Data Manager Profile: Kristen Bonebrake

Kristen at Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State.

NPS / Natasha Antonova

Blending a love for the natural world with a passion for data and technology

“I have many positive memories with my family on public lands. From an early age, I associated those places with quality family time, rest, and relaxation from daily life stresses.

Growing up, I always wanted to be a veterinarian at a zoo. I attended freshman orientation for the vet school at the University of Arizona, but quickly realized that being a veterinarian didn’t exactly fit what I wanted from my career path. My father asked the professor if there were other programs that still worked with animals. They pointed us to the School of Natural Resources and the Environment, and I was hooked. Discovering how ecosystems work and how that knowledge can be used to make resource management decisions really resonated with me. I had no idea how that one small decision would shape so much of who I am as a person and what I value.

While I was a student, I started at Saguaro National Park as a volunteer counting roadkill, which is important as Tucson and its busy roads border the park. Such a simple (and, well, sometimes very gross) experience taught me the value data has in impacting park management decisions. From there I took a paid student internship working under the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) specialist doing early database development, which provided me with the early skills I needed to successfully apply for the cartographic technician position at the Sonoran Desert Network Inventory and Monitoring Program. Luckily, the staff there saw something in me, and encouraged me to grow and expand my skill set in data management. That mentorship helped shape the Data Manager I am today.

When it comes to database management, the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. My father is a hardware/software engineer, so I have a love for computers and technology. Doing data management with the park service, I get to blend my love of tech with my love of science. I was able to find my niche in how I can contribute and work with wonderful scientists to further the mission of preserving these beautiful lands for generations to come.

The dynamic role of data managers in the National Park Service

“My core responsibilities are to work with the protocol leads—the science subject matter experts—to make sure there are processes in place so that the data collected is managed for quality, and is set up to be useful for answering resource management questions. Data managers are not alone in data management: the ecologists and biological technicians of each network are equally invested in ensuring that we’re providing the most cutting-edge science to help inform park resource managers.

I try to help the ecologists be as successful in that process as possible. That's where my creative thinking starts to come in: how can I be forward-thinking to make the data management work for them? They already have so many challenges; I don't want data management to be one of them. I get feedback from the field crews and ask them, what can I do better? When they stop telling me something, I will finally retire.

I have been doing data management for 16 years, and I'm still learning new ways to do my job in a better, more efficient way.

Building a collaborative community of data managers across the country

"In the early days of the Inventory and Monitoring Program, data managers would often work within the silos of each network. When the Southwest Network Collaboration formed, three networks—the Sonoran Desert Network, the Chihuahuan Desert Network, and the Southern Plains Network—got together and made a data management team coalition, and data managers started working together and exchanging ideas. It was a tipping point. I started thinking, how can I create data management workflows that will not only be successful in my network, but also act as models that can be easily rolled out and used for other networks? In leveraging the strengths of data managers across these networks, I felt not only more confident in my work, but also unencumbered at the same time. I'm constantly looking at creative ways for us to work more effectively together.

From the desert to the Pacific Northwest

"I now work at the North Coast and Cascades Network in Port Angeles, Washington. My Alaska-born husband wanted out of the desert heat and back to the tall green trees from his childhood memories. I'd been working for Southwest Desert Network for a long time and loved it there, but I was ready for a change. Moving to Washington, I got it: a whole new set of data management challenges and science to learn, including intertidal and glaciers.

Getting outside is how we relax and calm down. And now we get to enjoy the beauty of public lands with our daughter. I think we actually enjoy it even more with her, because she just points out the smallest things. Like a small flower I would've walked right past.

Reflections

“There is a niche and a role and a place for every mind. You don't have to be a scientist to be a part of the National Park Service, nor the Inventory & Monitoring community. You can be a data nerd, a coding connoisseur, a project manager. And we need those! We need people that feel passionate, not just about the parks and not just about the mission, but the very different ways of contributing to the conversation. None of us can do all of this–it's bigger than us.”

Interview and profile edited for brevity by Maritte O’Gallagher, August 2020

Additional Resources

North Coast and Cascades Network Inventory & Monitoring Program
Sonoran Desert Network Inventory and Monitoring Program
Southwest Network Collaboration