I am human geographer specializing in collecting, analyzing, and visualizing different types of environmental spatial data. Growing up on a farm in rural France, I spent much of my childhood exploring the wonders of nature. I was drawn to the field of human geography for its neat position in academia: tying together the social and natural sciences. GIS and maps are one of my main working tools. I like problem solving with data, working with a diversity of sources, and thinking artistically about representation.

I joined GRID-Arendal in 2015 and have since developed regional expertise in the Pacific and the Arctic region, with a thematic interest in climate change, marine environments, waste, and Indigenous Peoples and Knowledge. As lead geographer, I am responsible for our spatial data analysis and cartography work across all our programs. I also manage our external pool of experts for GIS and graphic design. For the 2021-2023 period, I act as safety representative, working with the organization to ensure a healthy and safe working environment for everyone.

I hold a bachelor’s degree in Geography and Chinese from Middlebury College, and a master's degree in Human Geography from the University of Bergen. Prior to GRID-Arendal, I worked at the National Taiwan University Lab for Geo-computational Sciences. You can read more about projects I lead, or my sailing adventures up the Norwegian coast here: www.leviwesterveld.com