About

About Me

Melannie Moreno Rolón

Environmental Data Scientist
Born and raised in Puerto Rico

Where I Come From

I grew up on an island shaped by coastlines, storms, and the quiet knowledge that weather is never just weather.
Puerto Rico taught me to pay attention to patterns in the sky, to the rhythm of hurricane seasons, and to the ways communities adapt, rebuild, and remember.
Those early experiences became the foundation for how I see the world today.

Storms as Lived Experience

Hurricane seasons were a rhythm I grew up with—preparing, waiting, listening to the wind shift.
Some storms passed quietly. Others reshaped entire communities.
Living through them taught me that environmental change is not abstract.
It’s personal, uneven, and deeply tied to the places we call home.

Discovering Environmental Science

As I got older, I wanted to understand the forces that shaped my island.
Environmental science became a way to connect lived experience with data—
to turn questions into patterns, and patterns into insight.
It gave me language for things I had always felt but never fully understood.

Why Spatial Data

Maps became my way of making sense of the world.
They reveal what’s uneven, what’s vulnerable, and what’s often overlooked.
Spatial data lets me connect people, places, and patterns—
and tell stories that honor the complexity of real communities.

My Design Philosophy

I care about clarity, accessibility, and editorial honesty.
Good design should invite people in—not overwhelm them.
I build workflows that are reproducible, transparent, and grounded in DEIJ principles,
because the way we communicate data shapes who feels seen by it.

Graduate Work at Bren

At the Bren School, I focus on storm climatology, hazard communication,
and the ways data can support more equitable decision‑making.
My work blends spatial analysis, environmental data science,
and a commitment to making complex information understandable.

Looking Forward

I’m still learning, still refining, still finding new ways to connect science and storytelling.
What I know for sure is this:
I want my work to make environmental information clearer, more human, and more accessible so that the people most affected by change can see themselves in the data.