People

Laura is a Research Scientist in the UW Outdoor Recreation & Data Lab. She has a background informing land management through ecological research and monitoring. Laura is broadly interested in working with diverse stakeholders and datasets to understand the relationship between people and nature in order to manage public lands. Prior to the Outdoor R&D Lab, she worked with federal and state agencies to monitor the impact human activities have on aquatic ecosystems in Maine and Colorado.

Carly is an ORISE postdoctoral researcher with the USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station and the Outdoor Recreation & Data Lab. Her current work aims to understand how forest management decisions and natural disturbances might influence the subjective experiences of recreators using crowd-sourced data. More broadly, Carly is interested in how experiences and interactions with nature can support mental health and well-being, as well as some of the developmental tasks of young people. She enjoys blending innovative qualitative and quantitative methods to approach these questions.

Carly has previously worked as an whitewater kayak guide for youth facing illness, grief, and socioeconomic disadvantage, in adolescent inpatient mental healthcare, and in neuroscience and psychology research positions. She received her PhD from the University of Washington.

Dieta is a Data Scientist in the Outdoor R&D Lab. She is currently working on projects that use ecological networks to understand how natural ecosystems function. This involves building databases, visualizing interaction networks, and writing software to analyze their characteristics and behaviour. She is interested in using data and technology to answer ecological questions that have implications for humans, the environment, and their interactions. Dieta has a background in marine biology, evolution, and ecology and received her PhD from McGill University.

Jacob is a Data Scientist in the Outdoor R&D Lab. He builds and maintains the core software tools for the Lab. He also develops new methods for projects that use big data or machine learning methods and works with partners to implement scalable, innovative solutions to recreation and environmental challenges. Jacob enjoys solving practical challenges using new technology and data science methods. He has a background in environmental consulting and experience working with a variety of state and federal agencies on environmental and economic issues.

Emmi is a Research Scientist in the UW Outdoor Recreation & Data Lab. She works closely with partners to manage research projects that combine traditional recreation research methods and social media data. She also has experience and interest in community science and the use of crowd-sourced information. Emmi is broadly interested in people’s connections to landscapes and experiences in green spaces. Emmi received her B.S. in Evolution, Ecology, and Conservation Biology. She previously worked in Mt. Rainier National Park and the North Cascades National Park studying plant community ecology.

Nino is a Graduate Research Assistant in the Outdoor R&D Lab and a PhD student in Computer Science & Engineering. She is focusing on ways to model public land visitation with the hopes of informing better recreation management opportunities for all who want to spend time outdoors. This work involves consolidating data from various sources and using machine learning as well as deep learning approaches. Her prior work includes applying machine learning for homelessness prediction and prevention.

Haley Netherton-Morrison is a social scientist and ORISE-USFS Postdoctoral Fellow who studies how people-place relationships, local perspectives, and other social factors shape land use planning and natural resource management. Her dissertation research at Boise State University involved designing and implementing mixed-methods research—such as interviews, surveys, and participatory mapping—to examine the intersection of local values, social-ecological change, and land management within sagebrush steppe and rural communities. She is particularly interested in how sociocultural, institutional, and ecological contexts influence decisions and public perceptions in multifunctional and changing environments.

Sama is a research scientist in the Outdoor R&D lab. She focuses on the quantitative aspects of the group’s work; including building better visitation models, exploring why people choose to go to particular places in the outdoors, and investigating the role that social media and crowd-sourced data can play in supplementing existing methods for learning about visitation.

Sama enjoys co-developing projects with practitioners and thinking about how science and better data can improve decision making. She brings experience in ecology, statistics, and land conservation.

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.