Title: GIS Data Analyst
Employer: Northwestern Mutual
Previous Roles: Spatial Data Analyst, UW Madison Population Health Institute County Health Rankings and Roadmaps program; Pathways Intern, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Jessica graduated in 2019 with her Bachelor’s in Integrative Biology and minors in Sustainability and Animal Science. She was unsure of what she wanted to do after graduation, so she took Translating your IB Degree into Career Success at the start of her Senior year to figure out her options. She used the career options she learned about to explore what careers would be right for her, and started thinking about public health, which she heard about from an alumnus that spoke in the course. She used her course connections to reach out to that alumni, and after doing more research decided to pursue a public health degree. In May of 2020, she graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago with her Master of Public Health in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences. While pursuing her master's degree, she completed a Pathways Internship with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Region 5. Additionally, as a part of her masters degree she took several GIS (geographic information system) classes, and her GIS skills have become been very valuable in her career.
As a GIS Data Analyst for Northwestern Mutual, she utilizes GIS software to analyze large and complex datasets to generate business intelligence and to create web mapping applications to showcase the data. Additionally, she uses Python and other scripting languages to manage data and automate analyses. Previously, as a Spatial Data Analyst for the County Health Rankings and Roadmaps program (within the UW Madison Population Health Institute), she utilized GIS software to analyze place-based population health data and create interactive web mapping applications to display the data. Outside of her work, she regularly presents at GIS conferences and teaches GIS workshops, and she's a member of the Wisconsin Land Information Association.
Jessica would be a great person to talk to if you’re also on a winding career journey and want to talk to someone who has just gone through the same thing. She would also be a great person to talk with if you are interested in Public Health and/or GIS, or what it's like to transition between the public and private sectors.
Contact Christina Swanson at alumnimentor@sib.illinois.edu if you would like to connect with Jessica. You can also view her LinkedIn Profile at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-hoffelder