With 22 years of geospatial experience, Miriam Olivares coordinates GIS support services in higher education at Yale University, and previously at Texas A&M University. Her main role has been to GeoEmpower current and potential GIS users to promote teaching and cutting-edge research. She connects experts, teaches and consults GIS, enabling others to harness the power of geospatial technology. Miriam has published peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, participated in international GIS panels, and collaborated in projects based in the Americas, Australia, and Somalia. Her collaborations include interdisciplinary research and consulting, covering topics such as geospatial data management, GIScience, supply chain, crime analysis, natural hazards, and marine conservation, among other subjects.
Currently, Ms. Olivares serves as a member of the board of review for the Leventhal Map & Education Center at the Boston Public Library, and a member of the Advisory Board of the Academic Network of the United Nations initiative on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM): Americas; member of the State of Connecticut GIO’s GIS Strategic Plan Workgroup and a member of the GIS Clearinghouse Workgroup. Additionally, she is the co-founder and international chair of GIS LATAM and a fellow of Yale’s Timothy Dwight College. Previously, Miriam served as a director of the board for the University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS) and the New Haven-based Junta for Progressive Action. She also co-chaired Yale Women in Tech. Miriam’s accomplishments were featured in the first Esri book on Women and GIS: Mapping their Stories.