Connecting community-collected data with nationwide datasets to scale up flood mitigation efforts in coastal urban areas across the U.S.
COMMUNITY LEAD
Alabama, Coastal communities, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, and Massachusetts
ISeeChange is a climate data and engagement platform headquartered on one of America’s adaptation frontlines —the Gulf Coast. Informed by the communities they serve, they are a diverse team that includes a mix of journalists, user experience designers, engineers, data scientists, urban planners, and anthropologists.
The Challenge
Flooding in coastal urban communities across the U.S.
ISeeChange began as a prototype and concept in Colorado from field interviews with drought-impacted farmers and ranchers.
The Results
Climate solutions co-designed by community-sourced data and stories
As they scaled their community globally, they started to see opportunities to grow insights generated through observation, communication, and education into direct impact and local solutions. After developing successful prototypes on urban heat and flooding in Harlem and New Orleans, they committed to using the community sourced data and stories to co-design climate solutions, not just identify problems. In 2018, they became a thriving social impact start-up with partners and clients across the United States and the globe.
This is an ongoing project.
Project Team
Julia Kumari Drapkin
Julia Kumari Drapkin is dedicated to connecting communities to each other and their changing environments and is the CEO and founder of ISeeChange. Drapkin founded ISeeChange after over a decade of reporting natural disasters and climate change across the globe and in her own backyard on the Gulf Coast. Under her leadership, ISeeChange has received national and regional awards, as well as recognition by the Obama White House Climate Data Initiative, NASA, MIT Solve, Echoing Green, Grist, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and TechStars. Prior to journalism, Julia did anthropology research for seven years in Central America.
Lindsey Wagner
Lindsey Wagner is a civic researcher and designer. Through early 2013, she was the user experience lead on eight national public media projects, one of which was the prototype of ISeeChange. Outside of working with ISeeChange, Lindsey has also led field research in digital accessibility for people with vision impairments for the State of Massachusetts, prototyped financial equity tools for low-income college students at Blue Ridge Labs, and researched immigration journeys and access to paid leave for the Public Interest Technology group at New America.
Irini Genitsaridi
Irini Genitsaridi is the lead data scientist at ISeeChange with many years of experience in artificial intelligence, machine learning, statistical modeling, and web application development areas. During the last decade she worked on the architecture and development of innovative data science solutions as a member of international and interdisciplinary teams, in private companies, research foundations, and non-profit organizations. Irini is focused on quality and creativity with self-motivation to streamline processes. Born in the beautiful island of Greece, Crete, she completed a PhD in Artificial Intelligence and MSc, BSc in Computer Science at the University of Crete.
Susan Lamb
Susan Lamb earned an M.S. in Soil in Water Sciences from the University of Florida and her interest in human-water relationships has guided her to research ranging from irrigation decision-making on the U.S. High Plains to community-led water projects in rural Nicaragua. She is passionate about bridging communities and scientists to support water justice efforts on scales both local and global. In addition to her current role as a Community Science Fellow, she is also a researcher with NASA DEVELOP partnering with Indigenous Peoples on the Northern Great Plains to monitor flooding on tribal lands.