Season 5 | Professionals of Color in Forestry and Natural Resources | Episode 6
July 18, 2018 | Dr. Stacy Nelson
Dr. Stacy Nelson is a professor in the College of Natural Resource’s Center for Geospatial Analytics at NC State University. Prior to this, Stacy was a NASA Graduate Research Fellow at the John C. Stennis Space Center and an Adjunct Professor for the Department of Math and Science at Lansing Community College. Stacy holds a BS in Biology from Jackson State University, a MA from the College of William and Mary’s School of Marine Science, and a PhD in Fisheries from Michigan State University. Dr. Nelson’s research primarily focuses on the use of remote sensing and GIS technologies to address questions of land use and land cover change on aquatic systems. On today’s show, Stacy demonstrates his passion for working in natural resources and the promising and optimistic things he sees in the next generation of natural resource professionals, adding at one point, “Everyone has to be involved and educated about how our environment is changing.”
Key Takeaways:
[:55] A message from Leadership Nature.
[1:45] A quick intro about Stacy’s background.
[3:35] How did Stacy get into natural resources?
[12:15] Stacy highlights the importance of having mentors in your life to help push you into new fields of interests.
[15:45] Did Stacy have to overcome challenges while in the natural resource field?
[19:55] How did Stacy discover GIS technology and become specialized in that?
[21:55] As a professional of color, Stacy believes we still have a long way to go when it comes to diversity.
[26:45] What keeps young children motivated and engaged when Stacy comes in to talk about natural resources?
[29:25] Stacy shares a quick story about what he does and how engaged people can get when it comes to fish and wildlife!
[37:25] What do natural resource professionals need to learn sooner about people?
[40:45] What does Stacy think about the next generation that will be coming into natural resources?
[44:35] We are seeing more and more women join graduate programs in natural resources, but we still need to be doing a better job.
[48:15] There’s so much room for opportunity and growth in forestry and natural resources that the field can cater to literally any passion you might have about nature.
Mentioned in This Episode:
cnr.ncsu.edu
cnr.ncsu.edu/geospatial/
Contact Dr. Nelson at sanelso2@ncsu.edu
Dr. Nelson working with the Envriokids K-5 program to expose them to GIS and geospatial analysis
Dr. Nelson and a colleague working with a high school student trainee on geovisualization and 3D analysis techniques
Dr. Nelson working with a recent graduate student in the Center for Geospatial Analytics Geovisualization Lab
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