Dr. Dawn Wright

Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri)

Dr. Dawn Wright is Chief Scientist of the Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri), a world-leading geographic information system (GIS) software and data science company. Core to Esri’s mission is to inspire and enable people to positively impact their future by connecting them with the geoanalytic knowledge needed to make the critical decisions shaping the planet. Dr. Wright maintains an affiliated faculty appointment as Professor of Geography and Oceanography in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University. She also maintains research interests in spatial data science; seafloor mapping, coastal/ocean informatics, and environmental education.

Dr. Wright’s recent advisory board service includes the Science Advisory, the NOAA Science Advisory Board, the US National Academy of Sciences Ocean Studies Board, the Board of COMPASS Science Communication Inc., the Ocean Discovery XPRIZE, and many journal editorial boards. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Geological Society of America, the California Academy of Sciences, and Stanford’s Leopold Leadership Program, as well as a former Oregon Professor of the Year. She holds an Individual Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Physical Geography and Marine Geology from UC-Santa Barbara, an M.S. in Oceanography from Texas A&M, and a B.S. cum laude in Geology from Wheaton College (Illinois).