Institute for Families in Society

(MSPH, Biostatistics, University of South Carolina; B.S., Biology and Minor in Computer Science, Lander University)
My passion is data. I enjoy solving data puzzles, helping others more completely understand the data they are working with, and creating visualizations to communicate the story of the data. An often-overlooked aspect of data is place, which is why so many of our visualizations include maps and spatial statistics. My role at IFS consists of turning research vision into action by helping translate research concepts to a coordinated project plan and leading the Data Science and Visualization (DataViz) team.

I spent my undergraduate years at Lander University in Greenwood, SC and earned my B.S. degree in Biology with a Minor in Computer Science. After an internship at Disney’s Animal Kingdom teaching kids about conservation and wildlife, I ended up working as a Molecular Research Technologist at the Greenwood Genetic Center in Greenwood, SC. In 2006, I came to the UofSC to pursue a graduate degree where I earned my MSPH in Biostatistics with a handful of GIS classes to start my love of health and place. As I was wrapping up my graduate degree work, I started working at the SC Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) and spent more than 6 years working with GIS, SQL and web tools. In 2013, I took a new opportunity with the Institute as a Geospatial Analyst and now lead the Data Science and Visualization Team.

I have spent over 15 years translating data into action by using data analytics, spatial statistic, building ETL processes, creating data dictionaries, and conceptualizing and creating visualizations that tell a story. My experience is with a wide variety of data content areas including public health, environmental, education, policy, and juvenile justice.

My husband, David, and I are parents to 4 beautiful children; one of whom is truly an angel, our stillborn, little fighter Daniel Theodore, and Logan, Korey and Lincoln.

"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss it, you will still land among the stars." - Les Brown