March 2023 | By Bibi Powers-McCormack 

Tell us about your background 

I grew up in Oregon and regular trips to the coast, forests, and mountains sparked my interest in the natural world. I moved to Colorado and attended Colorado College, where I studied Organismal Biology & Ecology and Human Biology & Kinesiology.  

My interest in large datasets began after I contributed to and analyzed a growing body of fish data that spanned over 20 years. This led me to work on additional projects that used landscape metrics, GIS, and citizen science datasets. I am interested in exploring large-scale ecological data to investigate the compounding impacts of day-to-day interactions on broader spatial and temporal scales.  ^{Researchers stand in the Little Snake River with seine nets and backpack electrofishers to collect data on native and non-native fish populations. The data collection contributes to a longitudinal study in collaboration with Colorado College and Colorado State University.} 

What attracted you to MarineGEO?

The global nature of MarineGEO's datasets caught my interest. With network partners collecting data from around the world, the large spatial extent has encouraged me to create data pipelines that are efficient, yet comprehensive, in curating the details and inconsistencies that come with such a coordinated effort.  

Tell us a little about your work with MarineGEO 

As a data technician, I propose, design, develop, and implement data workflows that efficiently take data collected from the field through curation steps to prepare it for archive and analysis. 

What do you do for fun? 

In addition to science and all things data, I am a freelance photographer, climber, and dog dad. Outside of work hours, you can find me coaching the next generation of pro climbers and hiking with my border collie mix, Echo.