Aletha Spang

I am a PhD student at Syracuse University where I serve as the Community Geography graduate assistant, supporting mapping and spatial analysis projects in collaboration with community partners. I also work as a freelance cartographer and web designer.

My current research focuses on how multi-modal mapping (technical, tactile, and artistic) can support climate-related disaster mitigation and recovery. I work with communities to preserve and communicate quantitative and qualitative information about how people experience and respond to disaster.

I am part of the Rural Rivers Project with my collaborators at Dartmouth College, where I worked as a GIS Specialist for four years. We collaborate with community organizers in Vermont to understand the sociotechnical and environmental aspects of flooding. Our research has included community mapping, quilt-mapping using textile arts, developing an open-source web platform for monitoring and caring for stormwater infrastructure (Culvert Crawelrs), and developing a decentralized, off-grid network of water-level and emergency alert sensors (LoRa MeshNet).

I live in Syracuse, NY where I enjoy experimenting with all forms of art (currently fiber arts, oil painting, and collage). I also like to play music, frolic outdoors, and cater to the every whim of my wretched and beloved hairless guinea pig, Percival Pig.