Team Profile: Laura Lee

The team at Skytec enables us to deliver meaningful solutions to clients and each individual offers unique expertise and perspective. We’re featuring team members on our blog to demonstrate how they contribute to our success and the greater geospatial industry. This month, we’re featuring GIS Analyst and Developer, Laura Lee.

Q: Tell us about your background.

A: I’m a University of Tennessee at Chattanooga alumna. I earned my Bachelor’s of Science in economics and a master’s degree in computer science. In both work and school, I have been interested in projects that address broader societal issues, including deforestation and homelessness, and finding solutions for those problems.

Through my experience working in UTC’s Interdisciplinary Geospatial Technology Lab, I gained hands-on experience working on a spatial prediction and regression analysis project that focused on pinpointing some of the reasons we might see homelessness in Chattanooga. These findings helped decide where we might place helpful resources in the future. Through this project I realized the many applications for GIS and the data we can work with and the solutions we can be a part of.

In addition to other roles, I’ve held in the GIS field, this crucial work in the IGT Lab led me to Skytec, where I can help pursue work I’m passionate about and provide solutions for climate change.

Q: Describe your role at Skytec.

A: My role is GIS analyst and developer. I do a little bit of everything, helping with spatial analysis modeling, geoprocessing and automation scripting, database management, and solutions research. I’m able to grow my skill set and be an integral part of the team.

Q: What do you most look forward to as a GIS Analyst and Developer?

A: Once data is wrangled and clean, I like to do the analysis and modeling and see the results of the hard work behind the scenes. I know this data is going to inform clients and potentially be a part of creating a solution for a problem. The most rewarding part of my work is the culmination of hard work and collaboration between team members to build a result we can visualize, share with others, and help communicate potential solutions.

Q: What’s the most common misconception you hear about what you do (whether from people in or out of your industry)?

A: GIS crosses so many industries. There can sometimes be a misconception about how versatile it is. There are so many applications for GIS work — it can encompass everything, from analyzing homelessness to our Limestone Valley RC&D project in agriculture and soil science. Different types of data can be analyzed in many different fields — even in healthcare, for example.

Q: What do you enjoy doing when you’re not at work?

A: I love being in nature, whether taking walks, hiking, camping, or backpacking. I enjoy playing board games and story-driven video games with family and friends. I also enjoy drawing, traveling, and exploring hidden gems and local areas.