Dr. Janet Nackoney is an Associate Research Professor at the Department of Geographical Sciences at the University of Maryland. She is also an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science and Technology Policy Fellow hosted at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Land and Urban Office. She has almost 20 years of experience as a geographer applying geographic data, geographic analysis, and remote sensing technology to benefit ecological conservation, food security, and information development in Africa. Her research interests lie in the innovative use of geospatial data and tools for community-based natural resource management and land use planning and to monitor and simulate land-use impacts on ecosystems, wildlife, and human livelihoods. Janet has worked extensively in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Kenya, and Tanzania. She received her Ph.D. and Masters degrees from UMD and a Bachelors degree from Indiana University-Bloomington. She serves as President of the Society for Conservation GIS (SCGIS) and serves on the board for Congo Education Partners, which assists a small rural college in northern DRC.