I’m delighted to welcome Kiri Carini as Development Seed’s first Technical Communications Lead.

The next few years will be critical in shaping how massive geospatial data, earth data, cloud computing, and AI are employed in the service of mankind. We imagine a future world where the insights from this data are accessible, actionable, and lead directly to better climate, conservation and social justice outcomes. In this future world, open software, open standards, and open algorithms will do much of the heavy lifting to generate insights and understanding that is accessible and trustworthy.

This future is far from inevitable. Kiri will help build this future by amplifying our values and vision. She will share insights and stories about our planet using earth data and tools created by our team and our partners. Along the way she will educate people about the value of these open tools, data, and standards.

Kiri is the right person for this task. Kiri deeply believes that geospatial data and technology should be accessible to all. She holds degrees in both Geographic Information Systems Technology from University of Arizona and in Public Policy, Management & Planning from University of Southern California. Kiri spent the first decade of her career combining her geospatial and policy experience to build and manage government programs in everything from hazard mitigation to cultural heritage preservation. She took the hard learning from that work to the University of Arizona where she supported students and researchers as part of the Data Cooperative in the UArizona Libraries. As the Geospatial Specialist in the Data Cooperative, Kiri worked across disciplines; from public health to history, education, natural resources and more, supporting the use of geospatial data.

Kiri loves nature. When not researching the next great geospatial story, you can find her gathering inspiration along the many hiking trails in Southern Arizona, possibly distracted by birds.

Kiri hiking in Sabino Canyon National Recreation Area with her kids.