Joan Gathu

Joan Gathu has a strong background in data science and geographic information systems (GIS). Joan is currently working as a Data Scientist Associate at American Institutes for Research since 2022. Prior to this, Joan worked at Kimetrica from 2014 to 2022, where they held the positions of Data Science & GIS Specialist and GIS & Remote Sensing Assistant. Joan'sresponsibilities at Kimetrica included developing survey tools, running pipelines using python scripts for data collection and preprocessing, sourcing and distributing spatial and remotely sensed data, designing monitoring and evaluation tools, providing GIS analysis and cartographic map production, and ensuring data quality control and cleaning. Before joining Kimetrica, Joan worked as a GIS & Aerial Photogrammetry Trainee at Geomaps Africa Limited in 2014 and as an Intern at the Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD) in 2013.

Joan Gathu pursued their higher education at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology. Joan first obtained a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree in Geomatic Engineering & Geospatial Information Systems, which spanned from 2009 to 2014. Following this, Joan pursued a Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree in Geospatial Information & Remote Sensing from 2014 to 2017, at the same university. In 2013, they also attended the 2nd EnerGEO Summer School at Makerere University, where they focused on "Unlocking Renewable Energy Potentials in Africa".