I am interested in developing and teaching creative ways to visualize data. My background is in geospatial applications of environmental science. I have worked in academia and industry on a variety of subjects, such as: quantifying landscape change in National Parks, monitoring drought impact on vegetation, reconstructing past Arctic climates, mapping equitable access to MBTA services, and modeling sustainable agriculture practices. At BC I currently manage the Data Viz Lab, teach GIS classes and workshops, and am involved in research projects with the US Army Corps of Engineers and BC’s School of Social Work.

Selected Recent Publications:
Dong, C., MacDonald, G. M., Willis, K. S., Gillespie, T. W., Okin, G. S., Williams, P. A. (2019) Vegetation Responses to 2012-2016 Drought in Northern and Southern Calornia. Geophysical Research Letters, 46.

Okin, G. S., Dong, C., Willis, K. S., Gillespie, T. W., MacDonald, G. M. (2018) The Impact of Drought on Native Southern California Vegetation: Remote Sensing Analysis Using MODIS-Derived Time Series. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences.

Willis, K. S., S. Ostermann-Kelm, L. Lee, T. W. Gillespie, F. Federico, and G. M. MacDonald. Protocol and Baseline Report for Monitoring Landscape Dynamics in the Mediterranean Coast Inventory and Monitoring Network of Southern California (MEDN). 2017.

Willis, K. S., (2016) Remote sensing change detection for ecological monitoring in United States protected areas. Biological Conservation. 182, 233-242.

Willis, K. S., Beilman, D., Booth, R. K., Amesbury, M., Holmquist, J., MacDonald, G. M. (2015) Peatland paleohydrology in southern West Siberian Lowlands: Comparison of multiple testate amoebae transfer functions, sites, and Sphagnum δ13C values. The Holocene. 1-12.if