On September 18th, 2020, 1-2 PM UTC, Argyro Kavvada reviewed innovative Earth observation solutions for the Sustainable Development Goals. Her presentation will illustrate innovative endeavors that aim to integrate Earth observation data, tools and model outputs to support countries in target setting, tracking progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, and informing sustainable development planning and decision making. The moderator was Samy Djavidnia, member of the Steering Committee of the GEO Blue Planet Initiative.

Speaker

Argyro Kavvada

Dr. Argyro Kavvada serves a dual role as Manager of the Earth Sciences Division’s Sustainable Development Goals Activities to extend uses of Earth science and applications in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), while also leading Booz Allen Hamilton’s project on studies, assessments, and strategic management for the Applied Sciences Program in NASA’s Earth Science Division. She serves as the Executive Secretary for the international Earth Observations for Sustainable Development Goals (EO4SDG) initiative that NASA co-leads, and the NASA representative to the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites SDG Working Group. In this role, she has built a network of thought leaders and collaborators in the Earth observation and international development landscape.

Argyro holds a PhD and a MS degree in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science from the University of Maryland, a MS degree in Applied Mathematics and Statistics from Georgetown University, and a BS degree in Physics from the Johns Hopkins University. As part of her doctoral research, Argyro used observational analysis and dynamical modeling to investigate ocean-atmosphere interactions in the subpolar and tropical basins, and the hydroclimate impacts of low-frequency North Atlantic variability on adjacent continents. She is also a certified Change Management Advanced Practitioner (CMAP). Argyro is an expert scientific communicator, with experience ranging from representing NASA in inter-agency groups and delivering multilateral, multi-stakeholder workshops to teaching local community groups about Earth science and climate. She is passionate about applying these skills and experience to promote and accelerate the uptake of Earth observations to address development challenges around the world.

Moderator

Samy Djavidnia

Samy Djavidnia is a voluntary member of the Group of Earth Observations Blue Planet (GEO Blue Planet) Initiative Steering and Management Committees. His expertise includes Earth observation, oceanography from space and international cooperation. Within Blue Planet, Samy responsibilities include the application of Earth Observation data and tools for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals targets and indicators. He was the lead editor of the “Oceans and Society: Blue Planet” book.

Samy holds a Bachelor’s degree in Physics and Astrophysics and Master’s degree in Space Science. He is currently working for a European Union Agency in Lisbon, where he is responsible for policy and technical support as well as environmental monitoring for the implementation of EU’s Green Deal. Before that he worked for the European Space Agency in Germany & Spain, for Imperial College in the UK and for the European Commission Joint Research Centre in Italy.

We will continue with the Networking Fridays during the next months. More information about future sessions as well as presentations and videos from previous sessions can be found here. Twitter Hashtag: #netfridays. Expect some very exciting afternoons, or mornings or evenings, depending on where you are…

If you need any additional information please send an email to Jose Luiz Moutinho.