Geography is a diverse field. Throughout the month of March, we will be highlighting the work of Women Geographers, some of whom are #GeoGators.
Tierney Shimansky
Tierney is a Master’s student who studies land management and conservation in southern Africa.
Dr. Yin-Hsuen Chen
Yin-Hsuen is a fluvial geomorphologist and Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Florida. Her research interests include (1) anthropogenic activities and the persistence of river-floodplain systems, (2) natural hazards threats to coastal communities, and (3) visualization with GIS and remote sensing data and methods.
Dr. Sadie Ryan
Sadie is a medical geographer who studies ecology at the human-wildlife interface, particularly where it pertains to disease ecology, conservation biology, and wildlife management. She uses methods from landscape ecology (GIS, remote sensing, geospatial science), quantitative ecology, and epidemiology to analyze landscape change, health outcomes, and the impact of anthropogenic changes, including climate change.
Dr. Barbara McDade-Gordon
Barbara is an Emerita Professor with the Department of Geography and the Center for African Studies. She studies economic and cultural geography, with a particular focus on Africa. Her research areas include the African diaspora, economic development, and entrepreneurship. She studied the development and viability of traditional and modern African businesses. She is author, editor, or co-editor of several refereed articles, book chapters, and the book, African Entrepreneurship: Theory & Reality.
Dr. Esther Mullens
Esther is a meteorologist who studies extreme precipitation events. Her research interests surround precipitation variability – in particular in its extremes (drought, floods), as well as climate dynamics, and climate adaptation. Esther’s other joys are in mentoring undergraduate research, supporting stakeholder science through assisting with climate data interpretation, and assisting in a recent early-career workshop facilitated by CS-CASC. She had the privilege of co-authoring the Southern Great Plains Chapter of the National Climate Assessment (NCA4). At the University of Florida, Esther will be expanding the meteorological teaching and research within the department of Geography. She continues to work with colleagues at OU on the PRES2iP project, which aims to improve our understanding and prediction of heavy precipitation at seasonal to sub-seasonal lead times.
Dr. Cynthia Simmons
Cynthia is a human geographer who studies political economy, particularly in the Brazilian Amazon. She focuses on the manner in which social processes interact across a multiplicity of scales (i.e, individual, local, regional, national, global), and the impact these interactions have on local environments and social conditions.
Dr. Corene Matyas
Cori is a climatologist who studies tropical cyclones and hurricanes. She received many teaching and research awards. In addition to leading the UF Hurricane Group, she has done extensive work in popularizing science giving Reddit AMAs, public science talks with the Florida Museum of Natural History like Science on Tap: Is Florida Trying to Kill Me? Hurricanes, being a guest on podcasts like the Streaming Science Podcast, and being interviewed about hurricanes by the BBC.
Dr. Heidi Lannon
Heidi is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Florida. She is trained as a coastal geomorphologist who studies land use, who also has extensive experience teaching geographic education and teaching field courses. As faculty at Santa Fe College, she has played an important role in recruiting undergraduate students and underrepresented populations into the department. Heidi earned her doctoral degree in the department and is our first GeoGator alum to join the faculty.
Dr. Jane Southworth
Jane is a Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Geography. She is a geospatial scientist who uses Remote Sensing tools to study vegetation dynamics, land cover change, and climate change. All of her research is undertaken with highly interdisciplinary research teams which involve both social and physical scientists. A trailblazer, Jane was the department’s first female Full Professor and the first female Department Chair.
Dr. Gabriela Hamerlinck (she/her)
Gaby is a Lecturer of Geography at the University of Florida. She is a Medical Geographer trained in ecological modeling of host-parasite interactions. Gaby has formal training in science pedagogy focusing on integrating math and biological education for college students. Prior to her current position, Gaby was a Postdoctoral Researcher in UF’s Quantitative Disease Ecology & Conservation (QDEC) Lab after completing her first postdoctoral position with BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium working on the QUBES project. Gaby grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota and was able to occasionally visit her mom’s family in Chile. When Gaby joined the Department of Geography alongside Dr. Katy Serafin, they brought the total number of female faculty GeoGators to nine.
Dr. Katy Serafin (she/her)
Katy is an Assistant Professor in the Geography Department. She is a coastal geoscientist who conducts research on coastal flooding and extreme events. She’s particularly interested in compound flooding – where high tides, storm surges, and river runoff intersect – and how flood risk management can transfer risk to disadvantaged communities. Katy is also affiliated with the Florida Climate Institute and the UF Water Institute. Prior to her current position, Katy was a Postdoctoral Researcher at Stanford University. Katy grew up in New York about an hour north of New York City and spent most of her summers on the beaches of Maine and North Carolina’s Outer Banks, where she cultivated a deep appreciation of coastal landscapes. When Katy joined the Department of Geography alongside Dr. Gabriela Hamerlinck , they brought the total number of female faculty GeoGators to nine.
Dr. Joann Mossa (she/her/hers)
Joann Mossa is a Professor of Geography, head of the Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Rivers (STAR) Lab, and a geomorphologist specializing in fluvial and coastal systems. She is particularly interested in fluvial and coastal areas impacted by humans. Joann is the Past President (2018-2019) of SEDAAG (Southeastern Division of the Association of American Geographers). When Joann joined the Department of Geography, she was the only female faculty member.
Her current work focuses on channel instability in disturbed floodplains, especially rivers with floodplain mining. She is also assisting students examining morphologic changes of developing coastlines. Regionally, she specializes in the southeastern United States, areas between and including Louisiana and Florida.