This session of the “We Champion” Speaker Series features geographer Sandra Baptista, who will discuss how GIS helps improve education planning and make sure no child is left behind, and how data visualization helps to measure school functionality and ensure that schools are equipped to serve their students. We will also hear about Dr. Baptista's extensive work on GRID3 (Geo-Referenced Infrastructure and Demographic Data for Development), which works with countries to generate, validate and use geospatial data on population, settlements, infrastructure, and boundaries.
Dr. Sandra R. Baptista is a geographer and Senior Staff Associate II in the Science Applications Division at the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) within the Columbia Climate School at Columbia University. She has served in her current position since 2011, working on projects that generate, use, and disseminate geospatial data to better understand human-environment systems and inform decision-making. She currently serves as co-investigator on the Geo-Referenced Infrastructure and Demographic Data for Development (GRID3) program funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) of the United Kingdom.
Building on Mission 4.7’s #WeChampion social media campaign, the “We Champion” speaker series will showcase best practices and innovative approaches to Transformative Education from across the Mission 4.7 community and beyond. The series will help further collective thinking around SDG 4 .7 implementation and gather momentum on various thematic areas pertaining to SDG 4.7.