Spencer is an interdisciplinary scientist with broad interests and experience in environmental and social sciences. His research on outdoor recreation addresses questions about how public land management influences the distribution, behaviors, and experiences of park visitors. Spencer is known internationally for his studies developing and testing technologies and computational methods for measuring visitor use.

Spencer is a Senior Data Science Fellow at the University of Washington’s eScience Institute for Data-Driven Discovery, a Research Affiliate in the Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology, a Senior Fellow at Stanford University in the Natural Capital Project, and he leads the Outdoor Recreation and Data Lab. Spencer received his PhD from the University of British Columbia and postdoctoral training at Stanford University.