Instructor Information

I am Dr. Brandi Gaertner, Assistant Teaching Professor of Spatial Data Science in the online Geospatial Education program. I joined the Penn State faculty in 2021. I am a climate change hydrologist and GIS analyst. My research focus is on evaluating the historical and future impacts of climate change on surface streamflow and climate variables such as precipitation and temperature. I also use remote sensing techniques, such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), to study the impact of climate change on lengthened growing seasons, evapotranspiration, and hydrology

Prior to joining Penn State, I was an Assistant Professor of Environmental Science at Alderson Broaddus University in Philippi, W.V. I earned my doctorate in Forestry and Natural Resources with a focus on Climate Change Hydrology from West Virginia University in 2019. Prior to pursuing my doctorate degree, I completed an M.S. in Environmental Biology with a focus on Aquatic Ecology.

I have extensive experience and education in online teaching. I graduated in 2022 with an M.S. in Instructional Design and Online Technology. I also have a graduate certificate in University Teaching, have received several Quality Matters certificates for Online Education, and have taught and designed over 10 online courses at previous institutions.

Born and raised in an Army family, Dr. Livecchi spent his youth in the United States and Germany. His academic background is as peripatetic as his residential history, winding through historical archaeology and criminal theory, with detours through philosophy and psychology, before finally settling on geography. This landed him with a BA in anthropology (Rutgers), a MS in criminal justice (Northeastern), a MA in geography (SUNY Albany), and a PhD in geography (Penn State). His dissertation research focused on how military youth construct ideas of home in the context of militarized mobility. His current scholarly interests include the landscapes of the Cold War, terrorism and historic preservation, and uncanny spaces. His curiosity has a mind of its own, however, and refuses to be hemmed in by his academic pursuits; consequently he has worked as an archaeologist, bartender, a GIS analyst, a cobbler’s assistant, a letter carrier, and a bookbinder among other things. He is learning Turkish and likes to go kayaking when he can. He has finally set down some roots in Kingston, New York, where he lives with his family, and where he co-owns a comic book shop.

ABOUT THE COURSE:

Leanne and I have designed this course to provide you with both theoretical knowledge and practical applications in order to inform your work in intelligence or human security. To that end, we've done our best to prioritize information that we think is most helpful. I hope, above everything else, that you find the material interesting.

Sincerely,

Cristopher Livecchi

Leanne Sulewski is currently an Analytic Methodologist for the Department of Defense, where she has worked since 2013. She is also an adjunct faculty member of the National Intelligence University, where she has taught since 2017. She received her Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees in Geography from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2008 and 2010, respectively. In 2013, she received her PhD in Geography from the University of South Carolina. During her doctoral degree, she was a Higher Education Research Experience fellow at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where her research focused on building and testing a geographic framework for assessing critical infrastructure vulnerability. Her current research interests include migration, spatial visualizations, and GIScience. In her spare time, she enjoys crocheting and baking. She is also an avid hiker and traveler, and loves anything that gets her outside.