Elizabeth (Meg) Ryan '14, is an ENSP alumna with a specialization in Environmental Geosciences & Restoration, who currently works for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Honolulu District as a GIS Analyst.
She supports a variety of missions and projects, including USACE's response to the August 2023 Hawaii Wildfires. Using her background in geoscience and minor in GIS, she provides ideas and develops products that various field teams can use to support the emergency response.
Meg creates field maps, interactive dashboards, and maintains a data repository for each response mission. These missions include the constriction of a temporary school and the debris removal. The greatest lesson she's learned thus far is the utility of creative thinking to adapt GIS products to serve as invaluable aids to a project team and leadership. Also, the importance of education about the usage and capabilities of GIS products to further their impact.
The undergraduate ENSP Program taught her the potential environmental impacts of disasters like wildfires and introduced her to the world of GIS. ENSP prompted her to work with teams and develop important communication skills needed to interface and aid all the different disciplines in the field. Her experience supporting the Hawaii wildfires response is ongoing. She is grateful for the opportunity to take the knowledge and skills she earned from her degree and make a difference for the affected communities.
