Areas of Expertise: GIS, Field Biology, Geology
Emily developed a deep love for the natural surroundings of the Chattanooga area at a young age thanks to her supportive family and an inherent desire to spend time outside. She has always been particularly drawn to streams and their surrounding riparian environments – both for recreation purposes and in a professional capacity. Emily spent four incredible years at Sewanee: The University of the South where she took courses that built a foundation for a conservation career focused on sharing the importance of protecting the natural world.
After college, Emily focused on holding positions that expanded her knowledge and provided a breadth of experience in the natural sciences sphere. Some highlights included doing eastern spotted skunk (google them!!) and timber rattlesnake surveys in the mountains of West Virginia, teaching stream ecology to students in the greater Chattanooga area, and traversing helicopter logged sites to do timber stocking surveys for the USFS.
Most recently, Emily worked for Skytec LLC where she had the opportunity to assist with a great variety of GIS projects, often conservation related, while she finished up a graduate certificate in GIS at ETSU. Emily has always seen GIS as a tool for bolstering conservation initiatives as well as providing a means to educate using data and visuals. Looking at the world through a spatial lens provides invaluable insights into what’s happening on the ground, underground, in a stream, in space… well, pretty much anywhere. Essentially, it opens up a whole new world. Emily is very excited to utilize GIS in support of the Tennessee Aquarium’s important mission of connecting people with nature and empowering them to make informed decisions about water and wildlife.
Hobbies: Swimming, caving, looking for wildflowers, reading, hiking, paddling.
Education:
Graduate Certificate in Geographic Information Systems, 2024, East Tennessee State University
B.S., 2020, Sewanee: The University of the South (Natural Resources)