) to join us (additional panelists pending). During this panel, these GIS and data experts will spur us to think about how we can explore spatial patterns even if we are not GIS experts.
About The Panelists
Alfredo Herrera earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Urban Planning and Certificate of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) from Arizona State University in 2010 and a Master of Science in Aviation Management with a focus on automating change detection from remotely sensed imagery. The Southwest native then moved to Connecticut to take on various roles including IT, Facilities Management consulting, Municipal GIS consulting, and Municipal GIS administration and coordination. He is currently the Geographic Information Officer for the State of Connecticut. In his free time, Alfredo plays the trumpet in the Old Lyme Town Band, repairs and modifies cars for racing events, is a photographer, and is a movie aficionado.
Yaprak Onat is the Assistant Director of Research for the Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA). She coordinates the planning, development, design, implementation, and evaluation of flood risk mitigation projects for coastal resilience and engages in workshops and training to improve science communication for capacity-building activities. Before joining CIRCA, Yaprak worked as a post-doctoral researcher, specializing in modeling the extreme swell environment of the Hawaiian Islands. She also developed the coastal vulnerability map and modeled the extratropical storm-generated swell effects and their impact on the coastal exposure of the Hawaiian Islands. Yaprak worked on various risk assessment and engineering projects, with topics including tsunami inundation, sea level rise, and wave exposure assessment. Her work led her to collaborate with multi-disciplinary groups, including scientists, municipality representatives, and members of the indigenous and coastal community. She has experience doing fieldwork, focusing mostly on in-situ deployments and assisting in managing experimental laboratory conditions. Yaprak holds a Ph.D. in Ocean and Resources Engineering from the University of Hawai‛i at Manoa and M.S. from Ocean and Resources Engineering from the University of Hawai‛i at Manoa and Civil Engineering from Middle East Technical University.
About This Group
You can learn more about the Equity in Data Community of Practice here or look through the resources that have been shared from our sessions. We meet monthly, and you can sign up to join us here (curiosity and interest in data are the only requirements!). If you are interested to learn more about CTData, check out what we do and the services we provide here. For training and tips on how to use data to inform your personal and professional life, register for one of our CTData Academy workshops or browse our blog. You can keep up with us by subscribing to the CTData newsletter and following us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.