SPEAKER BIOS
Mrs. Celeste Reynolds
Celeste Reynolds is an AP Human Geography teacher in Mashpee, MA, and she is involved with the TeachOSM Team as well as the American Geographical Society Teacher Advisory Board. Juliana Reynolds is a senior at Mashpee High School who has been leading the path to encourage more high school students to do more mapping to help others.
Dr. Kevon Rhiney
Kevon Rhiney is a British Commonwealth Fellow and Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography, Rutgers University - New Brunswick. His research is situated at the nexus of critical development studies, human-environment geography and political ecology.
Mrs. Leah Schwizer
Leah Schwizer provides support to the NASA Earth Science Data Systems GIS Team (EGIST). Leah is a Certified GIS Professional (GISP) with over 15 years of experience supporting GIS data management, coordination, outreach and community engagement in order to increase and improve GIS implementation within organizations.
Ms. Fran Seegull
Fran Seegull is President of the U.S. Impact Investing Alliance. The Alliance works to increase awareness of impact investing in the U.S., foster deployment of impact capital across asset classes globally, and partner with stakeholders, including government, to build the impact investing ecosystem. She also serves as Executive Director of the Tipping Point Fund on Impact Investing—a donor collaborative focused on growing the field.
Seegull was the Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director at ImpactAssets where she headed investment management for The Giving Fund—a $1.5B impact investing donor advised fund.
Prior to joining ImpactAssets, Seegull was Managing Director at Funk Ventures, an impact venture capital firm. She also served as VP of Business Development at Novica, an online retailer representing artisans in Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Seegull has a BS in Economics from Barnard College and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She serves on the Investment Committee of Align Impact and the Advisory Boards of SOCAP and the CASE i3 Initiative at Duke University. She tweets at @franseegull.
Ms. Liz Sevcenko
Liz Ševčenko is founding director of the Humanities Action Lab, a growing consortium of over 30 universities issue organizations and public spaces, led from Rutgers University-Newark, that collaborate to develop student- and community-curated public memory projects around contested social issues. HAL’s latest project is Climates of Inequality: Stories of Environmental Justice, a traveling exhibit, web platform, and public actions confronting histories of environmental racism and their legacies for the climate crisis, created by over 500 students and frontline community leaders across the hemisphere Previous projects included States of Incarceration: A National Dialogue of Local Histories, which inspired the Rikers Public Memory Project, a collaboration with Just Leadership USA and Create Forward, and the Guantánamo Public Memory Project, an international collaboration of universities and organizations Ševčenko launched from Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights. Ševčenko was founding director of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, a network of historic sites that foster public dialogue on pressing contemporary issues, and served as Vice President for Programs at the Lower East Side Tenement Museum. She received her BA in history from Yale University and her MA in history from New York University. In 2017 she was awarded the Rome Prize to start her forthcoming book, Public Memory for the Post-Truth Era.
Hon. Terri Sewell
Congresswoman Terri Sewell is the first Black woman elected to Congress from Alabama, serving in her sixth term representing the 7th district. Congresswoman Sewell sits on the House Ways and Means Committee, the Steering and Policy Committee, and serves as Chief Deputy Whip. She is a member of the Congressional Black Caucus and the New Democrat Coalition; Co-Chair of the Voting Rights Caucus; Vice-Chair of the HBCU Caucus; and Co-Chair of the Rural Caucus. Sewell is a fierce advocate for job creation and economic opportunity. Representing Alabama’s Civil Rights District, she is a champion for advancing the legacy of the Foot Soldiers who marched for justice. She is the chief sponsor of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act which passed the House in August. Sewell was the first Black woman partner in the Birmingham office of Maynard, Cooper & Gale, and one of Alabama’s only Black public finance lawyers. She was the first Black valedictorian of Selma High School and a graduate of Princeton University, Oxford University, and Harvard Law School. A life member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, she is the daughter of the late Coach Andrew Sewell and Nancy Gardner Sewell, Selma’s first Black City Councilwoman.
Vice Admiral Robert Sharp
Vice Admiral Robert Sharp is the seventh Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. VADM Sharp leads and directs NGA under the authorities of the Secretary of Defense and Director of National Intelligence. He became NGA’s director on Feb. 7, 2019.
From April 2016 to February 2019, VADM Sharp served as Commander, Office of Naval Intelligence and Director, National Maritime Intelligence-Integration Office. During his initial flag assignment he served as the Director for Intelligence (J2), U.S. Special Operations Command.
His previous operational tours include deployments with USS Ranger (CV61), Carrier Air Wing 2 embarked on USS Constellation (CV 64), and Carrier Group 2 embarked on USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75). Additionally, he conducted multiple deployments to Afghanistan as J2 of a Special Operations Task Force, leading joint, inter-agency intelligence professionals supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
VADM Sharp’s shore tours include assistant intelligence officer for Commander Naval Air Forces, Pacific; instructor duty at the Fleet Intelligence Center, Pacific; targeting officer on the Joint Staff; Intelligence Operations officer with U.S. Fleet Forces Command; Director of Intelligence for Naval Special Warfare Development Group; Director of Intelligence and Deputy Director for the Maritime Operations Center for Commander U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. 5th Fleet; and senior fellow on the Chief of Naval Operations Strategic Studies Group. He commanded the Joint Intelligence Center, U.S. Central Command from August 2010 to August 2012.
