diff --git a/blog/2026-04-28-team-interview/index.qmd b/blog/2026-04-28-team-interview/index.qmd new file mode 100644 index 0000000..121731f --- /dev/null +++ b/blog/2026-04-28-team-interview/index.qmd @@ -0,0 +1,233 @@ +--- +title: '"Two things I’m proud of recently” and the paths to Openscapes: an interview with Stefanie Butland and Andy Teucher' +# description: "Subtitle" +author: + - name: Ronny A. Hernández Mora + orcid: 0000-0001-6225-7096 +date: 2026-04-28 +citation: + url: https://openscapes.org/news/2026-04-28-team-interview/ +categories: [blog, nasa-framework, noaa-fisheries] +image: team.png +bibliography: references.bib +--- + +*I’m Ronny A. Hernández Mora, the newest member of the Openscapes Core Team. +Starting this position at Openscapes has given me the opportunity to get to know +my colleagues Stefanie Butland and Andy Teucher more closely. I was in charge of +conducting an interview with them (something I had never done before) so I’ll +admit I was a bit worried. Fortunately, Stef and Andy made it easy by sharing +tons of interesting stories and insights from their careers.* + +*This conversation is my attempt to learn and share what keeps them excited about +their work at Openscapes. We discussed their recent work, including “tell me two +things you’re proud of”, as well as their career paths, and what drives them.* + +*cross-posted at [openscapes.org/blog](https://openscapes.org/blog), [nasa-openscapes.github.io/news](https://nasa-openscapes.github.io/news), [nmfs-openscapes.github.io/blog](nmfs-openscapes.github.io/blog)*. + +------------------------------------------------------------------------ + +::: {style="text-align:center;"} +![*Zoomies of Stefanie Butland, Andy Teucher, and Ronny Hernandez Mora during the interview.*](team.png){fig-align="center" fig-alt="3 screenshots of zoom participants. People are smiling."} +::: + +## “Two things I’m proud of” + +As of January 2026, Stef has co-led 19 Openscapes Champions cohorts, including 3 +concurrent cohorts for NOAA Fisheries that just completed ([blog +post](https://openscapes.org/blog/2026-02-26-nmfs-champions-2025/)). During this +experience, one thing struck her: seeing open science practices really become a +movement inside NOAA Fisheries\! Part of the work Stef does is support the [NOAA +Fisheries Openscapes Mentors +community](https://nmfs-openscapes.github.io/mentors/). This means leading +coworking in groups and 1:1, facilitation, communication, building tech +infrastructure, and helping individuals recognize how important and powerful +their unique skills and experiences are – something that she is the most proud +about. + +She also openly documents ***how*** **we work** in the Openscapes [Approach +Guide](https://openscapes.github.io/approach-guide/) – including example emails +– so processes can be reused. Currently part of this work is to document +strategies and infrastructure for engaging with new groups for our Champions +program, based on a first-time cohort for scientists affiliated with the +European Space Agency. And, something that I much appreciate, is her time and +effort to onboard me as we set up a first-time [Champions cohort for NASA +Suborbital scientists](https://openscapes.org/blog/2026-03-03-suborbital/) with +a short turnaround time. + +Andy has been involved in coordinating and supporting workshops run by both NASA +and NOAA Mentors. They use JupyterHubs that we host in partnership with +[2i2c](https://2i2c.org/), so participants have a common computing environment +set up and ready to go. Andy created +[openscapes.cloud](https://openscapes.cloud/) to pull together all of the +documentation for setting up and running a workshop using one of these Hubs, and +is currently working on making the process of requesting and setting up the Hub +for a workshop more efficient, through the use of [issue +templates](https://github.com/NASA-Openscapes/workshop-planning/issues/new?template=01-nasa-openscapes-workshop-template-form.yml) +and Google Sheets. + +Andy has created [tools](https://github.com/Openscapes/jupycost) and +infrastructure for [cost monitoring and +reporting](https://openscapes.cloud/usage-reporting.html), and worked with 2i2c +to help create and test internal monitoring tools using Grafana. These tools +help to understand and report on who is using the Hubs, what kinds of resources +they are using, and how much it costs. For him it’s really gratifying working on +these projects with the amazing folks at 2i2c (Yuvi, Jenny Wong, April Johnson, +Angus Hollands) as well as the NASA and NOAA Mentors who lead events to teach +their peers, and also test and communicate back their needs. One fun technical +thing he did recently was to figure out a streamlined process and document [how +to SSH into the Hub](https://openscapes.cloud/ssh-into-hub.html). + +Another part of Andy’s work that he finds especially gratifying is running the +“[Data Academy”](https://nmfs-openscapes.github.io/data-academy) for NOAA +fisheries staff learning R. Scientists sign up for a learning cohort, and follow +a customized curriculum on [dataquest.io](http://dataquest.io), with