Our Team
Our team includes colleagues, students, staff, and alumni from around the world!
Trisalyn Nelson
University of California, Santa Barbara
SPAR Lab Director & Dangermond Endowed Chair of Geography
Trisalyn is the Jack and Laura Dangermond Endowed Chair of Geography and the Department Chair of Geography at UC Santa Barbara. From 2016-2020 she was Director of the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning at Arizona State University. Prior, she was the Lansdowne Research Professor and Director of the Spatial Pattern Analysis and Research Lab at the University of Victoria.
Colin Ferster
Simon Fraser University
Postdoctoral Fellow
Colin uses traditional and emerging sources of geographic data to study people and their environments. He completed a PhD and MSc at the University of British Columbia and a BSc at the University of Victoria — all focused on integrating diverse types of spatial data.
email - cferster@uvic.ca
Achituv Cohen
University of California, Santa Barbara
Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Achituv Cohen’s research interests lie in the fields of urban planning, accessibility and inclusion, crowdsourced geodata and spatial data mining. In his previous research, he focused on the accessibility of the urban space for visually impair pedestrians and the use of OpenStreetMap as a source of reliable geospatial data, and aims today to extend the research to other groups and crowdsourced data sources. Additionally, he works on the development of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) tools to assess pedestrian mobility in the urban environment and its relation to sustainable and equal cities. Through his research, he discovered the potential of crowdsourced data analysis to evaluate the urban spaces for vulnerable groups in respect to their needs and preferences. Dr. Cohen has published two scientific articles in the journals "Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science" and "Transactions in GIS" over the past two years. In 2021, Dr. Cohen earned his PhD from the Technion University, Department of Transportation and Geoinformation Engineering.
email - achic19@gmail.com
Lizzy Schattle
University of California, Santa Barbara
Communications Manager
Lizzy is the SPAR Lab Communications Manager. She joined the lab in 2021 after finishing her Master of Environmental Science & Management at UCSB. She’s interested in making science accessible to wide audiences through research storytelling and digital communication. She produces, distributes, and co-writes the Earth + Humans Podcast.
email - schattle@ucsb.edu
Graduate Students
Caitlyn Linehan
University of California, Santa Barbara
PhD Student
Caitlyn received her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut and her Master of Science in Geographic Information Science from CUNY Lehman College in the Bronx, New York. Her primary research interests lie in exploring human movement in urban areas. She is specifically interested in modeling walkability, bikeability, and connectivity in urban areas to regions that provide environmental services such as green spaces. She has a passion for ensuring equity of green space access especially in underserved communities.
email - caitlynlinehan@ucsb.edu
Yuyan Che
University of California, Santa Barbara
PhD Student
Yuyan received her Bachelor and Master both in Urban Planning in the School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning at Arizona State University. After graduation, she worked as an research assistant in a land planning company, and then became a co-founder of an educational consulting company in China. She enjoys investigating social practical issues through spatial data. Additionally, she is interested in exploring geographical information gathering, especially in developing regions, and spatial approaches to analyze impacts on residential areas.
email - yuyanche@ucsb.edu
Brianna Chan
University of California, Santa Barbara
MA/PhD Student
Brianna holds a BS in Environmental Health from the Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC Chapel Hill. She is broadly interested in using geospatial methods to analyze the role of the natural and built environment in driving health and social disparities. Ultimately, she aims to promote equitable access to better health in our communities.
email- briannachan@ucsb.edu
Jiahua Chen
University of California, Santa Barbara
PhD Student
Jiahua graduated from McGill University with a major in Environmental Science and a minor in GIS. She worked primarily on environmental data analysis and visualization during her time in the Roger Thomlinson Lab for GIScience at McGill. She joins the SPAR lab in 2022 and she is interested in exploring the potential of crowdsourced data in guiding sustainable urban development. She also leads a non-profit organization in China advocating for sustainable food systems.
email - jiahua.chen@mail.mcgill.ca
Lily Heidger
University of California, Santa Barbara
PhD Student
Lily graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science from the College of Coastal Georgia and joined the SPAR lab in 2023. She previously studied the use of spatial analysis in urban heat and environmental justice research, and she also helped develop NASA's Environmental Justice Data Catalog. Her passions include sustainable, equitable urban design and using geospatial data to identify disparities in access to safe active transportation.
email - lheidger@ucsb.edu
Alumni
Karen Laberee
University of Victoria
Executive Director of BikeMaps.org and Research Manager for MobilityAccess.org
With many years of research and project management experience, expertise in community-oriented outreach and engagement, and strong connections in the City of Victoria, the CRD and UVic, Karen provides on-the-ground knowledge of progress on the Victoria AAA-Network, as well as related bicycle events and activities. She also provides an information bridge between related BikeMaps.org and INTERACT projects.
email - klaberee@uvic.ca
Jaimy Fisher
Simon Fraser University
PhD
Jaimy is a doctoral candidate in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University. Her graduate work uses big data to investigate how investment in All Ages and Abilities (AAA) bicycle infrastructure impacts ridership, safety, and equity outcomes for different population groups. Jaimy is also a graduate fellow with SFU’s Community Engaged Research Initiative where she is working in community around issues of mobility justice.
email - jaimy_fischer@sfu.ca
Jakub Trojan
University of California, Santa Barbara
Fulbright Scholar
Jakub is a deputy head of the Department of Environmental Security, Faculty of Logistics and Crisis Management at Tomas Bata University in Zlin. He also works as a senior researcher at the Institute of Geonics, Czech Academy of Sciences and assistant professor at the Department of Geography, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University in Brno. He is one of the founding members of the Czech national citizen science portal and OpenStreeMap Czech Republic local chapter. He is focused on new technologies and innovations in regional development. As an passionate geographer, open source advocate and citizen science enthusiast, he is active in the European Citizen Science Association and promotes open science.
email - trojan@utb.cz