A native of San Jose, California, VADM Sharp graduated from the University of the Pacific with a Bachelor of Arts in English and was commissioned through Officer Candidate School in 1988. He holds a Naval War College diploma and earned a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in 2008.
In addition to multiple personal, unit, and campaign awards, he has been the recipient of the Vice Admiral Rufus L. Taylor award for excellence in instruction, the U.S. Army’s Knowlton Award for Military Intelligence, the Rear Adm. Edwin T. Layton leadership award, and the Naval Intelligence Foundation award for excellence in operational intelligence support to the Fleet.
Ms. Natalia da Silveira Arruda
Natalia da Silveira Arruda is an architect and urbanist from Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), has an MSc. in Territorial, Urban, Environmental, and Landscape Planning from Polytechnic of Turin (Italy), and current is a Ph.D. Student in Urban Planning at Arizona State University (United States). She worked as a Professor at Universidad de Antioquia (Colombia) from 2016 to 2021, where helped found the YouthMappers’ chapter GeoLab. Natalia is a YouthMappers Regional Ambassador Everywhere She Maps. Her interests include urban planning, sustainable mobility, collaborative and humanitarian mapping.
Dr. Matthew Slaughter
Matthew J. Slaughter is the Paul Danos Dean of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, where in addition he is the Earl C. Daum 1924 Professor of International Business. He is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, a member of the Aspen Institute’s Economic Strategy Group, and an academic advisor to the McKinsey Global Institute.
Dr. Kristin Smith
Kristin Smith is a researcher at Headwaters Economics - an independent, nonprofit research group based in Montana. She leads the team's research and community engagement related to flood mitigation and contributes to research on public finance and fiscal policy. Kris holds a Bachelor’s degree from Middlebury College, a Master’s degree in Community Development & Applied Economics from the University of Vermont, and has a Ph.D. in Earth Sciences – Geography from Montana State University.
Dr. Caroline Solomon
Dr. Caroline Solomon, Professor of Biology and Director of the School of Science, Technology, Accessibility and Mathematics and Public Health at Gallaudet University, is an aquatic ecologist and a mentor for STEM deaf and hard-of-hearing students. She has obtained 5 federal grants in the past 8 years for efforts to support deaf and hard-of-hearing students in STEM through providing authentic research opportunities and fostering vertical mentoring. Her work has been featured in numerous reviewed papers, conference articles, invited presentations, news releases and a short biography in K-12 science textbooks. Dr. Solomon’s contributions have earned her teaching and education awards from the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, Gallaudet University, National Public Radio (50 great teachers) and several features in prominent education media. In addition, she was invited to speak at the 2017 National March for Science in Washington D.C. Her latest publications include An Often Overlooked Element of Diversity: Disability (2021, ASLO Bulletin) and Meeting Frameworks must be even more inclusive (2021, Nature Ecol Evol). Dr. Solomon obtained her BA in Environmental Science and Public Policy from Harvard University, MS in biological oceanography from the University of Washington, and Ph.D. in biological oceanography from the University of Maryland.
Dr. John Stehlin
John G. Stehlin is Assistant Professor in the department of Geography, Environment, and Sustainability at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. His research focuses on urban political economy, mobility and transportation infrastructure, and questions of spatial justice. He is the author of Cyclescapes of the Unequal City: Bicycle Infrastructure and Uneven Development (University of Minnesota Press, 2019) and co-editor of Urban Platforms and the Future City: Transformations in Infrastructure, Governance, Knowledge and Everyday Life (with Mike Hodson, Julia Kasmire, Andrew McMeekin, and Kevin Ward, Routledge, 2020).
Dr. Michael Storper
Michael Storper (PhD, Economic Geography, University of California, Berkeley) is an economic geographer who currently holds positions at UCLA, the London School of Economics, and formerly at Sciences Po/Paris. His fields of research are: regional economic development; urbanization; the link between innovation and geographical change; and globalization. He is the author of more than 100 peer-reviewed academic articles and ten books, including the widely-cited The Rise and Decline of Urban Economies (Stanford, 2015); Keys to the City (Princeton, 2013), The Regional World: Territory, Technology and Economic Development (Guilford, 1997), Worlds of Production (Harvard, 1997). He received a Doctorate Honoris Causa from the University of Utrecht In 2008, the Sir Peter Hall Prize from the Regional Studies Association in 2012, the Founder’s Gold Medal from the Royal Geographical Society in 2016, and the Distinguished Scholarship Honors from the American Association of Geographers in 2017. He holds dual citizenship of the USA and France.
Dr. Paul Sutton
Paul Sutton is a professor in the Department of Geography and the Environment at the University of Denver. His teaching and research interests are in the area of Ecological Economics, Population Geography, and Sustainability Science.
