Brayden Youngberg

Brayden Youngberg is a Climate Data Research Specialist within Climate Action, with a background in geography, environmental science, remote sensing, and deep learning. He is passionate about open, accessible, and reproducible science, with an emphasis on modern, performant large-scale data management and analysis. His work leverages geospatial analytics and modeling, data visualization, and modern data practices to advance climate adaptation research and support the decision-making processes.

Currently, his research focuses on climate hazards and the adaptive capacity of agricultural populations. Recently, he developed an adaptive capacity index and a decision-support dashboard for the delta regions of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Bangladesh as part of a project in the Asian Mega Delta Initiative. His primary project at the moment is the Africa Agriculture Adaptation Atlas, where he is involved in data management and analysis, as well as data storytelling and web development.

As part of this work, Brayden aims to reduce the time and effort required to produce decision-support tools and other data-driven outputs. He works to harmonize data management practices across teams, develop tools and scalable workflows that utilize efficient data formats, and promote the use of Quarto websites and similar platforms that enable scientists to more easily develop and maintain interactive reports.

When not writing code, Brayden can be found channeling his inner mountain goat - partaking in cliff-side escapades, sliding down snowy slopes, sipping coffee from a tent, grazing on flowers, and occasionally hugging trees.