Aynoor Ford, Financial Research Coordinator

Quick Chat With Aynoor Ford

Meet Aynoor Ford, a financial research coordinator who boasts an impressive tenure of six and a half years with the GEOG team and 15 years of service to the University of Maryland.

What city/town are you from?

" My hometown is Tosor, which is in the Issyk-Kul Lake region of the Kyrgyz Republic. 

What do you like most about your role?  

I very much like working with numbers, be it building budgets, preparing reports, creating projections, etc. Numbers tell stories and I like to think of myself as their storyteller. 

How would you explain your role in one sentence? 

I turn financial data into knowledge that in turn helps researchers plan their research endeavors to fulfill our department's mission of bringing geospatial perspective and technology to solving humanity's most pressing issues. 

What’s a pet peeve you have at work?

My current pet peeve is plant gnats. They drive me crazy when they start flying in front of my monitors. If you have any tried and tested tricks for keeping plant gnats away, please do share. Please feel free to stop by even if you don't have any tricks. 

What do you do to help you recharge?

Being outdoors, ideally close to a body of water is my top choice for recharging. Also, activities such as gardening, cooking, hiking, swimming and playing tennis are some of my favorite activities that help me recharge and unwind. 

You are pursuing a master's program in business analytics at Smith School. How do you plan to use this degree?

I plan to use technical skills I gain from the program to enhance our department's financial data analysis and visualization processes and tools.

Anything else you would like people to know about you.

I recently took surfing lessons with my teenage kids during our vacation and surprised myself and my family with being not terrible at it from the first attempt, and had lots of fun surfing with my kids. 

Aynoor Ford surfs in Hanalei Beach, Kauai, Hawaii. 
 

Main image: A stop for the view from the summit of Mount Megunticook at Camden Hills State Park, Maine.

All photos courtesy of Aynoor Ford