Director & Geospatial Program Manager

sbaros@edac.unm.edu
(505) 277-3622 x237

Shirley V. Baros, GISP is the EDAC Director and has served as the Geospatial Program Manager for the Earth Data Analysis Center since 1990. She is responsible for project implementation, management and development. During Ms Baros’ twenty-five year tenure with the EDAC GIS Program she has been involved in collaborative projects with a wide-variety of clients ranging from local to international programs. Recent projects include geospatial analysis mapping for the New Mexico Department of Information Technology, the Department of Health, New Mexico Minerals and Natural Resources Forestry Division, US Bureau of Census, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Native Diabetes Wellness Program, National Science Foundation (EPSCoR) and multiple NASA funded projects.

Ms. Baros’ research interests include relational database development, data mining and integration of spatial and non-spatial data, the application of computer-intensive methods to large geospatial data analysis problems, and web-based mapping and data delivery systems.

Associate Director

szhang@edac.unm.edu
(505) 277-3622 x243

Dr. Su Zhang is the Associate Director at the Earth Data Analysis Center (EDAC) at the University of New Mexico. He joined EDAC as a graduate student and became a part of the EDAC Staff in 2017. Dr. Zhang received his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from the University of New Mexico in 2017. He also has Master’s Degrees in GIScience and Construction Management. His research focuses on leveraging GIS, remote sensing, and drone technologies for infrastructure management and he has many peer-reviewed publications in this field. His project experience includes GIS/Remote Sensing applications for Geomasking, Transportation Infrastructure Condition Assessment, Emergency Management, and Web Mapping. He is experienced with many software packages include ArcGIS, QGIS, ERDAS Imaging, ENVI, IDRISI, GXP SOCET, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Stata, SPSS, QT Modeler, Agisoft Photoscan, Pix4D Mapper, and Menci APS. Dr. Zhang is a member of New Mexico Geographic Information Council (NMGIC). He is also a committee member of the U.S. Transportation Research Board (TRB).

GIT Manager

bkeller@edac.unm.edu
(505) 277-3622 x228

Brian Keller received his Bachelors of Science in Geography in 2009 from Eastern Michigan University. He is responsible for GIS project implementation, management and development at EDAC. For the past 8 years he has been involved in a wide array of projects ranging from EPA emergency response mapping, FEMA hazard mitigation, database and server management, application development, and floodplain management. Mr. Keller is a current board member of the New Mexico Geographic Information Council (NMGIC).

Research & Information Manager

sandeep@edac.unm.edu
(505) 277-3622 x250

Sandeep Talasila is the Research & Information Manager at the Earth Data Analysis Center. He is a certified GIS Professional (GISP). He completed his Masters in Engineering Science from Louisiana State University. At EDAC he oversees the Image Archive Program and works on a wide variety of GIS projects including the development of web-mapping applications. Mr. Talasila is the current President of New Mexico Geographic Information Council (NMGIC).

Systems/Network Analyst

emartinez@edac.unm.edu
(505) 277-3622 x248

Esmeraldo Martinez joined EDAC in 2020, and he has worked for the University of New Mexico since 2018. He received a Master of Science in Information Systems and Assurance and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of New Mexico. For his master’s degree, he focused on cybersecurity and network administration.

GIS Analyst/Programmer

gvalentin@edac.unm.edu
(505) 277-3622 x238

Gladys Valentin joined EDAC as an EPSCoR Research Assistant in 2015, and became a staff member in May 2018. Her academic background includes: Master of Science in Geography with emphasis in GIScience from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque; Bachelor of Arts in Geography with emphases in Geographic Technologies and Physical/Environmental Geography from the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus. Her interests include GIScience, Remote Sensing, natural hazards, fire ecology and island environments. She has worked with GIS in academic and professional settings for the past 7 years. Ms. Valentin has experience working with software technologies including ESRI® ArcGIS Desktop and ArcPRO, QGIS, ENVI, ERDAS Imagine, TerrSet/Idrisi, Python IDEs, and Adobe Illustrator. She is a member of New Mexico Geographic Information Council (NMGIC).

Programmer Analyst 3

hbarrett@edac.unm.edu
(505) 277-3622 x249

Hays Barrett has been employed at EDAC since 2013. He has a B.A. in Management Information Systems from the University of New Mexico.

GIS Analyst/Programmer

lsinclair@edac.unm.edu
(505) 277-3622 x230

Lisa Sinclair received her Master of Science in Geography from the University of New Mexico in 2009.  She came to EDAC as a student in 2008. Following that, she worked with Natural Heritage New Mexico at UNM, and was an instructor for the UNM Department of Geography. She returned to EDAC as staff in 2021. Ms. Sinclair completed graduate research on the positional accuracy of GPS, and has interest in a wide range of GIS applications, including biogeography, natural resources, modeling, and web mapping. Ms. Sinclair is a past board member and President of New Mexico Geographic Information Council (NMGIC).

GIS Specialist/Programmer

pneville@edac.unm.edu
(505) 277-3622 x244

Paul Neville received a Bachelors of Science in Geology from the University of Texas and a Masters of Arts in Geography from the University of New Mexico. He came to EDAC as a student in 1990 where he worked in the Image Processing Services. He became a part of the EDAC staff in February 1993. Paul has worked with data from a number of satellite and aerial platforms. He has worked on a variety of remote sensing studies including those involving general geologic mapping, mineral exploration, structural interpretation, vegetation surveys and land use analysis. A key interest of his is the integration of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Global Positioning Systems technology into the applications. He is familiar with a number of different image processing packages, but he works with ERDAS regularly as well as the ESRI® ArcGIS Desktop and Server software.

Accountant

smentz@edac.unm.edu
(505) 277-3622 x241

Sandra Mentz has more than 19 years accounting experience. She has been an accountant at the Earth Data Analysis Center for the past thirteen years. Previously she worked at the First National Bank in the Trust Operations Department. Sandra is responsible for reimbursements and assists EDAC in development and management of budgets.

GIS Specialist/Programmer

spenman@edac.unm.edu
(505) 277-3622 x227

Dr. Shawn Penman is a GIS Specialist/Programmer at the Earth Data Analysis Center at the University of New Mexico. She came to EDAC as a student and became a part of the EDAC Staff in 2002. Dr. Penman has 20 years of GIS experience and is a certified GIS Professional (GISP) and a Flood Plain Manager (CFM). Dr. Penman received her PhD in Anthropology from University of New Mexico in 2002. Her project experience includes GIS applications for Emergency Management, Wildland fire mapping, and interactive web mapping. She has worked with different software technologies such as ESRI® ArcGIS Desktop and Server, ArcGIS Web APIs – Flex, Silverlight, FEMA Hazus, and ERDAS Imagine. Recently, Dr. Penman has taught GIS in the UNM Geography department as well as for the NMSU NM EDGE Program. She is a member of New Mexico Geographic Information Council (NMGIC). And currently serves as Secretary for the New Mexico Floodplain Managers Association.

Programmer Analyst 1

teshelman@edac.unm.edu
(505) 277-3622

Tyler Eshelman joined EDAC as a student programmer in 2019, and became a full staff member in February 2021. He received a Bachelor of Science in Geography with a minor in Computer Science from the University of New Mexico.