People

Susan brings to ESIP over a decade of nonprofit management experience with both national and regional organizations and a diverse 20 year career in the environmental field spanning international consulting, federal and state public policy, state government, outdoor recreation and conservation experience. Prior to joining ESIP, Susan served as Vice President and Director of Programs for Chesapeake Conservancy a regional conservation organization based in Annapolis, MD dedicated to restoring the health of the nation’s largest estuary and connecting people to the Bay. She worked closely with the organization’s Board of Directors, led the program, administration and finance teams of this $7 million organization with 40 staff that span from Central Pennsylvania to Southern Virginia.

Susan has a passion for data driven solutions. She served for 8 years on NOAA’s Hydrographic Services Review Panel federal advisory committee. In that role she provided guidance to NOAA on the use of their hydrographic products and services and witnessed the challenges and opportunities with the management of large data sets, coordination among federal and state agencies and the challenges that come with authoritative data and the growing push for crowdsourcing and community science. At Chesapeake Conservancy Susan worked closely with the organization’s GIS team, the Conservation Innovation Center, one of Microsoft’s first for their AI for Earth grant recipients and a regular collaborator with Esri. In her work, Susan encouraged policy makers and funders throughout the Chesapeake watershed to use high resolution land cover data to align stakeholders and improve models to better understand the landscape and prioritize restoration investments.

Susan holds a Master of Environmental Management from Duke University and a Bachelor of Arts in international studies from American University. Susan lives in Severna Park, MD. In her free time Susan loves spending time on the Chesapeake Bay with her husband and two boys on their family sailboat or fleet of kayaks.

Patty brings over 25 years of Human Resources and Administrative experience.  Before joining ESIP Patty was the Vice President of Administration at the Chesapeake Conservancy where she managed the growth of the organization to nearly double the size.  Patty specializes in recruiting, compensation and organization design, and employee policy.  Her administrative experience consists of bookkeeping, office management, board relations, and logistics.  As ESIP’s Director of Operations Patty manages the internal operations of the organization and meeting logistics.

Megan began working for ESIP in October of 2018. Prior to joining ESIP, Megan worked with Columbia University’s Lamont Geoinformatics Research Group, where she supported the IEDA Data Facility in data curation, application testing, project management, user support, and community outreach. She also helped manage a number of other initiatives (EarthCube RCNs, International Geo Sample Number, etc.) that focused on data and sample management workflows and best practices. In her role as ESIP Community Director, Megan supports the efforts of the 30+ diverse collaboration areas within ESIP. She is passionate about lowering barriers to collaboration for these groups by fostering connections between people, information, and tools that enhance data and sample collection, stewardship, use, and reuse. In 2019, Megan participated in the AAAS Community Engagement Fellows Program, a year-long professional development opportunity for individuals like Megan who cultivate member engagement and collaborative relationships within scientific associations, research collaborations and other communities of scientists.

Allison began working for ESIP in 2021 and is the person behind-the-scenes writing blogs, newsletters, social media, managing the ESIP website, crafting infographics, and helping connect community members and ESIP Partners. Before coming to ESIP, Allison worked as a science writer at a university and a radio journalist. She moonlights as a dance instructor and runs a farm with her husband in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Her favorite projects combine all her worlds: Ask her about making a Dance Your PhD video! Allison is also the best point of contact for ESIP Update announcements, marketing collaborations, and getting those cool I <3 Data ESIP stickers.

Aaron Friesz is a seasoned geospatial professional with a passion for advancing open and collaborative science. He brings over a decade of experience working with NASA’s Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LP DAAC), where he played a key role in facilitating data access and community engagement. Prior to his tenure at NASA, Aaron worked as a contract research geographer at the USGS EROS.

Aaron is dedicated to lowering barriers around data access and fostering connections among diverse communities. He is excited to have joined the Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) community in November 2024.

Outside of work we can find Aaron at dance competitions for his two daughters or upkeeping his landscaping and fruit plants at his home in Fort Myers, FL – it’s impossible to keep up with.