Join us in wishing long-time staff members Heidi McCann, Chris McNeave, and Peter Pulsifer the best as they pursue career transitions and opportunities. Heidi departed from ELOKA in May to follow other career pursuits. Chris remains on staff with ELOKA at a reduced level of effort after retiring from the University of Colorado Boulder (CU) in December. Peter remains the ELOKA principal investigator while he begins a faculty position at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. Noor Johnson, ELOKA co-lead, has increased her time with ELOKA. Along with Matt Druckenmiller, ELOKA research scientist, Noor will provide daily oversight of ELOKA operations along with her research focus.
Heidi started the ELOKA knowledge exchange coordinator in 2010. In this role, Heidi has helped establish partnerships with Indigenous communities in the Arctic and the continental United States. She organized several workshops with ELOKA partners, and promoted communications about the ELOKA mission. Having departed ELOKA in May, Heidi has not decided where she will end up, and plans to combine her passions for Arctic Indigenous Peoples issues, the environment, and law. We wish her well on her journey and the ELOKA team is deeply grateful for her invaluable contributions to the project.
Chris joined ELOKA in 2007 and held a variety of roles on the ELOKA project, including making connections with communities across the Arctic, managing data products, and working with partners to build community knowledge atlases. Although he officially retired from CU, Chris continues to consult on ELOKA projects and data applications. Chris has spent more than 25 years of his career at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), the ELOKA parent organization.
Peter joined ELOKA just before Heidi in 2010. While Peter remains the ELOKA principal investigator, he has reduced his time on the ELOKA project to accept a tenure-track teaching and directorship position at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, effective July 1. Peter continues to provide leadership and oversight to ELOKA and its partners. We are excited for Peter’s new pursuits and for his continued guidance and engagement with ELOKA.