United States
I love talking with people who entrust me with their story. It's an honor to craft it into a meaningful tribute to the way they help other people or our natural resources.
The head of research at one of the world's largest wineries who, in pursuing a goal to save water, became an advocate for the longest-running Earth observation satellite program.
A physical therapist for children with cancer who pulled off a final fishing trip for one of his patients, inside the hospital.
Some stories, like some people, tend to be more subtle. But each has a reason to be told. I want to share as many as I can.
I have spent nearly five years combining my strong journalism skills with my passion for environmental topics at the U.S. Geological Survey's Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, learning a lot more about satellites than I ever dreamed I would. I shared the many ways Landsat is helping people around the world through website articles, fact sheets, social media posts, podcast episodes, posters and more.
For a year and a half before that, I wrote website stories about patients, leaders, physicians and other employees of Sanford Health, a sizable rural health care system. And forming the foundation of my journalism career, I gained extensive experience in editing for print and digital at South Dakota's largest daily newspaper, the Argus Leader.
Now I'm eager to find a new adventure in storytelling.
Using Landsat's thermal imagery, researchers at Gallo Winery have been able to better understand vineyard water needs, optimize irrigation and support long-term sustainability across thousands of acres. This work also helped shape broader tools now supporting water management across the western United States.
Hurricane flooding. City planning. A new natural gas pipeline. Preparing for future events-whether sudden or expected-requires high-quality data to ensure our safety, economic well-being and business needs.The National Land Cover Database (NLCD) is a proven data source filling the need in these circumstances and many others for the private sector, all levels of government and universities.
Landsat Science Teams have advocated for the best data possible for the wide variety of remote sensing users around the world.
Thirty years ago, a contractor at USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center hired a man who could speak French-in a strong Quebec accent-to introduce people in West Africa to remote sensing techniques and software.
New York City (NYC) loses an average of 13 residents each year to heatstroke. The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene estimates more than 100 die each year from other causes associated with extreme heat. Hundreds visit emergency departments, with an average of 150 hospitalized annually.
For women currently pregnant in the United States, the risk of dying from a cause related to their pregnancy has more than doubled since some of them were born. But Sanford Health doctors have been working on regional projects and hospital practices to help reduce that risk.
The rare debilitating disease Friedreich's ataxia can't be stopped yet, but a teen's father and a Sanford researcher have formed a friendship trying.
A downturn in the ag economy and unpredictable weather make a farmer's already uncertain job even harder. Mental health issues may arise because of the difficulties.
Ethan Erickson lost his life to Burkitt lymphoma at just a month shy of 13. This story doesn't dwell on sorrow, though. This story talks about an occasion of joy instead.
In Ethiopia, Eskedar Yimer built roads and bridges. In Sioux Falls, she followed her heart's desire into medicine.