About the Earth Observatory

Kevin Ward (Science Systems and Applications, Inc.) is co-founder and leader of NASA’s Earth Observatory Group, including the Earth Observatory website, Visible Earth, NASA Earth Observations (NEO), and EONET. He is also the Digital Strategy Lead for NASA’s Earth Science Division. In 25+ years around NASA Earth science, he has worked to develop platforms for the creation, storage, and delivery of web-accessible resources including articles, visualizations, and data imagery.

Kevin earned a bachelor’s degree from Portland State University in theater arts and a master’s degree in library and information science from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Prior to joining NASA in the mid-1990s, Kevin was a lighting designer and production manager for theatricals, auto shows, concerts, and passenger cruise ships. He lives in Portland, Oregon, with his wife and son.

Kathryn Hansen (Science Systems and Applications, Inc.) is the managing editor for NASA Earth Observatory. She has been writing stories, producing videos, and editing content for the group since 2014.

Prior to joining Earth Observatory, Kathryn wrote for NASA’s Earth Science News Team and for the Cryospheric Sciences Laboratory at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. She has produced stories from the field during several NASA airborne and shipborne research missions. Early career work included writing for The Baltimore Sun and Earth magazine.

Kathryn studied physics and astronomy at the University of Washington, science writing at Johns Hopkins University, and video production at American University. If she’s not in the office, you can probably find her on a mountain bike. She lives in southern Maryland with her husband and cat.

Lauren Dauphin (Science Systems and Applications, Inc.) has been a data visualizer for NASA Earth Observatory since 2018. She specializes in geographic information science (GIS) and remote sensing. Lauren has worked at the World Bank and the Cadmus Group, contributing to the Haiti Urbanization Review, USAID’s Measuring Impact of Stabilization Initiatives, and FEMA’s National Preparedness Report. Her work has been featured by The Washington Post, National Geographic, and Forbes.

Lauren graduated from George Washington University with a bachelors in geography and environmental studies with a minor in GIS. She is an avid plant collector and enjoys creating fiber art in her spare time.

Lindsey Doermann (Science Systems and Applications, Inc.) joined Earth Observatory as a science writer in 2023. She is a former editor and writer for Conservation and Anthropocene magazines, covering environmental science and solutions. Before becoming a science communicator, she mapped beaches in Washington and Oregon, studied the seismicity of mid-ocean ridges, and participated in scientific research cruises.

Lindsey earned a bachelor’s in geophysics from Brown University and a master’s in science journalism from Boston University. She lives in Seattle and enjoys exploring the green and blue spaces of the Pacific Northwest as a trail runner, hiker, and rower.

Michala Garrison (Science Systems and Applications, Inc.) has been a data visualizer for NASA Earth Observatory since 2023.

Paul Przyborski (Science Systems and Applications, Inc.) joined NASA Earth Observatory in 2009 as the Lead Application Developer after working as the principle developer for several laboratories at Goddard Space Flight Center. Before that he spent several years in education. He works with the EO team to find new and innovative ways to present stories on the web, and to push technology and open source development to improve access to NASA data and resources. In addition to his work with EO, he is involved in several other web-based NASA projects.

Paul earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Education from Frostburg State University. He is a bass player in several Baltimore-area bands, and often spends the weekends racing Autocross or working on building his own project Camaro.

Adam Voiland (Science Systems and Applications, Inc.) is a senior science writer and editor for NASA Earth Observatory. He covers a range of topics, though fire, natural disasters, weather, climate change, urbanization, hydrology, and volcanology are particular interests.

Prior to joining Earth Observatory, Adam was part of NASA’s Earth Science News team and a medical reporter for U.S. News & World Report. He earned a bachelor’s degree in geology from Brown University and a master’s in science writing from Johns Hopkins. You’ll often find him running, gardening, or hanging out with his two children. He lives with his wife, an artist, in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington, D.C.