Medha Gelli is a Data Scientist with the National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS) team at the Climate Program Office (CPO). In her role, she leads the development of NOAA’s heat.gov website by creating and updating heat-related data visualisations, maps, dashboards, and projections. Medha also focuses on enhancing data management and storage within NIHHIS to improve data accessibility. Additionally, she provides technical support for public outreach initiatives, such as Science on a Sphere.

Medha’s career path includes valuable experience with the City of San Jose and ESRI, where she refined her skills in environmental GIS and data communication. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Policy and Data Science from Scripps College, where her senior thesis on the environmental impacts of Carbon Capture Storage earned the Robert Redford Conservancy Senior Thesis Award. As a 2021 NOAA Hollings Scholar, Medha developed 3D visualisations of sea-ice imagery, which sparked her enthusiasm for interdisciplinary environmental data visualisation. Her return to NOAA provides a rewarding opportunity to apply her environmental data visualisation expertise to advance heat and heat-health visualisation and communication.