Nicole earned her B.A. and M.S. degrees in geography at UTK. Through her formal education and work experience, she spent several years providing GIS data, visualization, and services to support renewable energy and environmental science research–primarily within the water resources domain, with other major projects in the population distribution modeling and bioenergy domains. Since 2021, she supported GIS initiatives for the local governments of Blount County, TN and she recently moved to Asheville, NC to apply her work experience toward creative solutions for regional issues impacting the communities of western NC. Nicole is also a 3-time map award winner, creator of several high-impact maps and visualizations, and loves geeking out over all things cartography and data visualization. Keep up the great work, Nicole!