Arielle ‘Ari’ Simmons-Steffen leads data science and GIS initiatives at American Forests. A large part of her work focuses on the development of cloud infrastructure and backend processes that underpin a multitude of forestry projects and initiatives at American Forests. Ari received both her master’s and bachelor’s degrees from the University of California, Berkeley. Ari brings nearly two decades of diverse professional experience spanning software development, environmental consulting, and municipal/federal government agencies. With a passion for cultivating environmental consciousness among the younger generation, Ari volunteers her free time to a nature education website: www.treemama.org. She also founded and helped develop ‘iSeaTree’ – a free and intuitive mobile application for helping youth identify and record local tree species (https://treemama.org/the-tech-treehouse/iseatree/).