Andy +guiding them through the process. He hosts a weekly help desk where he +demonstrates that week’s lessons or a special topic, and provides a space for +Q\&A and/or quiet coworking. The format is in continuous change based on what +works best for learners. For example, sessions are recorded for those who cannot +attend live, and there are “break weeks” so participants can catch up. Stef has +been instrumental in refining the structure as they iterate together. + +## Paths to Openscapes + +Both Stef and Andy began their career in the life sciences. Stef obtained her +master’s in biology, specifically fruit fly behavior genetics, in 1993 from York +University in Toronto, Canada. Andy did his master’s in ecology at the +University of Calgary, graduating in 2006\. From there, they move in a different +direction but with some common points that I found interesting (open science, +workflows, etc.) + +Stef decided to move to Vancouver, without a clear idea of what to do with her +career at a later stage, so she took a job as a lab bench molecular biologist +research assistant, for which she already had the skills. Despite thinking +initially that it was going to be for one year, it ended up being five years. +This didn’t happen just because. It had to do with the team culture she found +there, the supervisor and the growth mindset they had. As she shared her story, +Stef mentioned that during her career there were some “watershed moments” +(highly influential moments in her career), such as one where a lab member +installed an early web browser in the lab computers. This was around 1995-1997, +so having a connection to the Internet meant access to free public databases of +DNA sequences from which you could infer and compare protein, amino acid +sequences. + +This moment marked Stef’s transition into bioinformatics and her first exposure +to what we now think of as open science and freely accessible data and tools. +What I like about Stef's story is that her curiosity and passion didn’t stay +confined to technical work, but in parallel she was also building community +through initiatives like co-founding the Vancouver Bioinformatics Users Group \- +[VanBUG](https://www.vanbug.org/) in 2002, and sharing what she was learning. + +The connections made through those experiences were important. She got to know +Jenny Bryan, who at the time was part of the [rOpenSci](https://ropensci.org/) +leadership advisory group. Jenny eventually sent her the job description for a +Community Manager role at rOpenSci, telling her, “I think this job description +is you.” And this is how Stef started at rOpenSci in September of 2016\. Stef +described this as something she is particularly proud of. + +Stef describes her time at rOpenSci as another watershed moment in her career. +She stepped into a role that didn’t exist yet, which she helped to define, with +an initial focus on organizing the [2017 +unconf](https://ropensci.org/blog/2017/06/02/unconf2017/). Having that clear +focus, and the space to grow into the role, everything else began to fall into +place from there. During her time at rOpenSci, and specifically at the +conference, she met Julie and Andy, which later would become important as a next +step in her career. After nearly six years working with rOpenSci, she felt the +role needed a new person who could bring other skills, so she decided to step +away and resigned from that position proactively. + +After leaving rOpenSci, Stef took the time to reflect on what she wanted her +work to feel like and recognized that Openscapes was a place which aligned with +what she was looking for. The timing was good – she was able to join the team in +April 2022, initially a few hours a week, and gradually expanding over time. + +This, in many ways, tells that not always a linear path exists, and instead +there are watershed moments (as Stef likes to say) that can lead us to new and +exciting opportunities. Especially driven by the people you work and connect +with. Also, for Stef, having a science background is key to feel on a level with +the people she works with and teaches. + +Andy’s path into Openscapes was shaped initially by his work in the government +of British Columbia. He started with species conservation assessments, which led +him to start using R to automate and make processes more efficient. He made his +way through various parts of the BC government, inside the Ministry of +Environment, and then also in BC Stats, the statistical agency. + +It was through that work that Andy began to develop and promote practices for +open science by using open data, open source software, reproducibility, and +also, publishing the code. This was super important for trust of government +organizations and also efficiency for scientists getting things done. On this +end, Andy highlighted the role of collaborators like Stephanie Hazlitt and Sam +Albers, who were a big part of that journey. He later joined +[Posit](https://posit.co/) as a package developer educator on the tidyverse +team, which he described as a dream job. During his time at Posit he had the +chance to work