Mapping Los Angeles Landscape History

Beau MacDonald is a GIS Project Administrator for the Spatial Sciences Institute at the University of Southern California. Her recent work includes geospatial data analysis and research on social and environmental determinants of health to support ongoing USC Spatial partnerships with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles; the Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute and the Southern California Environmental Health Science Center at the Keck School of Medicine at USC; and the USC Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research.

In addition, Beau guides Wilson Map Lab student research teams, which have included many data-driven collaborations with numerous collaborating organizations across a range of topics, including LA’s urban forest; food and nutrition insecurity; and maternal health.

Beau promotes the use of geographical information science concepts and technologies for interdisciplinary synthesis; provides data analysis, geoprocessing, mapping, graphics, and writing support; is experienced with environmental modelling, historical ecology, design and cartography. She staffs the USC Spatial Sciences Institute Help Desk.

Beau is an applied biogeographer and Women in GIS advocate with research interests that involve the distribution, resilience, and sustainability of threatened or endangered communities that persist along the edges and within the confines of built environments – including wetlands, urban farms, birds, butterflies and Angelenos.

Before coming to the USC Spatial Sciences Institute, she worked with the Center for Geospatial Science Technology at the California State University, Northridge.