SAL Staff
The SAL is staffed by a full-time Director and a Spatial Data Specialist. We are also thrilled to be able to work with SAL Associates — skilled and talented students who share our interest and enthusiasm for all things spatial (especially maps).
Jill Ferraro '26 | Senior SAL Associate
Hi, I’m Jill (she/her)! I’m a senior from Central Oregon studying Geobiology with a minor in Archaeology. I’ve taken an environmental mapping class and a variety of geology classes that utilize ArcGIS, and I’m currently taking the drones class. I have hands-on experience using both good and bad maps (including ones I’ve made myself). I’ve always found maps really interesting and my favorite are topographic maps (specifically 3D ones!).
Lily Gould, '26 | SAL Associate
Hi! I’m Lily (she/her), a senior majoring in Biology with a minor in Statistical and Data Science. I’m from Kinderhook, New York and am interested in working in public health. During my sophomore year, I participated in a Special Studies project where I worked to map ADA accessibility across Smith campus, collecting field data and collaborating to design a map. This past summer, I worked at the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, where I contributed to a series of maps showing the cumulative impacts of air pollution, climate risks, and health burden indicators on NYS communities.
Zu Sikes, '26 | ES&P SAL Associate
I’m Zu (they/them), a senior Environmental Science and Policy major. I got into GIS in my sophomore year through taking the GEO 150 and ENV 201/202 classes. This summer I worked with Professor Camille Washington-Ottombre on a project focused on mapping climate adaptation planning grant participation by Massachusetts municipalities. I am a teaching assistant for GEO 150 this semester.
Emily Whitney, '28 | SAL Associate
Hi! My name is Emily (she/her), a sophomore double majoring in Chemistry and Mathematical Sciences, and I’m from Foxborough, MA. I first explored GIS through a SURF project with Professor Gorom about using applied math to understand more about the urban heat island effect in the United States. We created a neural network in MATLAB using environmental data from ArcGIS Pro, which predicted the urban heat island index for major cities in the US.
Kala'i Ellis, Spatial Data Specialist
Kala'i Ellis (he/him) is passionate about blending fields and knowledge bases to provide innovative approaches to new challenges in this ever changing world. His background in merging Indigenous and Western knowledge bases, especially in the realms of marine and terrestrial remote sensing and geospatial analyses, have been shaped by his lived experiences growing up in Hawaii and attending college in Utah. Kala'i holds a B.S. in Biodiversity and Conservation with a minor in Geospatial Sciences and Technology and received his M.S. in Biology from Brigham Young University, Provo.
Heather Rosenfeld, Director
Heather Rosenfeld (they/them and she/her) is an environmental geographer, GIS analyst, and visual storyteller. Maps have long been the glue of Heather’s work, and they strive to encourage thoughtful and creative uses of maps and geospatial technology. Heather is excited to bring her experience in environmental and multispecies justice, community and participatory mapping, and accessible cartography to the SAL. Heather holds degrees in geophysical science (B.S.) and history, philosophy, and social studies of science and medicine (B.A.) from the University of Chicago and human geography (M.S., Ph.D.) from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.