Africa Flores-Anderson featured in latest Breakthrough: Portraits of Women in Science video

Africa Flores-Anderson, Regional Science Coordination Lead for SERVIR-Amazonia at the NASA SERVIR Science Coordination Office (SCO) in Huntsville, Alabama, USA, is featured in the latest episode of the “Breakthrough: Portraits of Women in Science” documentary series.  The videos that make up the short documentary anthology—a collaboration between Science Friday and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Tangled Bank Studios—follow women working at the forefront of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, and blend ‘deeply personal stories with innovative scientific research of women across STEM fields’.

Ms. Flores-Anderson’s video, titled ‘Breakthrough: The Lake Sentinel’, focuses on her work using NASA Earth observations to monitor water quality in Lake Atitlán, in her native Guatemala. In addition to explaining how she uses satellite data to monitor harmful algal blooms, Flores-Anderson describes what inspires her and led her to her current role with SERVIR.  Her work in Guatemala is also supported by National Geographic and Microsoft through an Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Innovation grant. She recently received a 2020 Geospatial World Award, as “Geospatial Woman Champion of the Year”, for her work to increase use of Earth observations and inspire women around the world (particularly in STEM fields).

The video, much of which was shot on location near Lake Atitlan, can be viewed on the SciFri YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/H3TwExv689c. An article about the video is also featured on the NASA Applied Sciences Earth Science website.