Dr. Omari Swinton
Dr. Omari H. Swinton is a professor in the Economics department at Howard University where he teaches introductory, intermediate, and urban economics. He is currently the Director of Graduate Studies and Chair. His research interests include labor economics and education. He has papers examining the teenage labor market, the benefits from attending HBCU's, and the returns to a college education. He coauthored a report for NAFEO entitled "The State of Blacks in Higher Education.” He currently is working on projects that examine the returns to effort for students, the obstacles to faculty diversity in higher education, and benefits of attending an HBCU. He is the director of the AEA Summer Training Program and Scholarship Program which has increased diversity in the field of economics by preparing talented undergraduates for doctoral programs in economics and related disciplines. He earned his B.S. from Florida A & M University in 2001, and his doctoral degree from Duke University in 2007. He resides in Upper Marlboro, MD with his wife, Phyllis, and four children, Omari Jr., Nyla, Jamir, and Nasir.
Dr. Michelle Thompson
Michelle M. Thompson is an Associate Professor at the University of New Orleans in the Department of Planning & Urban Studies (UNO PLUS). Michelle teaches courses in geographic information systems, community development finance, urban public finance, housing, urban studies and land use planning. She received a Masters’ in Regional Planning'84 and Ph.D.'01 from the Cornell University Department of City and Regional Planning with a focus on community development and spatial analysis using geographic information systems (GIS). Michelle received her Bachelor of Arts in Policy Studies from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs from Syracuse University in 1982. Michelle obtained her Geographic Information Systems Professional certification (GISP) in 2015.
Michelle is also the Principal of Thompson Real Estate Consultants LLC, a real estate research and education firm. Michelle has also worked in both public and private companies related to the finance of residential and commercial real estate. Michelle has a long-term interest in working with community development organizations to provide technical support, market research and evaluation services. Currently Michelle serve as a Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth Senior Data Fellow to evaluate financial wealth of low-impact communities using anonymized and aggregated transaction data.
Dr. Christopher Tucker
Dr. Christopher Tucker manages Yale House Ventures, a portfolio of social ventures and technology companies that span the worlds of energy, geospatial, sensor, cyber-security, open source, and social media technologies, across the domains of defense/intelligence, international affairs, civilian government, commercial industry, NGOs, and academe. He is also the Chairman and CEO of The MapStory Foundation and President of the foreign policy advocacy group, Friends of the Arc.
Dr. Tucker was previously Senior VP for the Americas/National Programs at ERDAS and President/CEO of IONIC, a leader in interoperable web-mapping, location based services, imagery management and distributed geoprocessing. He has served on a variety of Boards such as the US Geospatial Intelligence Foundation, the Open Geospatial Consortium, Open Plans, OpenGeo, the Secretary of Interior’s National Geospatial Advisory Committee, and the Defense Science Board Intelligence Task Force, the DNI’s Intelligence Community Strategic Studies Group, and serves as an Independent Advisor to the Director of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA). Dr. Tucker served on the National Academy of Science’s Committee on NGA’s GEOINT Research Priorities.
Dr. Tucker was Chief Strategic Officer of In-Q-Tel, the CIA’s venture capital fund. He was responsible for managing the technical portfolio, issues of organizational design, and relations with the intelligence community, industry and media.
As Special Advisor to the Executive Vice Provost of Columbia University, Dr. Tucker was responsible for a range of issues having to do with strategic institutional development, R&D portfolio management, federal science and technology policy, and the organization of interdisciplinary research. At Columbia, he co-founded the Center for Science, Policy, and Outcomes and has taught courses at the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs. Dr. Tucker earned his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. at Columbia University in the City of New York.
Dr. Kyle Whyte
Kyle Whyte is George Willis Pack Professor of Environment and Sustainability at the University of Michigan, teaching in the environmental justice specialization. His research addresses environmental justice, focusing on moral and political issues concerning climate policy and Indigenous peoples, the ethics of cooperative relationships between Indigenous peoples and science organizations, and problems of Indigenous justice in public and academic discussions of food sovereignty, environmental justice, and the anthropocene. He is an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Kyle currently serves on the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, the Management Committee of the Michigan Environmental Justice Coalition, and the Board of Directors of the Pesticide Action Network North America. He has served as an author for the U.S. Global Change Research Program, including on the National Climate Assessment, and for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group II. He is a former member of the Advisory Committee on Climate Change and Natural Resource Science in the U.S. Department of Interior and of two environmental justice work groups convened by past state governors of Michigan.
Dr. Liz Williams
Elizabeth (Liz) Williams, PhD is the Director of Data and Policy in the Office of Transportation Planning at the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). She is responsible for coordinating projects and data within and between MassDOT offices and partner agencies and ensuring objectives and strategies are consistent. Liz has fifteen years’ experience in the economic and social policy and research field and previously held positions with the MBTA, the UMass Donahue Institute, the Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy, and the American Institutes for Research. Liz is trained as an urban sociologist and has a Bachelor’s degree from Clark University, a Master’s degree from George Washington University, and a PhD from Northeastern University.