and learn from people like Jenny Byran and Tracy Teal. That +experience was unexpectedly short-lived, however Andy still gained a lot from +his time there, building good relationships and learning a lot, especially about +the way the tidyverse team works to be productive, inclusive, and +community-focused. Up to this point in his career, much of the Openscapes ethos +was already starting to take shape in his work. + +After Posit, Andy started to work on his own as a consultant, something that he +had previously considered but never done. Around that time, he reconnected with +Julie, whom he had first met through the rOpenSci community and later again at +posit::conf(2023). When Openscapes advertised for a cloud team member, it +sounded like an amazing opportunity, so he applied and was offered the job in +spring of 2024\. The combination of fun and challenging technical work, some +teaching, and collaboration with amazing scientists through open science +practices has been incredibly rewarding for him. + +## Learning and Skills + +Something Andy and Stef both emphasized was the importance of continual learning +and skill-building throughout their paths. And this is something they continue +to do and role-model at Openscapes. + +When talking about learning and skills, Stef mentioned something that is easy to +overlook: the role of creating relationships. For her, community building isn’t +separate from the technical work, it’s actually what makes it possible. Much of +the effort on maintaining connections between people, or shaping the processes +that support the group of people working on it, has a lot of impact on the +success of a project. What stands out in Stef’s approach, is her ability to +connect layers: understanding tools well enough to use them effectively, while +also creating the conditions for the people to engage with them. She is capable +of translating between the technical and the human side of workflows, making +them work much better. + +One of the main characteristics in this process is the ongoing learning process. +It’s an iterative process, practical, embedded in Openscapes ethos. For example, +the [Openscapes Reflections program](https://openscapes.github.io/booklet/) +helps people think through and identify what feels clunky in a workflow, and +leads to actions to improve it. Learning becomes practical by reducing friction +and improving by small continuous changes. + +“Confidence in yourself and constant learning” – that’s the message I take from +Andy. For him, it is not about knowing everything upfront, but knowing that you +always have something more to learn, and trusting that you can figure things out +when needed. Knowing that you can put in the effort to find answers, to solve +problems is an important skill. This aligns closely with Openscapes [growth +mindset](https://openscapes.github.io/approach-guide/approach/#growth-mindset), +which helps to keep him engaged, to feel challenged, because motivation can drop +when you stop learning. Beyond the technical skills such as expanding the +background in R to Python and cloud workflows, he has been learning about +developing more intentional community and communication skills. + +## Closing + +*I’ve always been curious about the paths people I admire have taken: the +decisions, opportunities, encounters, and moments that led them to where they +are today. It is always amazing to hear their stories, and how non-linear a +career path could be. I also like how people navigate moments of uncertainty, +how they recall those stages that shaped them, and what motivates them along the +way.* + +*As I start this new [role with Openscapes and the NASA-suborbital +team](https://openscapes.org/blog/2026-03-03-suborbital/), I’m excited to work +with Stef and Andy, learn from them while bringing my expertise, experience, +questions, and ideas to the group. Who am I? I’m a researcher and a software +developer at the intersection of perception-driven systems, computer vision, +deep learning, and remote sensing. Over the past eight years, I’ve worked with +people in academia and industry to adopt collaborative, open, and maintainable +workflows in real-world contexts. I look forward to contributing to the +Openscapes community\!* + diff --git a/blog/2026-04-28-team-interview/references.bib b/blog/2026-04-28-team-interview/references.bib new file mode 100644 index 0000000..bcae263 --- /dev/null +++ b/blog/2026-04-28-team-interview/references.bib @@ -0,0 +1,12 @@ + +@article{robinson2022, + title = {The Openscapes Flywheel: A framework for managers to facilitate and scale inclusive Open science practices}, + author = {Robinson, Erin and Lowndes, Julia S. Stewart}, + year = {2022}, + month = {10}, + date = {2022-10-10}, + doi = {https://doi.org/10.31223/X5CQ02}, + url = {https://eartharxiv.org/repository/view/4560/}, + note = {Publisher: EarthArXiv}, + langid = {en} +} diff --git a/blog/2026-04-28-team-interview/team.png b/blog/2026-04-28-team-interview/team.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..18248a0 Binary files /dev/null and b/blog/2026-04-28-team-interview/team.png differ