Africa Flores-Anderson

Africa Ixmucane Flores-Anderson serves as Research Scientist at the Earth System Science Center, University of Alabama Huntsville, where she leads SERVIR's Land Cover Land Use Change & Ecosystems initiatives. After earning her degree in agricultural engineering from the University of San Carlos, Guatemala, and master's from UAH, she has built an extraordinary career combining satellite technology with environmental protection. Her groundbreaking work includes developing lake forecasting systems to predict harmful algal blooms in Lake Atitlán, Guatemala, using artificial intelligence and satellite data. As SERVIR's lead scientist, she helps decision-makers across Latin America, Africa, and Asia address environmental challenges through Earth observation data and geospatial technologies. Her achievements earned her recognition as a National Geographic Explorer and International Changemaker in 2019, while her research spans water quality monitoring, forest change mapping, and ecosystem analysis. Currently pursuing her PhD in Natural Resource Sciences at McGill University, she continues to advance environmental monitoring through projects like the NASA-funded collaboration with SilvaCarbon, which produced a handbook on using synthetic aperture radar for forest monitoring. Her work exemplifies the power of satellite technology to protect natural resources and empower communities, particularly in regions with limited scientific infrastructure.